Connectionists: PhD at Bremen University (3 years, salary E13/2): Neuronal mechanisms of rapid functional configuration

[Udo Ernst]

Open Position at University of Bremen, Germany: Rapid Parallel 
Configuration of Visual Information Processing (Bernstein Award Udo Ernst)

Information processing in the brain is highly flexible and depends on 
various factors such as the current behavioural task, contextual 
information in the subjects’ environment, and internal states of the 
brain. This flexibility allows our brain to rapidly configure different 
cognitive functions as required by the actual situation, and to 
reallocate limited neuronal resources to the most important 
computational processes. Our project aims at a comprehensive 
understanding of the neural mechanisms and cognitive strategies 
supporting functional configuration and task switching.

For the planned electrophysiological studies in subproject B, we seek a 
highly motivated PhD student who is also interested in closely 
collaborating with theoreticians. Starting date is as soon as possible, 
and applications will be considered ***until 6th of December 2012***. If 
you are interested, please send your application in English (or German) 
language, including your letter of motivation, CV, copies of school and 
university certificates (master/diploma or equivalent) to:

Udo Ernst
Cognium
Hochschulring 18
Universität Bremen
D-28359 Bremen
Germany
E-Mail: udo at neuro.uni-bremen.de


Further information on the corresponding position and project below, see 
also http://www.bernstein.uni-bremen.de

Goal of subproject B is to investigate neural signatures and mechanisms 
of parallel functional configuration in multiple visual areas with 
massively parallel multielectrode recordings. The PhD student will 
conduct experiments on awake behaving macaque monkeys in collaboration 
with the group of Prof. Dr. Andreas Kreiter 
(http://www.brain.uni-bremen.de), and analyze the collected data. This 
includes familiarization and training of the monkeys, preparation of the 
experimental setup and recordings, implantation of the electrode arrays, 
and recording of the data under different visual perception tasks. For 
analyzing the data, he/she should be familiar with the following 
methods: filtering, Wavelet-analysis, cross- and autocorrelation, 
standard techniques of coherence analysis (phase coherency, spectral 
coherence, etc.), classification with methods from machine learning, and 
elementary concepts from information theory. Behavioural and 
electrophysiological data shall be rapidly preprocessed, and made 
available, for the collaborators in subprojects A1 and A2. He or she 
should have a degree (master/diploma or equivalent) in natural sciences 
(e.g. Biology) with focus on experimental work (preferably Animal 
Physiology). Basic knowledge in programming and in formal 
methods/Computational Neuroscience are required. We expect a high 
motivation for communicating and collaborating with the other subprojects.