General environment:

The research is focused on the uncovering the mechanisms underlying i) the construction of an epileptic brain, ii) the genesis of seizures and iii) the cognitive deficits associated with epilepsy. We use a multidisciplinary vertical approach from the gene level to behavior, including in vitro/in vivo electrophysiology; as well as a horizontal approach from animal models to epileptic patients, from the bench to the bedside. Our team has unraveled many key mechanisms (Nature Neuroscience, 1998, 1999, 2001; Neuron 2001; Science 2004; PNAS, 2005, 2008; J Neurosc 2009, Brain, 2009) and will provide a unique multidisciplinary bilingual working environment, in which basic and clinical research are fused.

Position: Brain dynamics during the construction of an epileptic network

Start date: November 01 2009 and later.

Duration: 3 years

Funding: ANR grant, ANTARES

Research project:

We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow with a background in non-linear dynamics and computational neuroscience. We have designed a system enabling us to record simultaneously in 17 different brain regions in rats. Local field potentials are collected in various experimental conditions (different cognitive states, including spatial and non spatial memory tasks) in normal animals, and following an insult, which will lead to epilepsy. The goal of the project is to describe and characterize the trajectories of brain activities in the different experimental conditions, to determine how activities in different regions are coordinated, and how this dynamics is modified in an epileptic context. These behaviors will be mathematically modeled and computationally implemented in a large-scale network model, whose predictions will be then experimentally tested. Experimental and theoretical research will be closely coordinated and the candidate will have the possibility to learn and perform the in vivo experiments, as well as receive training in theoretical neuroscience.

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