Processing of accents in the human brain

International lab for Social Neuroscience
Pgorgamm for Russian Postdocs 
Deadline: 20 May 2022 
Apply: https://postdocru.hse.ru/projects

Research fellow in the International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology (Russian Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme)

from 110,000 rubles (gross)
National Research University "Higher School of Economics"
Moscow

Required work experience: at least 3 years
Full-time
Term of work: 1 year with the possibility of extension for a second year

We, the Higher School of Economics, are one of the largest universities in Russia, a leading center for education, research and development. Today, HSE has more than 45,000 undergraduate and graduate students, more than 7,000 teachers, scientists and administrative staff.

Currently, we have an open competition for Russian Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme. Within the framework of the competition, a position of a postdoc (researcher) in the International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology (is available.

Project name: Processing of accents in the human brain.

Project objective: We will study how non-native accents are formed on the basis of acoustic information only (i.e. without aid of visual features; Pietraszewski and Schwartz 2014) using a social game context, and how it is generalised to new speakers. Using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques, we will also study how native listeners adapt to non-native accents and which factors majorly contribute to the adaptation.

Tasks of the project:

In a series of behavioral and MEG/EEG experiments (as well as iEEG in a limited additional sample of patients undergoing presurgical evaluation) we will recruit a cohort of subjects from different ethnic backgrounds and play to them speech in different accents, including those of in-group vs. out-group members. Self-reports of accent perception, likeability, believability, and emotional reactions will be also obtained. Further experimentation may utilize targeted brain stimulation (TMS, tDCS, and iEEG-electrode based) to causally test hypotheses formed based on results obtained in the initial neuroimaging experiments.

From successful candidates for this position we expect:

• Russian citizenship;
• Candidates must hold a degree (ученая степень кандидата наук, успешная защита кандидатскойдиссертации, степень PhD) in the field of psychology, linguistics, cognitive neuroscience or a related area awarded by an internationally recognized university and have the potential to pursue research that is publishable in leading peer-reviewed journals;
• Experience in neurophysiology (EEG/MEG) and data analysis, experience in designing and running psychological experiments, programming skills (e.g., Matlab, Python, R) and statistical skills are a strong advantage;
• Fluent English and excellent writing skills attested by a competitive publication record;
• Knowledge of phonetics/phonology and experience with sound editing software (eg Praat) is a plus

We offer:

• Working place in the historical center of Moscow;
• Equipped workplace at the university;
• Access to cutting-edge neuroimaging equipment (EEG, MEG, ..);
• Access to information resources, databases and electronic subscriptions of HSE University;
• Participation in scientific and educational events and programs of HSE University;
• Working in an international and interdisciplinary research team;
• Participation in academic mobility and professional development programs at HSE University;
• Competitive salary (~110000 RUB).