“Dreams, emotions and memory”

  • English language proficiency required
  • Amsterdam

Project title: ‘Sleep, emotions and memory’

Start date:     Fall 2022

Duration:       4 months or longer

Lab:                  Sleep and Memory Lab, Psychology Department, Brain &

Cognition program, University of Amsterdam

Supervisor:    Msc. João Patriota (j.patriota@uva.nl),

Dr. Lucia M. Talamini (l.m.talamini@uva.nl)

Our lab developed a unique technique for reading and predicting brain activity in real time, called closed-loop neurostimulation (Cox et al. 2014, PLoS One). Closed-loop neurostimulation can be used to boost sleep oscillations, but also to alter memories during sleep. The effects on consciousness during sleep (i.e. dreams), and on emotional regulation are yet unknown. These different projects will address how manipulating sleep oscillations can influence dreams, memory consolidation and emotions.

An internship in our lab offers students the possibility to become acquainted with some of the most advanced EEG techniques available today and to get familiar with sleep research and its applications.

Your work will consist of:

  • Performing whole night high-density EEG polysomnographic recordings (together with another student or investigator)
  • Data-analysis (the type and complexity of these analyses will depend on your background and the length of the internship)
  • Critically reviewing the existing literature
  • Writing a research report

Requirements

Experience with EEG recording and analysis, signal analysis, programming (especially in Matlab), sleep studies, IT and electrotechnical engineering will all come in handy in our lab.

Research internships in our lab tend to be technically, theoretically and logistically quite demanding and require working out of office hours, including at night. We expect applications from highly motivated students.

Applying

To apply or ask more information, email João Patriota (j.patriota@uva.nl), and cc Mathijs Bergers (mathijs.bergers@student.uva.nl) and Lucia Talamini (l.m.talamini@uva.nl). With your motivation letter, please include your CV, a list of your academic courses and grades and, if applicable, a description of previous research (internship) experience.

To apply for this job email your details to j.patriota@uva.nl