Connectionists: PhD Studentships in Computational Neuroscience at the University of Hertfordshire, UK

[Volker Steuber]

PhD Studentship in Computational Neuroscience
Biocomputation Research Group
Centre for AI and Robotics Research
School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science
University of Hertfordshire, UK

Informal enquiries: Prof Volker Steuber, UH (v.steuber at herts.ac.uk); Dr Arnd Roth, UCL (arnd.roth at ucl.ac.uk)

Application deadline: 14 November 2025

Studentship: approximately £20,700 per annum bursary plus payment of the student fees. Applicants from inside and outside the UK are eligible.

Proposed Project: Reinforcement Learning and Microzones in the Cerebellum

The crystalline structure of the cerebellar cortex has inspired the development of  theories and computational models of learning in the cerebellum. In these computational models, learning is typically based on long-term depression (LTD) between parallel fibres and Purkinje cells in cerebellar cortex. More recently, however, plasticity has been shown to be present at different types of cerebellar synapses, and recent observations of reward signals conveyed by both mossy fibres and climbing fibres to the cerebellar cortex indicate that the roles of the instructive signals for cerebellar plasticity are more complex than assumed by classic theories. The presence of reward signals suggests that the cerebellum may be involved in reinforcement learning, by predicting the consequences of different actions. A further level of complexity arises from the existence of alternating cerebellar microzones that have been shown to contribute in different ways to cerebellar learning.

The proposed PhD project will extend a previously developed detailed network model of the cerebellum. Simulations of the network model will be used to investigate the implications of reward signals and microzones for cerebellar learning. The work will contribute to a better understanding of learning in the cerebellum with potential applications in machine learning and neurorobotics.

Applicants should have a keen interest in computational neuroscience and an excellent first degree or MSc in computer science, neuroscience, AI, machine learning, physics, maths, biology, medicine or a related discipline.

The project involves a collaboration between the Biocomputation Research Group in the Centre for AI and Robotics Research at the University of Hertfordshire (Volker Steuber) and the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research at UCL (Arnd Roth) and will require regular visits to London. The Centre for AI and Robotics Research and the University of Hertfordshire provide a very stimulating environment, offering a large Doctoral School with many specialised and interdisciplinary seminars as well as general training and researcher development opportunities. The University is situated in Hatfield, in the green belt just north of London.

Research in Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire has been recognised as excellent in REF 2021, with 90% of the research submitted and all of the research impact rated as internationally excellent or world leading.

Information on the application procedure and an application form can be found at: https://www.herts.ac.uk/study/schools-of-study/physics-engineering-and-computer-science/engineering-and-computer-science/research-in-engineering-and-computer-science/the-phd-programme-in-computer-science


Volker Steuber
Professor of Computational Neuroscience
Biocomputation Research Group
School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science
University of Hertfordshire
College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UK
biocomputation.herts.ac.uk<http://biocomputation.herts.ac.uk>
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