بورس دانشگاه Cardiff انگلستان بورسیه تحصیلی دکتری

Closing Date:  ۲۹/۰۷/۲۰۱۶

Duration: ۳ years

Funding Amount: Full UK/EU fees, plus stipend

Level of Study: Postgraduate Research

Regions: EU (Non UK), International (Non EU), UK

Project title: Visual perception in the presence of involuntary eye movements

To avoid mistaking retinal image motion for real world movement, the visual system must take eye movements into account. This is achieved by summing eye velocity (extra-retinal information arising from the motor system, referred to as ‘efference copy’) with the retinal image motion. Any mismatch in the two neural signals generates apparent background movement. In fact, the brain’s efference copy mechanism is not perfect, even for normal observers, who consistently report that stationary backgrounds appear to move during pursuit eye movements (the Filehne illusion). By exploiting such eye movement-based illusions, it has been possible to gain an understanding of the underlying eye movement control systems in normal subjects.

Infantile nystagmus (IN) is a relatively common oculomotor disorder (1.4 per 1000 population), present at birth or soon after, that is characterised by repetitive, involuntary horizontal eye movements. Like any eye movement, the horizontal oscillation of IN generates retinal image motion, and therefore this condition affords us the opportunity to test a variety of models of oculomotor control and the impact of eye movements on perception.

This project will examine visual perception during nystagmus eye movements to test a variety of existing oculomotor models on a population whose eyes are constantly moving and yet who do not report that they perceive the retinal image motion. The outcome is to better understand basic oculomotor control mechanisms and their interplay with visual motion perception in the normal population by comparing performance in typical adult subjects with those who have IN.

Specifically, this project will compare various pursuit-induced motion illusions in those with and without IN, including, but not limited to, the Aubert-Fleischl phenomenon, trajectory misperception and heading perception. Further work will investigate how visual perception during IN oscillation informs visuomotor action.

We invite applicants with backgrounds in experimental psychology, biology, engineering, vision science, optometry or related disciplines. Enthusiasm for research and a keen interest in human visual perception, and in particular eye movements, are essential. Programming experience in MATLAB is desirable, however training will be provided.

Supervisors: Lee McIlreavy

Professor Jonathan Erichsen

Start date: 01 July 2016 or 01 October 2016

Number of Studentships: 1

Funding

This studentship consists of full UK/EU tuition fees at UK/EU rate, as well as a Doctoral Stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum £۱۴,۲۹۶ p.a. for 2016/17.

Eligibility

Academic criteria: Applicants must hold, or expect to obtain in the near future, a BSc (2:1 or better) or Master’s degree or equivalent in Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Neuroscience, Optometry and Vision Sciences, Psychology, Computer Science and Informatics, or other relevant scientific discipline.

Residency: This studentship is open to students of any nationality. Students classified as international for fee purposes have to self-fund the difference between home and international fees.

How to Apply

In the first instance, you should submit a CV & Covering Letter to Lee McIlreavy at [email protected]. The successful candidate will then be invited to submit a standard application for Postgraduate Study via the Online Application Service.

The deadline for applications is 29 July 2016.

Cardiff University reserves the right to close applications early should sufficient applications be received.

Further Information

For further information, contact Lee McIlreavy by phone on +44(0)29 208 70134 or by email.