Type of contract CDD
Location Lyon, France
Statut Available
Key Words neuroethology, neuroscience, oxytocin
Details of the offer
Working place: Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod / CNRS
Missions:
he objective is to study the neural bases of acoustic communication and affiliation in freely moving and spontaneously behaving marmosets (a small primate). Additionally, we will investigate the effects of oxytocin, a neurohormone that modulates social behavior, on communication and affiliation, as well as the underlying neural activity.
To do so, we are using high channel count electrophysiological probes to wirelessly record neurons in marmosets that are vocally interacting with each other in their home cage. Their vocalizations and cardiac activity are recorded with a wearable jacket. We are also employing chemogenetics to activate or inhibit oxytocin neurons. We need to build a video system to automatically track marmosets in their home cage and automatically label their postures.
The successful candidate will join our international research team ‘Neuroprime’ led by Dr Sylvia Wirth, with expertise in electrophysiology in non-human primates and social behavior. The team is composed of several PhD students and 2 research engineers. The Lyon Institute of Cognitive Sciences is part of a rich multinational community in a central strategic location in France for neuroscience. The institute is renowned for conducting comparative research on several primate species (human (neurotypical and patients), chimpanzee, macaques, baboons, marmosets), focusing on social behaviors and other cognitive functions. It has developed cutting edge techniques such as combined PET-fMRI, wireless electrophysiology with high channel count, automated tracking techniques, etc.
Main Responsabilities
The research engineer main task will be to design a strategy, set up the video system (hardware), and create a pipeline that outputs the monkeys’ position, their gaze direction, their posture and activity. This system will have to be precisely synchronize with other data streams (audio, neural, cardiac, etc.).
Additionally, a secondary project will be to analyze 3D audio data and perform automatic labeling of call types and caller identity
Main tasks
1 – Design of neuroethology experiments.
2 – Preprocess raw data (video, audio).
3 – Write a pipeline for automatic labeling
4 – Participate in writing scientific articles reporting on the data.
Qualifications:
Profile
Knowledge
Know-how
Soft skills
Type of job
Type of contract CDD
Application deadline
Employment start date 15/09/2025
Contact
Please send your CV, a cover letter, and contact information for 2 references to Arthur Lefevre.