PhD Position

We are looking for a PhD candidate (E 13 TV-L, 65%) to join the Busch Lab! If you have a strong interest in visual cognition and want to advance research in this field using innovative methods and rigorous scientific practice, we’d love to hear from you.

Our research focuses on visual attention and working memory, the perception and long-term memory of natural scenes, and the role of brain oscillations in cognition. To investigate these topics, we combine cutting-edge analysis methods, such as multivariate pattern analysis and cognitive modeling, with psychophysics, EEG, and eye tracking.

Beyond research, this position includes teaching responsibilities in German, offering valuable classroom experience for those pursuing an academic career.

You would be a great fit for this position if you have experience with any of the methods or topics mentioned above, share our research interests, have experience with programming and data analysis (e.g. Python, Matlab, or R), and can teach in German.

We offer a supportive and collaborative environment in our lab, which is situated in the beautiful city of Münster! This role provides an opportunity to develop a wide range of skills, from teaching to data collection and the application of advanced analytical methods.

We’re happy to answer your questions about the position and our lab—just reach out via email (niko.busch@uni-muenster.de).

The official job ad and application requirements can be found here (Application deadline: April 30th)

Theses & Internships

Thank you for your interest in our current theses & internships!

1. The AlphaIcon Project investigates Alpha-rhythms using an iconic memory task.

2. The EEGManyPipelines Project investigates what happens when the same EEG dataset and identical hypotheses are handed over to research teams across the globe. Do our expectations shape our beliefs in the results?

3. The SCENTinel Project deals with the sense of smell and its significance for the human psyche.

4. The Project on the comparison of image representations in human memory and neural networks investigates how people perceive and remember photos of complex visual scenes and how these processes are influenced by the characteristics of the images.

 

For more information, have a look at each project - one of them might be interesting for you!

• Current Thesis Topics or Internships

  • 1. Alpha & iconic memory
  • 2. EEGManyPipeLines

Alpha & iconic memory

Ever heard of iconic memory? Before information is processed in the working memory, the visual information is briefly stored in the iconic memory - and is almost completely retrievable for a few hundred milliseconds (Sperling, 1960). The brain takes a “screenshot”, so to speak, and you can access it briefly before it is deleted again. We investigate the performance of this memory and try to find out what happens in the brain during this process. Using behavioral experiments, eye tracking and EEG, we collect data and build models to better understand the human visual system. If you are interested in learning about visual processing, eye movements or EEG, this project is for you! Here you can carry out exciting experiments as an experimenter, use EEG to investigate the electrical activity of the brain and work on current research as part of our team.

 

What we offer:

• Research internship or thesis (Bachelor's or Master's thesis)
• Close supervision and integration into the working methods of a research team
• Exciting research on visual processing
• Practical experience with EEG and eye tracking data collection
• Opportunities to take on other interesting tasks such as complex data analysis, scientific writing, programming ...

What you will do:

As part of a research internship or thesis, you will contribute to the project in many aspects e.g. by:

• The recruitment of test subjects
• Supporting and conducting EEG & eye tracking measurements
• Analyzing and modeling data

What you should bring with you:

• Interest in neuroscientific research/ previous experience with neuroscientific methods
• Ability to work independently and reliably
• Team and communication skills
• pot. Previous experience with subject recruitment and/or data collection

Interested?

Contact Paul Smith (paul.smith[at]uni-muenster.de) with a short letter of motivation and your CV.

Sperling, G. (1960). The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 74(11), 1.

Smith, P. J. C. & Busch, Niko A. (2024). Spontaneous alpha-band lateralization extends persistence of visual information in iconic memory by modulating cortical excitability. bioRxiv 2024.10.23.619788; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.23.619788

EEGManyPipeLines

What happens when the same EEG dataset and identical hypotheses are handed over to research teams across the globe? Will their findings align or will their methods lead them to different conclusions?  And will their prior expectations about the outcome of the hypothesis testing affect their interpretation of the result?

In our EEGManyPipelines project we gave the same unpublished EEG dataset to analyst teams worldwide, challenging them to investigate the same hypotheses. Our goal was to understand how different analysis methods affect the results.

Before analyzing the data, we asked the researchers to predict whether each hypothesis would be confirmed or rejected and to rate how confident they are in their predictions. After they finished their analysis, we asked how much they trusted their findings.

With this broad meta-scientific data, we aim to answer several questions: How does the process of hypothesis testing affect researchers' confidence? Is there a link between scientists' initial beliefs and confidence ratings before and after hypothesis testing? How does this relationship evolve depending on whether their findings confirm or challenge their expectations? Are there any other factors (e.g., academic experience, the strength of a finding) that could help explain this relationship?

Finally, this line of research raises broader questions about scientific decision-making, , and confidence of interpretation of results. We are now looking for a motivated Bachelor’s student who would like to write their thesis on this meta-scientific topic.

You can learn more about our EEGManyPipelines project here.

What we offer:

• flexibility and freedom in shaping your own research question within the topic
• constructive supervision of a Bachelor’s thesis
• help with data analysis and interpretation

What you will do:

• discuss and shape your own research question
• learn to analyze data using R

What you should bring:

• interest in meta-science and psychology
• basic knowledge of R
• basic knowledge of data analysis
• English language knowledge

Interested?

Contact: Dr. Elena Cesnaite, elena.cesnaite[at]uni-muenster.de

 

Please have a look at the German project description which you can find here

Please have a look at the German project description which you can find here