University College London – Dr. Dominik Bach

We investigate how the neural system forecasts threat and selects preprogrammed survival actions, with the goal of developing novel psychiatric treatments.

Threat to survival comes in many forms: starvation, predation, self-defending animals, accidents, or inter-human conflict. The human brain has access to a large repertoire of defensive actions.

A requirement to act ultra-fast and with high precision poses interesting computational challenges. Emitting defensive actions in the absence of threat is a hallmark of several psychiatric conditions. By combining behavioural assays with neuroimaging and pharmacological intervention, we seek to understand how the neural system predicts threat and selects appropriate action. Novel interventions to rectify inappropriate threat prediction are tested in experimental models of psychiatric disorders.

In our lab, students may learn Psychophysiological Modelling (PsPM) from the developers of this method (see http://bachlab.org/pspm). You could bring your own data, or use our data, to answer a substantive or methodological question in this field.

We offer virtual exchanges only. A full research project would normally take at least 12 weeks on a full-time basis. We expect a basic knowledge of programming in Matlab or Python.

Students are expected to cover their own expenses.

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Dominik Bach. Further information can be found at http://bachlab.org.

Learn more about UCL: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/about/who