Missions

Evidence from animal models shows that sleep is necessary to consolidate Hebbian plasticity during the critical period to endorse ocular dominance plasticity, promoting synaptic plasticity. However, it is still not known whether sleep has similar effects after the closure of the critical period and whether sleep can have similar effects on homeostatic plasticity induced by monocular deprivation. Recent evidence shows that, in adult humans, the shift in ocular dominance induced by 2h of monocular deprivation is preserved after two hours of sleep and that the amplitude and the slope of sleep slow oscillations increase in participants showing high homeostatic plasticity levels. Both homeostatic plasticity and SSO are linked to GABAergic inhibition, the observed consolidation of homeostatic plasticity by SSO could therefore in principle be mediated by a change in intracortical excitation/inhibition balance.
The aim of the project is to measure the changes in intracortical excitation/inhibition balance (Glutamate/GABA concentration) induced by short-term monocular deprivation in the subsequent sleep, and their relationship with the behavioural effect of short-term monocular deprivation on ocular dominance. Glutamate and GABA and electro-physiological activity will be registered by combining magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 3 Tesla and Polysomnography. The project is part of the ERC project HOPLA (www.hopla-project.fr)

Activités

The candidate activities will include: coding of a psychophysical experiment, data collection and analysis (Psychophysics, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Polysomnography).

Compétences

- Background in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Experience with psychophysical methods, programming of psychophysical experiments (Matlab, Python…) and data analysis
- Experience with neuroimaging methods, in particular with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and/or EEG

Contexte de travail

The project will take place at the Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, at the Department of Cognitive Studies of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, however the project will be performed in collaboration with Brown University, where the data collection will take place. The candidate will therefore travel between Paris and Boston.

Contraintes et risques

Frequent travels between Paris and Boston

Informations complémentaires

The candidate will need to provide a motivation letter, an extended CV and (at least) 2 recommendation letters