Type of contract CDD
Location Montpellier, France
Statut Available
Key Words neuroscience, audition, implants
Details of the offer
Place of work: Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM) / Inserm
Missions:
Project summary: The electric cochlear implant is currently the only rehabilitation approach for severe hearing impairment. While this device can restore speech perception in quiet environments, hearing remains impaired in most everyday situations. This is due to the wide spread of excitation around each electrode contact. Optogenetics paves the way for future optical cochlear implants (oCI), which would potentially have up to ten times more stimulation channels.
One of the main challenges in developing oCIs is identifying a channelrhodopsin capable of stimulating cochlear neurons at a high frequency. Recent work from our group shows that partial optogenetic activation of the cochlea can lead to complete activation of the central nervous system. This result is essential for the development of oCIs, as it means that many of the channelrhodopsins that have already been screened could be suitable for encoding sound optically. However, the mechanism responsible for this neural gain is unknown, as is its robustness to brain plasticity following hearing loss. In this project, we aim to validate the robustness of the central compensation in optical hearing on animal models that reproduce human hearing impairment. We will also study the underlying mechanism and validate the efficacy of the optical approach compared to state-of-the-art electrical approach.
Qualifications:
This offer might be for you if:
Type of job
Type of contract CDD
Application deadline
Employment start date 01/12/2025
Contact
Applications should include a motivation letter, CV and the contact details of at least two referees.
Please send your application only via e-mail as a single PDF-file to Antoine Huet