Until the last few decades, these fundamental problems were largely regarded as purely philosophical, but since the 1980s, pioneers have helped making consciousness a researchable, scientific topic; and novel methods and theoretical advances have recently yielded remarkable results, opening up the field for scientific and clinical progress.
Our group has studied physical and chemical brain signals at the cellular level using electrophysiology for over 30 years, and is now (for the last ~3 years) applying this knowledge to also multi-level consciousness research, funded by the European Human Brain Project (HBP; https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/) and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) , while we also continue studying brain signals at cellular and network levels.
In this project, the candidate will participate in our multi-level research on brain signals and consciousness, under guidance and in close collaboration with researchers in our multi-disciplinary, international team (biology, medicine, psychology, informatics, physics, mathematics; postdocs and PhD students from Norway, Germany, UK, China).
The candidate can choose between different types of problems and tasks (that can only be listed briefly here; please contact us for details):
- experiments in humans, using non-invasive methods and behavioral paradigms (EEG i.e. recording of electrical brain waves, and magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with imaging (MR /fMRI) during sleep, anesthesia, sensory stimulation, etc.)
- experiments in animals (rats, mice) using also invasive methods (surgery, electrophysiology, EEG/ EcOG, local field potentials, single-cell recording, calcium imaging, optogenetics) and behavioral paradigms, sensory stimulation, pharmacology, etc.
- experiments in isolated brain tissue and neurons (brain slices, patch clamp, imaging, optogenetics, molecular techniques, pharmacology, etc.)
See also: http://www.med.uio.no/imb/english/research/groups/brain-signalling/index.html
https://www.med.uio.no/imb/personer/vit/jstorm/index.html
The project will be performed at the Institute if Basal Medical Sciences (IMB), Section for Physiology, in the laboratory of Professor Johan F. Storm. The candidate will be supervised jointly by postdocs, PhD-students, and Johan F. Storm.
For questions, please contact Johan F. Storm (j.f.storm@medisin.uio.no)/ Domus Medica: rooms 1118-1121, at the Gaustad campus of University of Oslo). Mobile phone: +47 99295763.