PhD position in cognitive psychology

An ANR-funded PhD position is available to work with Professor Thérèse Collins at the Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (INCC) at Université Paris Cité. The project, in collaboration with Mark Wexler and Florian Waszak in the same laboratory, is on visual perception and history effects.

The input to the visual system is highly variable (eye movements, ambient light changes, etc), but our subjective experience of the world is constant and stable. One mechanism that may transform input variability into ouput constancy is temporal integration, the fact that the current contents of perception depend on current stimuli but also on the integration of stimulus information across a brief period of time. The project will examine such temporal integration in behavior with psychophysical methods and EEG (decoding and representational similarity analysis).

The selected candidate will be part of the Vision group of the INCC and will have access to many training opportunities, scientific activities and a vibrant lab culture!

Vision group of the INCC, CNRS (https://incc-paris.fr)

Located in the center of Paris, the INCC is a research department affiliated with the CNRS and Université Paris Cité. The INCC breaks barriers between disciplines and addresses the complex functional and neurophysiological aspects of behavior and brain functions, using multimodal approaches including behavior, neuroimaging and computational modelling. INCC researchers come from disciplines as diverse as cognitive sciences, computational neuroscience, movement science, medical science, engineering, physics, neurophysiology and biology.

Research conducted in the Vision Group in particular is aimed at better understanding the mechanisms underlying perception, attention, consciousness and the links between perception and action. Our interests include the properties of visual attention and of spatial maps, visual perception during and across eye and head movements and visual motion perception. We also perform research on hearing and touch, especially their interactions with vision. We deploy multiple techniques including behavioral methods such as psychophysics and eye tracking, computational modelling and brain imaging techniques such as fMRI, EEG, MEG and TMS. We use decoding methods to better understand brain processes and for designing the online control of robotic upper limbs.

Université Paris Cité (https://u-paris.fr/en/)

With its exact and experimental sciences, broad and well-established human and social sciences and a strong tradition of work at the interface of disciplines, Université Paris Cité is fully multidisciplinary, both in terms of training and research. It is a unique university community based on strong values: freedom of thought in study, teaching and research; the service of society and the general interest; openness to the world, the city and the immediate environment; respect and promotion of the well-being of everyone; scientific integrity.

The excellence of its 142 laboratories, associated with French research organizations, makes it a major player in international research. Université Paris Cité has more than 30 international labs in the fields of health, science and technology, humanities and social sciences, humanities and languages.

Salary

The gross monthly salary will be around 1900€. After standard deductions, the net salary will be around 1600€. This includes unemployment insurance, work-site insurance, health insurance and a pension plan.

Starting date: between Sept 1st and Nov 15th 2023