Missions

The proposed work is related to the assessment of the role of somatosensory feedback in speech motor control. It is generally accepted that speech production is primarily auditory in nature. However, the stability of its control, whatever the physical conditions under which it is produced in daily life (walking, running, eating, lying down, sitting, standing...) together with the duration of cortical processing of the phonetic information available in the acoustic speech signal, incited many scientists to consider the hypothesis that somatosensory feedback could play an important role in the control process. Our recent experimental studies with participants having access to both the auditory and somatosensory sensory modalities ([1], [2]), clearly supported this hypothesis: a sudden perturbation of the tongue posture reached in vowel production induced a rapid compensatory response that is very unlikely to have auditory origins. The proposed work aims at further deepen these observations along two lines: (1) a neurophysiological modeling study of the implementation of such a compensatory response, which would include an account of tongue biomechanics, muscle activation and somatosensory feedback tuning associated with speech production practice; (2) an experimental study that would evaluate how patients who are suffering from deafferentation in the orofacial region but are able to speak, deal with the tongue perturbation during vowel production.
The modeling will include the implementation/evaluation in the context of speech production of motor control mechanisms involved in motor equivalence in limb motor control: (1) proprioceptive coding and impedance control; (2) acquisition and use of the Uncontrolled Manifold theoretical framework in the achievement of auditory speech production goals ; (3) Learning compensatory mechanisms in the context of Optimal Feedback Control.
The experimental study will include the recruitment of deafferented patients, the evaluation of somatosensory deficits in the somatosensory region, the adaptation of the perturbation paradigm ([1]) to the patients, the data collection and the data processing. Depending of the skills of the recruited applicant different involvements in one or the other aspects of the work will be considered.
References
[1] Ito, T., Szabados, A., Caillet, J. L., & Perrier, P. (2020). Quick compensatory mechanisms for tongue posture stabilization during speech production. Journal of Neurophysiology, 123(6), 2491-2503.
[2] Bourhis M, Perrier P, Savariaux C, Ito T (2024) Quick speech motor correction in the absence of auditory feedback. Front Hum Neurosci 18:1399316.

Activités

The successful candidate will be expected to take a leading role in the implementation execution, and interpretation of cognitive paradigms performed in normally-developed, and sensory-impaired individuals to examine a hypothesis concerning contributions and interactions of somatosensory and auditory feedback in on-line compensation for speech production stability. This position is related to a project funded by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR_CE28_2021).

Compétences

We expect a candidate with scientific background in neuroscience and/or experimental psychology and/or human motor control, who has substantial computer programming experience (in particular MATLAB, or Python, or C language), and is motivated in experimental work with human participants and/or applying computer models of motor control to interpret experimental data in perturbed speech production. Applicants must hold a PhD degree (or be about to earn one). A field of computer science or bioengineering is desirable, but not mandatory.

Contexte de travail

The Gipsa-lab is a joint research laboratory of the CNRS, Grenoble-INP -UGA and the University of Grenoble Alpes. It is under agreement with Inria and the Observatory of Sciences of the Universe of Grenoble. He conducts theoretical and applied research on AUTOMATICS, SIGNAL, IMAGES, SPEECH, COGNITION, ROBOTICS and LEARNING.
Multidisciplinary and at the interface between the human, the physical and digital worlds, our research is confronted with measurements, data, observations from physical, physiological and cognitive systems. They focus on the design of methodologies and algorithms for processing and extracting information, decisions, actions and communications that are viable, efficient and compatible with physical and human reality. Our work is based on mathematical and computer theories for the development of models and algorithms, validated by hardware and software implementations.
By relying on its platforms and partnerships, Gipsa-lab maintains a constant link with applications in a wide variety of fields: health, environment, energy, geophysics, embedded systems, mechatronics, processes and industrial systems, telecommunications, networks, transport and vehicles, operational safety and security, human-computer interaction, linguistic engineering, physiology and biomechanics, etc.
Due to the nature of its research, Gipsa-lab is in direct and constant contact with the economic environment and society.
Its potential as teacher-researchers and researchers is invested in training at the level of universities and engineering schools on the Grenoble site (Grenoble Alpes University).
Gipsa-lab develops its research through 16 teams or themes organized into 4 divisions:
• Automatic and Diagnosis (PAD)
• Data Science (PSD)
• Speech and Cognition (PPC)
• Geometries, Learning, Information and Algorithms (GAIA).
The staff supporting research (38 engineers and technicians) is distributed in the common services distributed within 2 divisions:
• The Administrative and Financial Pole
• The Technical Pole
Gipsa-lab has around 150 permanent staff, including 70 teacher-researchers and 41 researchers. It also welcomes guest researchers and post-docs.
Gipsa-lab supervises nearly 150 theses, including around 50 new ones each year. All the theses carried out in the laboratory are financed and supervised by teacher-researchers and researchers, including 50 holders of an HDR.
Finally, around sixty Master's trainees come each spring to swell the ranks of the laboratory.
The work will be carried out within the PCMD (Perception, Control, Multimodality, Dynamics) team, the Speech and Cognition Pole in GIPSA-lab

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.

Contraintes et risques

No significant risk

Informations complémentaires

Beginner accepted
Other CNU sections 26 and 34