We are always looking for talented graduate students and postdocs to join our group in the Biology Department at Tufts University. We combine electrophysiology, pharmacology, behavioral manipulations, and computational approaches to investigate the interplay between motor production, sensory feedback, and neural plasticity in vocal learning in songbirds.
Applicants should have a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in biology, physics, cognitive science, engineering or another technical field and want to apply your knowledge to understanding how neural circuits generate behavior and change with experience. Qualifications include dedication, creativity, and an ability to think and work independently. Experience with computer programming (Matlab, C+, and Labview) and/or electronics are a plus. If interested, please contact Mimi Kao at mimi.kao@tufts.edu.
CURRENT POSITIONS AVAILABLE
In collaboration with Dr. Aniruddh Patel, we are looking for a talented postdoc, research technician, and/or graduate student to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying rhythm perception. This work is an NIH-funded collaboration between our lab and Dr. Patel‘s lab to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying rhythm perception. Positions are based in the Biology department but trainees would be mentored by both PIs. If interested, please send a CV and short bio to Mimi Kao (mimi.kao@tufts.edu) or to Ani Patel (a.patel@tufts.edu).
Project summary: Investigating auditory-motor interactions during rhythm perception in a small animal model
Much of the world’s music has periodic rhythms with events repeating regularly in time, to which people clap, move, and sing. The ability to detect and predict periodic auditory rhythms is central to the positive effects of music-based therapies on a variety of neurological disorders, including improving phonological processing in dyslexia, enhancing language recovery after stroke, and normalizing gait in Parkinson’s disease. Yet the neural mechanisms underlying rhythm perception are not well understood, and progress is impeded by the lack of an animal model that allows precise measurement and manipulation of neural circuits during rhythm perception. Human neuroimaging studies indicate that perceiving periodic musical rhythms strongly engages the motor planning system, including premotor cortex and basal ganglia, even when the listener is not moving or preparing to move. Here, we test the hypothesis that the motor planning system is actively involved in learning to recognize temporal periodicity and communicates predictions about the timing of periodic events to the auditory system. We propose to take advantage of the well-described auditory-motor circuits in vocal learning songbirds and leverage the mechanistic studies possible in an animal model to test these ideas. Like humans (and unlike nonhuman primates), vocal learning birds have strong connections between motor planning regions and auditory regions due to their reliance on complex, learned vocal sequences for communication. Auditory-motor circuits in songbirds and humans have many structural and functional parallels. Recently, we showed that songbirds can readily learn to recognize a fundamental periodic pattern (isochrony, or equal timing between events) and can detect this pattern across a broad range of tempi. In Aim 1, we will test whether neural signals from premotor regions play a causal role in this ability to flexibly recognize periodic rhythms. In Aim 2, by recording in auditory cortex while reversibly silencing activity in a reciprocally connected premotor region, we will test whether premotor signals influence auditory processing of periodic rhythms. In Aim 3, by recording activity in a premotor region as birds learn to recognize isochrony as a global temporal pattern, we will determine whether premotor neurons develop sensitivity to temporal regularity and exhibit activity that predicts the timing of upcoming events. Establishing an animal model for rhythm perception will be transformative for music neuroscience, allowing detailed investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying rhythm perception and informing rhythm-based musical interventions to enhance function in normal and disease states.
The ideal postdoctoral candidate should have experience in neurophysiology and animal behavior as well as excellent experimental design, analytical, and communication skills. Programming skills (including python and MATLAB) and prior bioacoustics experience are preferred.
The ideal graduate student should have a bachelor’s degree in biology, psychology, or other technical field. Programming skills (e.g., python and MATLAB), prior bioacoustics experience, and experience conducting experiments with small animals are preferred. Some experience in neurophysiological recording is ideal, but this is not a requirement. PhD students in Biology receive full tuition support for six years, a competitive stipend, and health coverage, and receive extensive training in pedagogy, outreach and communication. The application deadline for graduate students is Dec. 1, 2023.