Seeking PhD candidates to work on hyperscanning + autism project (UPF-Barcelona)

[Magdalena Matyjek]

Hello,

Would it be possible to please share the following message with your mailing list? Thank you so much!

-------------------------

A PHD CANDIDATE SOUGHT FOR AN AUTISM NEUROPSYCHOLOGY PROJECT AT UPF IN BARCELONA

 

 

Title:

Inter-brain synchrony in autistic, non-autistic, and cross-neurotype social interactions

 

Project description:

Autism is characterised by challenges in social interaction and communication; although these challenges have often been characterised as pathological, they may at least partly arise from differences in interaction styles between autistic and non-autistic individuals. In neurotypical individuals, synchrony in oscillatory neural signals between two people is believed to emerge through  the continuous adaptation of each partner’s behaviour, facilitating successful social interactions. While existing hyperscanning studies largely point to decreased neural synchrony in cross-neurotype dyads (one autistic and one non-autistic), no study to date has reported hyperscanning data from autistic dyads. We will collect EEG data from dyads of two autistic individuals, two non-autistic individuals, and cross-neurotype pairs as they engage in naturalistic interactions. This project aims to investigate whether and how the brains of autistic and non-autistic individuals synchronise when interacting with peers of the same or different neurotypes.

 

Requirements:

-          Very good command of English and Spanish (Catalan would be an asset)

-          Basic programming skills (Python, R or similar).

-          Prior lab experience with human EEG 

-          Good social skills

-          Willingness to enrol in the UPF doctoral program and apply for open call PhD funding (for example, FI, FPU, INPhINIT, etc. – see an overview of funding options with salary ranges and timelines at https://www.upf.edu/web/phdfunding)

 

Applications from neurodivergent candidates are highly encouraged as part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

 

Timeline:

3-4 years (depending on funding), starting from winter term 2025-26.

 

Supervisors:

Dr. Magdalena Matyjek, Prof. Salvador Soto Faraco

 

Institute:

Multisensory Research Group (https://mrg.upf.edu/), Center for Brain and Cognition (https://cbc.upf.edu/), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (https://upf.edu/)

 

Introductory readings:

-          https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/tkmyw (Matyjek et al., 2025 preprint)

-          https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110355 (Li, Zimmermann, Konvalinka, 2025)

-          https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00215 (Konvalinka & Roepstorff, 2012)

 

Contact:

Interested candidates should send their CV and motivation letter (1 page, including names of two referees) in English as soon as possible and before 01/09/2025 to: magdalenaa...@upf.edu.

__________________________________________________

Magdalena Matyjek, PhD
Junior Leader Fellow

She/her
lenamatyjek.com
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4546-6480

La Caixa Junior Leader Fellow
Multisensory Research Group (mrg.upf.edu)
Center for Brain and Cognition (cbc.upf.edu)
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (upf.edu)

Associated Researcher
Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction (dziobek-lab.org)
Institut für Psychologie
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (hu-berlin.de)

Associated Researcher

Social Neuroscience Group (antoniahamilton.com)

Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
University College London (ucl.ac.uk)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
My working hours may be different from yours. Do not feel obliged to respond to this e-mail outside your working day.

Mi horario de trabajo puede no ser el suyo. No se sienta obligad@ a responder a este correo eléctronico fuera de su jornada de trabajo.