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Behavioral Neuroscience

The Meletis laboratory in Neuroscience offers a postdoctoral scholarship in Solna to study neuron subtypes and circuits underlying motivation and decision-making, including mouse models of stress and mood disorders. Work combines genetic and viral labelling, in vivo imaging or optogenetics, and freely moving or head-fixed behavioural experiments in circuits such as the basal ganglia, hypothalamus and dopamine system. Single-cell profiles and connectivity maps support the research. Apply through Varbi by 13 October 2026 with a CV, publication list and one-page research summary.

Job

Junior Postdoc Position: Sensorimotor Neuroscience

Radboud University · Nijmegen, Netherlands

Closes in 3 days

A 23-month postdoctoral appointment at 0.8 FTE in Pieter Medendorp’s sensorimotor research group at the Donders Institute. The project investigates perception, movement and decisions under uncertainty through behavioural experiments and computational models. Work combines multisensory integration, Bayesian modelling and optimal control with virtual reality, wearable sensors and motion platforms, including natural navigation, orienting and reaching. The preferred start is 1 December 2026. Responsibilities may include student supervision and teaching.

Job

Mechanisms and Sequential Progression of Plasticity

Max Planck Institute for Human Development · Berlin, Germany

Closes in 3 days

Design and conduct behavioural and neuroimaging studies of learning-related brain plasticity at the Center for Lifespan Psychology. The project tests the EESR theory through motor-skill learning and analyses of brain change. Responsibilities include study design, advanced statistical analysis, manuscripts and scientific presentations. The Berlin appointment is initially for three years at 39 hours per week. This vacancy belongs to the September 2026 Max Planck Postdoc Program call, which accepts applications until 13 October 2026 at 12:00 CEST through the official application platform.

Seminar

Neural mechanisms in hippocampal-prefrontal networks for memory and cognition

Shantanu Jadhav · Brandeis University

Tue, Oct 13 · 14:30 UTC

Shantanu Jadhav presents work on coordinated hippocampal-prefrontal activity and the neural mechanisms that support memory-guided cognition and decisions. The seminar draws on systems electrophysiology and circuit analysis to connect distributed network dynamics with behavior.

memorySeries: Columbia University Zuckerman Institute

Opportunities

Job

IMPRS for Brain and Behavior – PhD recruitment 2026/2027

IMPRS for Brain and Behavior · Bonn, Germany

Closes in 5 days

Paid doctoral training connecting neural circuits and behaviour through multidisciplinary neuroethology. The programme offers laboratory rotations, methods and transferable-skills training, thesis-committee mentoring and international support. Recruiting faculty for the 2026/2027 selection are Tobias Ackels, Kevin Briggman, Jason Kerr and Tobias Rose. Applications close on 15 October 2026 and require two submitted references. Applicants select two principal investigators and explain their research interests. The source states approximately EUR 2,000 monthly net salary, increasing over time, based on about 65% of E13.

Job

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR (ARALDI LAB)

University of Iowa · Iowa City, USA

Closes

Full-time postdoctoral role investigating the transition from acute to chronic pain, including aging, neuropathic pain, opioid use and stress, using rodent and human translational approaches. Includes mentorship in publications and career development, participation in the Pain Research Program and supervision of junior trainees. Salary starts at USD 63,480 and follows experience-based NIH stipend levels. Submit a CV, letter of interest and three referee contacts through the online application.

Job

PhD Student in Neuroscience — Effects of Virtual Reality on Neural Activity and Behavior

University of Freiburg · Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Closes

Investigate how mice learn and generalize between virtual and real environments in the Optophysiology Lab at IMBIT. The project combines behavioural experiments, neural recordings and quantitative analysis with development and in-vivo validation of a two-photon miniscope. The researcher will contribute to device design, model behavioural and neural data, and help interpret and publish findings. The 65% appointment is funded for three years, with a possible extension; the advertised initial term ends on 30 November 2029. Pay follows E13 TV-L. Applications close on 31 October 2026.

Develop sensor technologies that quantify behaviour and synchronise those measurements with neural activity. The BRAIN Initiative call supports methods capable of capturing richer interactions among brain activity, behaviour and the surrounding environment, with emphasis on practical research utility. U01 projects may last up to five years, and individual budgets should reflect project needs. The next application deadline is 15 June 2027 at 5 p.m. in the applicant organisation’s local time. The programme-wide funding allocation is not an individual award limit.

Conference

Wharton Neuroscience Summit 2026

Philadelphia, United States

Fri, Nov 6

The Human Advantage: The Neuroscience of Leadership in the Age of AI examines how brain health and cognitive skills influence leadership, judgment, performance and resilience. With routine cognitive tasks increasingly automated, the summit considers the neural and behavioral foundations of attention, trust, adaptability, creativity, empathy and moral agency. Keynotes and interdisciplinary panels connect neuroscience research with its practical implications for individuals and organizations. Named participants include Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva, Oriel FeldmanHall and Earl K. Miller. The summit takes place on 6 November 2026 at Jon M. Huntsman Hall, 8th floor, 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Times are Eastern Standard Time (America/New_York, UTC−5). The agenda begins with registration and breakfast at 08:30, opening remarks at 09:00, and keynote and panel sessions from 09:10. Closing remarks are at 16:05, followed by a reception at 16:15. The registration system lists an overall event window of 08:00–18:00; the agenda may change. Attendance is free and open to all, including students, researchers, educators, healthcare practitioners and business professionals. Capacity is limited and advance registration is required through the event-specific Wharton form.

Conference

Neuroscience 2026

Washington, United States

Nov 14–18, 2026

The Society for Neuroscience annual meeting brings together the global neuroscience community for lectures, symposia, nanosymposia, posters, professional-development sessions and exhibits. The 2026 meeting offers in-person participation in Washington, D.C. and a virtual component with posters and livestreamed featured lectures.

Conference

Comparative (neuro)science in insects

Engelberg, Switzerland

Apr 13–16, 2027

This EMBO Workshop integrates developmental biology, sensory neuroscience, central circuits, motor control, behavior, population genetics, genomics, and ecology to advance comparative insect neuroscience. Early-career researchers are prioritized for selected talks, and all accepted participants present their work.

Abstracts close Dec 11

In the social context, animal species depend on vocal communication throughout their life, as they are the primary source of communication, yet the neurophysiological underpinnings of the perception of intra-specific communication signals are still poorly understood. The brain processes underpinning the capacity to discern between familiar and unfamiliar vocalizations is still in infancy among avian species. Previous studies have demonstrated that zebra finch neurons in the secondary auditory cortex (caudomedial nidopallium or NCM) respond differently to distant calls from familiar conspecifics compared to those from unfamiliar conspecifics. In this study, we investigated the neural responses to contact calls and aggressive encounter calls from familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics in both primary and secondary avian auditory cortex. We use a neural response dataset of anesthetized zebra finches listening to the entire repertoire of vocalizations used by this species. Communication sounds were categorized into nine calls (Wsst, Distress, Thuck, Song, Distance, Tet, Nest, Long-tonal and Begging call) based on their behavioral significance, and brain responses were recorded using two electrode arrays in each hemisphere of six anaesthetized zebra finches. We hypothesize that this difference in magnitude of response between familiar and unfamiliar birds will not be as apparent for aggression/distress calls because contact calls bear strong individual signatures while calls during aggressive encounters are less individualized.

We never stop learning when we suffer, but we all learn in unique ways. Adaptive learning helps us cope with adversities, whereas maladaptive learning could hinder coping and lead to more suffering. Indeed, maladaptive aversive learning is thought to be associated with both mental health disorders and chronic pain. However, we currently lack tools to quantify aversive learning at scale. We have developed a suite of game-like cognitive tests which helps us tease apart individual differences in aversive learning, which can be performed by anyone, in the comfort of their home, using a touch based device. These games consist of an armed bandit task, an aversive generalisation task and a motivated motor control task. Each game lasts ~10 minutes. Researchers can directly use these tasks to collect their own data as well as build their own tasks. Furthermore, we have developed a set of data simulation and (hierarchical bayesian) model fitting tools, which, in addition to verifying model assumptions, allows us to fit existing and new models to the collected behavioural data. We provide complementary tools to visualise and compare the fitted parameter distributions between healthy and patient populations. Having piloted these tools on data from anxiety and chronic pain patients, a more extensive data collection is underway. Project link for further details: https://aversionscience.org

New and updated

Grant

Perception Box Research Grants — 2026–2027

Tiny Blue Dot Foundation

Closed

Fund empirical neuroscience and behavioural research into how people form, maintain and change the mental models that shape perception. The call covers agency, interoception and emotion regulation, identity and self-narrative, and meaning or belonging. Projects should test mechanisms rather than only symptom relief. Up to USD 900,000 supports three years, including no more than 15% overhead. Submit an anonymised letter of intent by 5 October 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Full proposals in February 2027 require invitation.

Job

Seeking a Research Part-time Worker I (26-1335)

RIKEN Center for Brain Science · Wako, Japan

Deadline not stated

Hokto Kazama’s Laboratory for Circuit Mechanisms of Sensory Perception studies how Drosophila neural circuits process sensory information and generate behavior. The part-time researcher will support genetic crosses, experiments and analysis involving anatomy, in-vivo physiology and behavior. Employment begins 1 April 2027, negotiable. The Wako-based appointment pays JPY 1,600–2,200 per hour, with negotiable weekday hours and renewable one-year contracts. Applications are open until filled. Upload the documents through the official link and notify the laboratory as its instructions require.

The Brain-Body Interaction RIKEN ECL Research Team, led by Tomoe Ishikawa and scheduled to be established on 1 December 2026, seeks one or two research scientists or postdoctoral researchers. Research will use mouse models, neurophysiology, biology and immunology to investigate how social behaviour and neural circuits affect responses to pathogen infection. The programme aims to understand brain–body and neuroimmune regulation of physiological functions and whether neural activity can modulate immune responses. The appointment is based at the Wako campus; employment is planned from 1 April 2027 or later, by agreement.

Job

Neuroscience Research Associate / Research Specialist

Altos Labs · San Francisco Bay Area, USA

Deadline not stated

Join the Rosi laboratory to investigate brain health and resilience using in vivo models. Perform cranial-window and stereotaxic procedures, deliver viral vectors and tracers, manage surgical recovery and coordinate behavioural assays with longitudinal imaging. Work supports studies of neurodegenerative disease and cellular rejuvenation. The employer currently accepts applications; no fixed closing date or usable salary figure is stated.

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