Missions

Over the past five years, we have developed several innovative motor brain-machine interfaces based on the readout of activity in the primary motor cortex (Arduin et al. 2013, Abbasi et al. 2018), and we have trained mice to control a custom-made mouse forelimb prosthesis with these brain-machine interfaces (Ferrand et al. 2025). In parallel, we have identified strategies to deliver somatosensory information to subjects through direct cortical stimulation (Lassagne et al. 2022, Abbasi et al. 2023). In
particular, in closed-loop experiments, we have conveyed artificial, behaviorally-relevant somatosensory feedback to support motor control via a brain-machine interface.
A post-doctoral position is available to design innovative closed-loop bidirectional brain-machine interfacing of our miniature upper-limb prosthesis. We aim to explore proprioceptive-like cortical feedback strategies, and probe their impact on prosthesis control performance and embodiment.
Towards this goal, we aim to take advantage of our all-optical mesoscale brain-machine interfacing strategy.
The candidate should have experience with animal experiments, and be able to work with a multidisciplinary and international team. We are looking for candidates with a strong background both in neuroscience (functional imaging, optogenetics, operant conditioning) and in engineering, as our project will involve significant efforts related to programming, robotics, optics and more.

Activités

The researcher will be responsible for the design and experimentation towards new strategies to provide proprioceptive feedback to mice in the context of the closed-loop control of a mouse-scale prosthesis

Compétences

The candidate should have experience with animal experiments, and be able to work with a multidisciplinary and international team. We are looking for candidates with a strong background both in neuroscience (functional imaging, optogenetics, operant conditioning) and in engineering, as our project will involve significant efforts related to programming, robotics, optics and more. However, we are open to many types of profiles. Do not hesitate to apply.

Contexte de travail

The Touch&Move laboratory (heads: Isabelle Ferezou & Valérie Ego-Stengel) aims to understand somatosensory-motor integration in the mouse system through the recording and manipulation of neuronal dynamics, both during haptic sensorimotor tasks and in brain-machine interfacing contexts.
Our team is located at the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (NeuroPSI), France, within one of the main research universities in Europe. We benefit from a dynamical scientific environment, and have access to many research platforms, including well-equipped imaging and animal facilities.