Postdoctoral position at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP)

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France

DETAILS OF THE OFFER

Working place:  Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP) in the group of Fani Koukouli

Missions:

The IPNP is a research centre within the GHU Paris site Sainte-Anne which bridges the gap between basic and clinical research and offers a multidisciplinary neuroscience community.

Team: The team 'Cholinergic modulation of cortical inhibitory circuits in health and disease' seeks for a highly motivated Postdoctoral fellow to join our lab at the IPNP.

Project: The neocortex plays a crucial role in all cognitive functions. This is accomplished through connections between neuronal networks which emerge from synaptic interactions of many neuron types. Inhibitory interneurons constitute a sparse but crucial neuronal class which coordinate cortical activity.

One of their most remarkable features is their spectacular diversity, however, a definitive classification of interneurons is still being defined. Inhibitory circuits are controlled by different neuromodulators. Among them, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) highly controls cortical activity by signalling through two classes of ACh receptors : the ionotropic nicotinic receptors and the metabotropic muscarinic receptors. Cortical ACh signalling shapes neuronal circuit dynamics and underlies specific aspects of cognitive functions and behaviors including attention, learning, memory, perception and motivation.

Thus, it is not surprising that ACh receptor gene variants are strongly linked to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Evidence identified that cortical inhibitory circuits and cholinergic neurotransmission are affected in psychiatric disorders, however, the actual interplay between these two systems is unknown.

Our team uses multiscale experimental approaches, combining genetics, two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice, behavior, electrophysiology and optogenetics to understand

1. how cholinergic transmission affects specific cortical subnetworks
2. the cellular, molecular and synaptic logic governing the modulation of inhibitory circuits by cholinergic inputs and
3. how inhibitory interneuron computations are affected by human genetic variants of ACh receptors linked to psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

Qualifications:

Highly motivated candidates with a PhD in Neuroscience or Neurobiology with experience in slice electrophysiology, two-photon calcium imaging and/or computational skills are encouraged to apply.

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