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MSc thesis project: Brain plasticity after spinal cord injury
The Neural Control of Movement Lab (NCM) at ETH Zürich, in collaboration with the Paralab at the Spinal Cord Injury Centre at Balgrist University Hospital, is conducting a neuroimaging experiment aimed at identifying how our brain changes following a tetraplegic spinal cord injury.
Following spinal cord injury, the brain is deprived of a major source of sensory input. This is thought to lead to extensive reorganisation in brain areas containing detailed map-like body representations (e.g. the primary somatosensory cortex), such that neighbouring body-part representations ‘invade’ the area deprived of input and/or output. This assumption of drastic reorganisation has been highly influential both in the neuroscientific literature and the clinic. However, using a novel experimental approach in arm amputees, it was recently demonstrated that the functional representation of the missing hand is preserved even decades after amputation. In the current project, we aim to understand these seemingly contradictory processes in further detail. We will combine functional MRI with behavioural and clinical testing to understand which determinants allow sensory representations in S1 to be maintained and which determinants drive reorganisation following sensory input loss.The goal of the MSc student will be to collect behavioural and clinical data and provide assistance with the fMRI assessments. The student will further conduct some preliminary analysis of the behavioural, clinical, and fMRI data.
**Since this project requires extensive training, we are only able to consider MSc students who aim to join this project for their MSc thesis.**
Following spinal cord injury, the brain is deprived of a major source of sensory input. This is thought to lead to extensive reorganisation in brain areas containing detailed map-like body representations (e.g. the primary somatosensory cortex), such that neighbouring body-part representations ‘invade’ the area deprived of input and/or output. This assumption of drastic reorganisation has been highly influential both in the neuroscientific literature and the clinic. However, using a novel experimental approach in arm amputees, it was recently demonstrated that the functional representation of the missing hand is preserved even decades after amputation. In the current project, we aim to understand these seemingly contradictory processes in further detail. We will combine functional MRI with behavioural and clinical testing to understand which determinants allow sensory representations in S1 to be maintained and which determinants drive reorganisation following sensory input loss.The goal of the MSc student will be to collect behavioural and clinical data and provide assistance with the fMRI assessments. The student will further conduct some preliminary analysis of the behavioural, clinical, and fMRI data.
**Since this project requires extensive training, we are only able to consider MSc students who aim to join this project for their MSc thesis.**
Tasks
Administer clinical and behavioural tests
Provide assistance with MRI testing
Data organisation and analysis
Your Profile
Requirements
Student in Health Sciences and Technology, Psychology, Biomedical Imaging, Neuroscience, Human Movement Sciences, Biology, or related fields of study
Swiss-German speaker, fluent in English speaking and writing
self-organised and independent
disciplined
reliable
friendly and warm personality (able to make chit-chat, while sticking to a tight testing schedule)
some experience in coding
knowledge of statistical testing
better to have:
experience in patient communication
experience in processing data
experience in collecting behavioural or neuroimaging data
experience with SPSS or RStat
already living in Zurich
Tasks Administer clinical and behavioural tests Provide assistance with MRI testing Data organisation and analysis
Your Profile Requirements Student in Health Sciences and Technology, Psychology, Biomedical Imaging, Neuroscience, Human Movement Sciences, Biology, or related fields of study Swiss-German speaker, fluent in English speaking and writing self-organised and independent disciplined reliable friendly and warm personality (able to make chit-chat, while sticking to a tight testing schedule) some experience in coding knowledge of statistical testing
better to have: experience in patient communication experience in processing data experience in collecting behavioural or neuroimaging data experience with SPSS or RStat already living in Zurich
Please submit a short motivation letter, a CV and record of your studies to:
Dr. Sanne Kikkert
Neural Control of Movement Lab, NCM Lab
ETH Zürich
Sannne.kikkert@hest.ethz.ch
Please submit a short motivation letter, a CV and record of your studies to: Dr. Sanne Kikkert Neural Control of Movement Lab, NCM Lab ETH Zürich Sannne.kikkert@hest.ethz.ch