We are seeking a highly motivated candidate for a 2-year post-doctoral position at the Center for Research in Cognition and Neuroscience (CRCN), Université libre de Bruxelles, in the field of numerical cognition.

 

The researcher will participate in a four-year project funded by the FNRS on visual numerosity extraction, supervised by Alain Content & Wim Gevers. The notion of a dedicated mental system devoted to extraction and representation of numerosity is a central concept in contemporary cognitive science. Yet, both behavioral and ERP evidence has been put forward to suggest that with visual collections of dots, rather than extracting numerosity per se, the perceptual mechanisms use continuous visual cues that covary naturally with numerosity. The project aims to produce new behavioral and neurophysiological evidence on this issue by disentangling perceptual mechanisms of extraction from general-purpose decision processes.

 

The post-doc will mainly contribute to one work package of the project using ERP techniques to study the time-course of processing of visual collection of simple elements, under various task conditions. He/she will also collaborate to other work packages through supervision or co-supervision of master thesis projects and discussions with other members of the team.

 

Candidates must have a recent Ph.D (max. six years) in psychology or cognitive science at the starting date of the contract and should not have lived or worked in Belgium for more than 24 months during the last 3 years. Persons with research experience in the field of numerical cognition will be preferred, and expertise in ERP data collection and analysis is an asset. Excellent programming competence with Python/R/Matlab is also a plus. Some command of French would be required (i.e., to to interact with adult participants in testing).

 

The CRCN is part of the faculty of psychology and affiliated to the ULB Neuroscience Institute. It comprises more than 60 full-time researchers who explore a wide range of topics using behavioural experimentation, imaging methods, and clinical research. The CRCN offers a state-of-the-art technical platform which, in addition to numerous individual or collective testing booths dedicated to behavioural experiments, includes two EEG/EMG rooms, NIRS, a babylab, eye-tracking equipment, and a sleep lab. Thanks to the ULB Neuroscience Institute, the CRCN also enjoys privileged access to the imaging platform of the Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau (LCFC) at the Erasmus University Hospital. This includes a 3T fMRI scanner, MEG, TMS, and PET.

 

Applicants should send a cover letter and CV as a single PDF file and also arrange for at least two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Alain Content and Wim Gevers before December 15th. The preferred starting date for this position could be between January and March 2017.