Exploring the emergence of psychotic experiences using multimodal neuroimaging and mathematical modelling

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are among the most devastating mental health conditions and leading contributors to the global burden of disease. Psychotic symptoms involve a loss of contact with reality in the form delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (perceptual experiences in the absence of stimuli). Combining mathematical modelling and multimodal neuroimaging (fMRI and MEG), the aim of this PhD project is to understand the computational and neurocognitive processes underlying the emergence of psychotic experience, with a particular focus on visual hallucinations.

The PhD project is supervised by an interdisciplinary team with backgrounds in psychology/neuroscience (C. Teufel, K. Singh), mathematics (R. Moran, University of Bristol), and psychiatry (J. Walters). We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated, and innovative individual with an excellent degree in medicine, biology, psychology, neuroscience, physics, mathematics, or engineering/computer science (with good knowledge of the human sensory system). The successful candidate will be based at the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) (http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/cubric/), which is part of the School of Psychology (http://psych.cf.ac.uk/).

For further details of this project, please see our website: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/funding-and-fees/view/mrc-gw4-biomed-doctoral-training-partnership-phd-in-psychology2