This is one of many projects in competition for the current funding opportunities available within the Department of Psychology

Project title: Efficient coding in touch

Primary supervisor: Dr Hannes Saal

Co-supervisor(s): Dr S Wilson

Project description: Efficient coding models can successfully explain the emergence of different features detectors along the visual pathway, such as center-surround receptive fields, simple and complex cells, and even higher-level visual neurons. However, whether this approach also works to explain the tuning of somatosensory neurons is currently unknown. Indeed, a unified understanding of somatosensory cortical neurons, similar to the simple/complex cell dichotomy in the visual system, does not exist at present, with only a vague understanding of what features these neurons are responsive too. This project will explore cortical feature tuning in the somatosensory system through the lens of efficient coding.
This PhD project is suitable for applicants with a background in computational neuroscience or robotics.

Start date: 1 October 2017

Requirements: Applicants must have a minimum of a first class or high upper second-class undergraduate honours degree and a distinction or high merit at Masters level in psychology or a related discipline.

For further details and the application process please visit:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/psychology/prospectivepg/funding

Closing date for applications is 5pm Wednesday, 1 February 2017

source:jobs.ac.uk