A post-doctoral position is available from January 2014 in the Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), CNRS UMR 5105, Grenoble University (France) on the neural correlates of inner speech. This offer is available until 15 december 2013.

 

The LPNC is an outstanding research unit with long-lasting expertise in the field of cognitive sciences including psychology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychiatry, modelling and neuroscience. The neuroimaging experiments will take place at the Neuroimaging Research Center (Grenoble Hospital, Joseph Fourier University) in Grenoble, which offers access to state-of-the-art neuroimaging methods, including a research-only 3T MRI scanner, EEG and TMS, NIRS.

 

Project
This post is funded by a 4-year ANR grant (from the French National Research Agency) entitled INNERSPEECH. The INNERSPEECH project aims at providing a thorough theoretical account of inner speech, the silent production of words in one’s mind, by addressing 4 questions.
The first question – “WHAT”  – relates to the nature of inner speech. Is inner speech closer to mental simulation of overt speech or to speech recall from memory traces (speech listening)? Which cerebral networks are at the origin of inner speech? What are their dynamics?
The second – “HOW” – explores inner speech manifestations. Inner speech can be deliberate, when we mentally count objects, or more unconstrained, when our “mind wanders” during resting states. Is mind wandering neurally different from voluntary inner speech?
The third – “WHO” – deals with agency in inner speech. How do we know that the inner voice we hear is self-generated and not produced by someone else? We can hear our inner voice timbre and pitch. We can have imaginary dialogues with close relatives and we then hear their voices. How do we not confuse these inner voices with external voices?
The last – “WHAT PURPOSE” – is that of the role of inner speech in attentional tasks. Can we explain why deliberate inner speech helps us in some cognitive tasks? And do mind wandering or excessive inner speech impair task performance? Can we train to refrain from engaging in excessive inner speech, can rumination in depression or auditory verbal hallucination in schizophrenia be reduced?
A multi-paradigm approach will be implemented, gathering data from fMRI, intracranial EEG, TMS coupled with EMG and EEG, and behaviour.
The INNERSPEECH project involves specialists of fMRI (LPNC, UMS IRMaGe, GIPSA-lab, Grenoble), connectivity (CNoS, U. British Columbia, Canada), intracranial EEG (INSERM U1028 Brain dynamics and cognition, Lyon; Labo. Neurophysiopathologie de l'épilepsie, Grenoble U. Hospital), TMS and Human Electrophysiology (Neurolab, Ferrara U., Italy; LPNC), source/agency monitoring (CNoS) and inner speech characterisation (LPNC, GIPSA-lab, U1028).


Job description
The post-doctoral fellow will be mainly involved in setting up the design of the fMRI protocol as well as in the fMRI acquisitions during various types of inner speech, problem solving and resting states. Behavioural, functional and connectivity analyses will be carried out. Additionally, the postdoc fellow will be involved in preliminary studies conducted using intracranial EEG, and TMS-EEG-EMG. The post-doctoral fellow will benefit from the theoretical knowledge and methodological expertise of the members of the project.

Qualifications
Applicants should have a PhD in Psychology or Cognitive Neuroscience, a strong background in behavioural and neuroimaging (mainly fMRI and additionally EEG-TMS) methods and data analysis. Familiarity with computer programming (Matlab) and with neuroimaging data analysis tools (e.g. SPM) is essential. Fluent French and English, strong oral and written communication skills are required.

Conditions of employment
The duration of the position is initially one year, with the possibility of renewal for an additional year. Salary is based on research experience. The position is available from the beginning of January, 2014, although the start date is flexible.

 

How to apply
Please send:
- a cover letter,
- a full curriculum vitae with a list of publications,
- a research statement describing your past achievements and future interests,
- contact details of two academic referees
to:
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and
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Closing Date: 15 December 2013

 

Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition
UMR CNRS 5105, Université Pierre Mendès-France, Grenoble, France