Connectionists: Postdoc position in Marseille

[Viktor Jirsa]

*Post-Doctoral position available **in ***

*Computational Neuroscience *

at the laboratory « Epilepsy and Cognition » UMR 751 INSERM

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*General environment:*

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The research is focused on the uncovering the mechanisms underlying i) 
the construction of an epileptic brain, ii) the genesis of seizures and 
iii) the cognitive deficits associated with epilepsy. We use a 
multidisciplinary vertical approach from the gene level to behavior, 
including in vitro/in vivo electrophysiology; as well as a horizontal 
approach from animal models to epileptic patients, from the bench to the 
bedside. Our team has unraveled many key mechanisms (Nature 
Neuroscience, 1998, 1999, 2001; Neuron 2001; Science 2004; PNAS, 2005, 
2008; J Neurosc 2009, Brain, 2009) and will provide a unique 
multidisciplinary bilingual working environment, in which basic and 
clinical research are fused.

*Position: Brain dynamics during the construction of an epileptic network*

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*Start date*: November 01 2009 and later.

*Duration*: 3 years

*Funding*: ANR grant, ANTARES

*P.Is. Christophe Bernard and Viktor Jirsa*

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*Research project*:

We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow with a background in non-linear 
dynamics and computational neuroscience. We have designed a system 
enabling us to record simultaneously in 17 different brain regions in 
rats. Local field potentials are collected in various experimental 
conditions (different cognitive states, including spatial and non 
spatial memory tasks) in normal animals, and following an insult, which 
will lead to epilepsy. The goal of the project is to describe and 
characterize the trajectories of brain activities in the different 
experimental conditions, to determine how activities in different 
regions are coordinated, and how this dynamics is modified in an 
epileptic context. These behaviors will be mathematically modeled and 
computationally implemented in a large-scale network model, whose 
predictions will be then experimentally tested. Experimental and 
theoretical research will be closely coordinated and the candidate will 
have the possibility to learn and perform the in vivo experiments, as 
well as receive training in theoretical neuroscience.

*Requirements*: The successful candidate will have a Ph.D., or 
equivalent, in a relevant discipline (Physics or Engineering with a 
focus on nonlinear-dynamics, computational neuroscience,…) with an 
excellent past record achievement. A background in neurobiology is an 
advantage but is not required.

*Contact*: Please send CV and two letters of recommendation to 
Christophe Bernard (christophe.bernard at univmed.fr 
<mailto:christophe.bernard at univmed.fr>) or Viktor Jirsa 
(viktor.jirsa at univmed.fr).