Missions

As part of the ERC-Synergy NASCE project (“Natural Auditory SCEnes in Humans and Machines”), you will study how the human brain processes and represents real auditory scenes, particularly when multiple sound sources are present simultaneously. You will be responsible for:
1. Designing and supervising electrophysiology protocols (MEG and iEEG) to analyze auditory perception in ecological contexts (everyday sounds, multi-source mixtures).
2. Integrating behavioral measures (e.g., attention, detection of target sounds) with electrophysiological signals, in order to explain how brain activity aligns with low-level (acoustic) and high-level (semantic) factors.
3. Coordinating scientific efforts between Marseille (INT) and the partner team in Maastricht (ultra-high-field MRI and neural network modeling), ensuring methodological consistency and regular interactions.

Activités

Activities
• MEG and iEEG data collection:
o Organization and implementation of MEG recordings with healthy volunteers;
o Collaboration with partners for the collection of intracranial (iEEG) data from patients;
o Strict adherence to ethical and safety protocols.
• Data analysis:
o Data processing in Python (MNE Python, NumPy, etc.), including time-frequency analyses, connectivity measures, and Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA);
o Relating neuronal signals to computational models (deep neural networks).
• Scientific communication:
o Writing articles for peer-reviewed journals;
o Presenting results at international conferences and project follow-up meetings;
o Sharing datasets and code within an Open Science approach.
• Supervision and coordination:
o Possible co-supervision of students (Master's or PhD) for specific experiments or analyses;
o Acting as an interface with the Maastricht team to standardize protocols and analysis tools.

Compétences

Skills
• Education / Experience:
o PhD in neuroscience, cognitive science, biomedical engineering, or a related field.
o Proven experience in human electrophysiology (MEG, iEEG, or EEG), ideally with complex/natural stimuli.
• Technical and know-how:
o Proficiency in Python (signal analysis, advanced statistics).
o Knowledge of functional connectivity methods (coherence, causal models, etc.) and/or RSA.
o Familiarity with ethical and safety principles in human and clinical experimentation.
• Personal qualities:
o Ability to work in a team and communicate in an international environment.
o Rigor, organizational skills, and the ability to prioritize.
o Good command of English (oral, written).

Contexte de travail

This position is based at the Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), a CNRS/Aix-Marseille University laboratory located on the Timone campus in Marseille. You will work in the team led by Dr. Bruno Giordano.
The NASCE (ERC-Synergy) project brings together expertise in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and cognitive psychology, aiming to propose a unified theory of how the brain and machines analyze auditory scenes. Collaborations with Prof. Elia Formisano's team (Maastricht University) will allow you to engage with ultra-high-field MRI and AI modeling components.

Contraintes et risques

No particular constraints or risks.