PhD position at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona funded by the TOUCH COFUND project

15 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Research Field

Computer science
Mathematics » Applied mathematics
Psychological sciences » Cognitive science

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Spain

Application Deadline

30 Jun 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

H2020 / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101126533

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Topic: Dissecting the contribution of dysregulated sense of agency to psychotic disorders.

A PhD position is available at the Person-Environment Interaction in Risk and Resilience for Mental Health Research Group -Department of Clinical and Health Psychology from Universitat Autònoma Barcelona and the Computational Neuroscience unit from the Centre Recerca Matemàtica under the supervision of Neus Vidal Barrantes (Clinical Psychology) and Alexandre Hyafil (Computational neuroscience). We are looking for a highly motivated candidate that will investigate novel experimental paradigms to measure Sense of Agency and use these paradigms to test associations between them and psychosis spectrum disorders.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is hypothesized to be fundamentally a disturbance of the self. Particular aspects of the self, the Sense of Agency (SoA), appear to be disrupted in individuals with SZ. Agency was believed to be a straightforward matter of conscious intentions causing actions. The self appeared to be the agent, as being capable of inducing physical events as causal consequences of certain of their conscious mental states. Research indicates that the genesis of agency and the relation to the self is much less straightforward than it has been previously assumed. Rather than agency being based solely on mental causation, SoA appears to be based on the interplay of both unconscious and conscious processes.

One of the core features of a disrupted SoA is the misidentification of the source of internally generated stimuli, ie, the agent. This is the underlying principle of the source monitoring theory, which proposes that patients misattribute the source that generated a stimulus, which can result in psychotic symptoms like thought insertion (e.g., “ideas being forced into my head by someone else”). This follows the context of a misattribution of agency, because the source of the “ideas” is misattributed (exogeneous rather than endogenous).

The project aims at developing novel experimental paradigms to measure SoA along its various dimensions and use these paradigms to test associations between these various dimensions and psychosis spectrum disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ). The project will consist in: i) developing new motor tasks on tactile device (e.g. drawing, darts, shooting game) where the feedback will be distorted on each trial by a certain amount, and link the level of distortion to the subjective reports of how much participants feel in the control during the task; ii) develop a computational model of SoA and fit this model to participant behavior, unveiling computational markers for the different dimensions of SoA; iii) perform a causal intervention task where we induce short-live emotions / meta-cognitive states and measure their impact on our computational markers of SoA; iv) perform a mobile-based longitudinal study to measure how their fluctuations relate to changes in symptom in psychosis spectrum disorders. We hope the project can further our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie psychosis spectrum disorders and open the path to new diagnostic tools based on digital technologies.

This ambitious transdisciplinary project will benefit from the complementary expertise of the partnering teams in computational neuroscience, modelling of behavioral data, neuroimaging, individual differences, and clinical psychology.

The successful candidate will choose between two doctoral programs: Clinical and Health Psychology doctoral program or  Mathematics doctoral program at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in the framework of the TOUCH project. TOUCH (“Towards the next generatiOn of excellent yoUng doctoral researchers on mental health by developing an intersectoral & transdisciplinary approaCH”) is a new excellent doctoral programme co-funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Actions of the European Commission and led by the UAB for the recruitment and training of 24 doctoral candidates in the field of mental health and wellbeing.

Person-Environment Interaction in Risk and Resilience for Mental Health research group integrates clinical practitioners from public mental health centers in Barcelona and world-leading clinical, developmental and genetics researchers. Our approach is characterized by a multi-level approach, integrating the study of person-factors, environmental exposures and genetic variability that moderates the impact of environmental factors on the person.

The computational neuroscience unit at the CRM is made up of the groups of three Principal Investigators (Alex Roxin, Klaus Wimmer and Alex Hyafil). The unit is an active member of a larger, Barcelona-wide Neuroscience community which includes theoretical, experimental and clinical groups. Broadly speaking, we investigate how large assemblies of interacting neurons give rise to animal and human behaviour. Our approach combines computational modeling, behavioural experiments, neuroimaging and data analysis.

We are looking for candidates with an excellent CV, ahigh degree of ambition and motivation, and with good personal qualities to work in our Team. We offer a 3-year full-time contract (37,5 hours/week) and a gross salary of 2.375 €/month (the salary will be the same for the 3 years).

The candidates must fulfil the following eligibility criteria from the EC: Mobility rule: candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately preceding the deadline for the programme call. Experience rule: researchers must be doctoral candidates at the date of recruitment, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the deadline of the open calls. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not yet formally awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible. Candidates must hold a degree that allows admission to the official doctoral programme at UAB.

Additional requirements for a stronger application are:

• MSc or equivalent in Cognitive Science, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science or a related field.
• Proficiency in English at a minimum B2 level.
• Interest in learning computational science methods.
• Strong communication skills to effectively disseminate research results to diverse audiences.
• Other skills:
  • Ability to work in a team, critical thinking, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
  • Theoretical background in Cognitive psychology, Statistics and Computer Science.

Informal inquiries about the position or specific requirements are welcome!

Interested applicants should apply through the TOUCH online platform by submitting a full CV, a motivation letter, two letters of recommendation and academic and English level certificates. The call will be open from the 1st of April to the 30th of June 2024. More information about the TOUCH project, the recruitment process, and the application platform are available on the TOUCH website .

Requirements

Research Field

Psychological sciences » Cognitive science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Mathematics » Applied mathematics

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Computer science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Country

Spain

City

Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona)

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://webs.uab.cat/touch/

Contact

State/Province

Barcelona

City

Cerdanyola del Vallés

Website

http://www.uab.cat

Street

Campus UAB

Postal Code

08193

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED