Description of the thesis topic

This PhD project offers the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary research project aimed at elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying behavioral flexibility during decision-making. The study will focus on rodents and will seek to understand how internal states, such as stress, modulate the activity of neural circuits essential for adaptation.
The successful candidate will explore the dynamics of neural populations in key brain regions for decision-making and behavioral control: the frontal cortex and the striatum. These structures are fundamental to the balance between deliberate actions and more automatic behaviors. The objective is to understand how their activity underlies the ability to adapt choices when the environment changes.
To achieve this, the project will implement cutting-edge techniques in experimental neuroscience. The core activity will involve daily behavioral training of mice engaged in a food-seeking task, while performing large-scale electrophysiological recordings using Neuropixels probes. This state-of-the-art technology allows for the simultaneous measurement of the activity of hundreds of neurons in both targeted regions.
The research program also includes surgical interventions and intracardiac perfusions. Once the experiments are completed, a brain tissue clearing technique will be employed. Its specific purpose will be to render the tissue transparent in order to visualize the recording probe's trajectory with high precision and to confirm its anatomical location.
A significant part of the project will be dedicated to the analysis of the complex electrophysiological data. This analysis will be carried out in close collaboration with computational neuroscientists. Although the candidate will not be responsible for all the modeling, he/she will be expected to develop a critical mindset and a solid understanding of the generated data to actively participate in the interpretation of the results.
Finally, the thesis will culminate in the writing of manuscripts for publication in scientific journals. This project thus offers comprehensive training in integrative neuroscience, combining skills in surgery, animal behavior, advanced electrophysiology, and data analysis, all within a collaborative research environment.

Work Context

The project is developed at the Timone Neuroscience Institute (INT), a joint research institute between the CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, located on the Timone health campus in Marseille. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team and will be directly supervised by Fanny Cazettes (CNRS).

Constraints and risks

Risks associated with experimental work on rodents