The University of Sheffield is one of the UK’s leading universities with an international reputation for excellence in research. The Department of Psychology, which has particular strengths in systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, and brain imaging, received 'excellent' (5A) ratings in all 5 UK research assessment exercises in the last 20 years.
Main tasks
USFD will co-ordinate the BIOTACT project, develop novel computational models, and conduct empirical studies of the rat vibrissal system. Modelling will focus on whisker control, and tactile coding/decision-making. USFD will also lead the integration of contributions.
Research experience
Two research groups from Psychology will be involved: the Adaptive Behaviour Research Group (ABRG) and the Neural Algorithms Group (NARG). Both groups undertake theoretical, computational, and neuroscientific work directed at understanding control architectures in mammalian nervous systems. Recent work has focused on the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and visual and vibrissal sensory systems. Both have also pioneered the use of robotics to transfer insights from brain modelling into engineering.
