Connectionists: Postdoc (or PhD student) Roelfsema & Bohte labs in computational and cognitive neuroscience

[Pieter Roelfsema]

Post-doc (or PhD student) in Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience
- How is reinforcement learning implemented in the brain?

A post-doc (or PhD student) position is available to develop new biologically plausible reinforcement learning theories. This project is a collaboration between in the Vision & Cognition group (Dr. Pieter Roelfsema) at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam and the NeuroInformatics Lab at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam (Dr. Sander Bohte).

Our recent theoretical insights have allowed a preliminary understanding of how animals learn to represent and memorize the key features of sensory stimuli for the guidance of action, and how this learning can proceed by trial-and-error (Rombouts et al. NIPS 2012, Roelfsema et al., TiCS, 2010). The present project focuses on the learning of subroutines, which can be incorporated into larger routines, during trial-and-error learning. We aim to develop a biologically plausible learning rules that endow neural networks with the possibility to learn hierarchical task structures.

The project is funded by an NWO grant from the Natural Artificial Intelligence program.

The successful applicant will have a solid computational background, an interest in cognitive neuroscience and good programming skills.

Appointment:
The position involves a temporary appointment for 2-4 years. We offer a competitive salary with excellent secondary benefits and friendly taxes, and also an extremely friendly, interactive and international working environment. Amsterdam is one of Europe's most beautiful and lively cities where almost everybody speaks and understands English, so that candidates need not be afraid of the language barrier.

To apply, please send application letter, CV and two letters of recommendation to:

Tini Eikelboom
The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
Meibergdreef 47
1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31-20-5664587
E-mail: t.eikelboom at nin.knaw.nl<mailto:t.eikelboom at nin.knaw.nl>


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