Estimadas y estimados miembros de la SEPEX:

Os reenviamos un mensaje sobre la oferta de un contrato predoctoral de tres años de duración en el departamento de Psicología de la Universitat Jaume I (Castellón).

La Junta Directiva de la SEPEX

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 PhD position within the Department of Psychology, University Jaume I, Castelló, Spain 

Applications are invited for a PhD position (3 yrs, full-time). The position is expected to start in january 2023. 

Research environment 

The PhD will take place at the Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging research group, University Jaume I, Castelló, Spain. They will join a vibrant community of cognitive neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, and neuroimaging researchers that form a supportive environment and training opportunities in neuroimaging clinical and healthy populations. 

Supervision 

The main supervisor of this project will be Dr. Maya Visser. She has worked on several projects at international research centres in the Netherlands, UK and Spain (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6302-0672). The PhD student will receive training plans and specialized courses to support their research career. He/she is anticipated to publish several articles and attend national and international conferences to present the research outcomes. 

Project 

The objective of this fMRI project is to investigate the interaction between the semantic and emotion brain networks during social comparisons and when experiencing feelings of self-blame and guilt. These social behaviours are key elements in mood and anxiety disorders. The current PhD project will investigate whether aberrant interaction patterns between the semantic (anterior temporal lobes) and emotion (fronto-amygdala) networks underly high-trait subclinical anxiety, thereby advancing both basic and clinical science. 

Eligibility & payment 

Applicants need to be an EU passport holder. They should have a Master in Neuroscience or related, with competitive grades. They should have a proficient level in English and be willing to learn Spanish. 

It will be a full-time three-year contract with social security, in line with Spanish stipend rates. There are no tuition fees. 

To apply 

For further informal enquiries about the project and to apply for this position please contact Dr. Maya Visser (visser@uji.es). Applications should include: 

• Letter of motivation (paragraph): Describe your previous research experience and explain why you are interested in this position 
• CV 

Reference list 

The literature below is of interest to the current project: 

Binney, R., & Ramsey, R. (2020). Social Semantics: The role of conceptual knowledge and cognitive control in a neurobiological model of the social brain. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 112(May), 28–38. DOI

Duan, S., Lawrence, A., Valmaggia, L., Moll, J., & Zahn, R. (2021). Maladaptive blame-related action tendencies are associated with vulnerability to major depressive disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 145, 70–76. DOI

Lambon Ralph, M. A., Jefferies, E., Patterson, K., & Rogers, T. T. (2016). The neural and computational bases of semantic cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 18(1), 42–55. DOI

Lythe, K. E., Moll, J., Gethin, J. A., Workman, C. I., Green, S., Lambon Ralph, M. A., Deakin, J. F. W. W., & Zahn, R. (2015). Self-blame–Selective Hyperconnectivity Between Anterior Temporal and Subgenual Cortices and Prediction of Recurrent Depressive Episodes. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(11), 1119–1126. DOI