Job ID: 122279

PhD position – Investigating Music Listening in Human and Non-Human Primates

Position: Ph.D. Student

Deadline: 14 April 2025

Employment Start Date: 1 October 2025

Contract Length: 3 years

City: Marseille

Country: France

Institution: Aix-Marseille University

Department: INS

Description:

The NeuroSchool PhD Program of Aix-Marseille University (France) has launched its annual calls for PhD contracts for students with a master’s degree in a non-French university and for   international co-supervised PhDs.

This project is one of the proposed projects. Not all proposed projects will be funded, check our website for details.

State of the Art: Humans spontaneously synchronize to musical rhythms and experience a spontaneous wanting-to-move experience, termed groove, when listening to musical stimuli. This process relies on delta-range (~1-3 Hz) dynamics along the dorsal auditory pathway, which connects auditory and motor cortices. Studies indicate that predictive timing —the ability to anticipate future events— is a fundamental function of this pathway. While non-human primates (NHP) exhibit temporal prediction abilities, they do not spontaneously move to music. Recent findings suggest that variations in auditory-motor coupling could account for this discrepancy. However, the extent to which NHPs process rhythmic structures and experience groove remains an open question.

Objectives:

  • Acquire neurophysiological activity in humans and NHPs during passive music listening.
  • Investigate the neural correlates of auditory rhythmic processing in both species.
  • Investigate the shared and distinct neural mechanisms underlying predictive timing in humans and NHPs.
  • Assess whether NHPs show neural markers of groove despite the absence of overt movement.

Methods:

  • Human neurophysiology: Humans will be exposed to rhythmic stimuli varying in syncopation (=temporal predictability), while their intracranial EEG activity will be recorded. Recordings will occur at the epilepsy unit of APHM.
  • NHP neurophysiology: NHPs will be exposed to the same rhythmic stimuli, while their neurophysiological activity will be recorded. Recordings will occur at INT.
  • Computational Modeling: Neurodynamic and Bayesian models will be used to estimate intermediate variables explaining the relation between syncopation and the wanting-to-move feeling (Zalta et al., 2024; Cannon 2021).

Expected Results:

  • Identification of neural signatures related to predictive timing in the dorsal auditory pathway of humans and NHPs.
  • Evidence for or against implicit groove perception in NHPs despite the absence of overt movement.
  • Insights into the evolutionary basis of rhythmic entrainment and its connection to motor systems.

Feasibility: Approval for human studies is currently pending ethical review. Ethical approval for NHP studies has already been obtained (2016060618508941).

Expected Candidate Profile:

  • Background in neuroscience, cognitive science, or a related field.
  • Experience with neurophysiological experiments in humans and/or NHP.
  • Strong analytical skills, including signal processing, statistical analyses and computational modeling.
  • Interest in music cognition, rhythm perception, and comparative neuroscience.