Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory (Lab 1), Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León (INCYL),
University of Salamanca, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego, nº 1, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
A PhD position is available in the Auditory Neurophysiology Laboratory at the Institute of Neuroscience of the University of Salamanca in Spain to study the neurophysiological and behavioral bases of 'stimulus-specific adaptation' (SSA). SSA resembles in many aspects the phenomenon of mismatch negativity (MMN), which is important because MNN has been positioned as a potentially promising biomarker candidate for the diagnosis, of pathologies such as schizophrenia.
We will focus on the details and principles that govern neuronal responses to give rise to SSA as a basic property of auditory neurons that serve as the correlate for MMN based on the predictive coding theory. We will carry out a series of complementary techniques including neurophysiological and anatomical experiments as well as behavioral paradigms using a carefully constructed stimulus set.
We will use optogenetics to manipulate the inputs to the IC and AC and in vivo patch clamp recordings to study the mechanisms underlying changes in excitability can be tested. We also plan to use behavioral tests.
Prof. Manuel S. Malmierca (msm@usal.es)