Edinburgh PhD: How the Visual Cortex Distinguishes Self-Generated and External Visual Motion

Edinburgh PhD: How the Visual Cortex Distinguishes Self-Generated and External Visual Motion

Research question and applicant fit

When a mouse moves, how does its visual cortex distinguish motion caused by the animal from an independently moving object? This four-year EASTBIO project links that perceptual question to cortical representations. Its central challenge is to establish a useful behavioural measure, then relate it to neural activity rather than assuming that a mismatch response already explains perception.

Rebecca Jordan and Angus Chadwick combine experimental and computational perspectives. The project suits someone who wants mouse behavioural neuroscience, imaging and quantitative analysis together. The project lists 16 November 2026 as the deadline for the 2027 cohort but gives no time or time zone; current acceptance status is unconfirmed. The specific funded slot is also not confirmed. Funding is competitive; applying for this project does not guarantee an award. Confirm the exact slot and first-year support with Jordan before using the network's single application. EastBio 2027 recruitment EastBio how to apply

Research work and unresolved problem

The advertised doctoral work has three connected aims:

1. Develop a new mouse virtual-reality task for detecting moving objects. Compare open- and closed-loop visuomotor coupling to measure the perceptual benefit when background motion is predictable from the animal's behaviour.
2. Use two-photon imaging and computational approaches to examine how visual cortex combines self-motion and visual input, and how its representations support task performance.
3. Assess how long-term visuomotor experience changes both behavioural performance and cortical representations of external motion.

The missing link is whether neural mismatch signals actually support useful object-motion behaviour. An established mouse task is lacking, so task development is a substantive research risk, not routine preparation. The advertised specialist training includes head-fixed VR tasks and in-vivo two-photon recording; the description does not fix the eventual model, dataset size or individual equipment allocation.

Applicants should enjoy iterative behavioural design and noisy population data, not expect a purely theoretical or human clinical doctorate. The schizophrenia context motivates sensory attribution; it does not promise patient recruitment, diagnostic validation or treatment. Suitable preparation is explaining competing predictions, behavioural confounds and how neural representations could be related to performance. These are conceptual preparation suggestions, not additional experimental instructions. Jordan and Keller 2023 sensorimotor plasticity Vasilevskaya et al 2023 mismatch versus gain Chadwick et al 2023 recurrent learning dynamics

School, subject and doctoral training

Edinburgh awards the degree; EASTBIO is the funding/training partnership. Jordan's neuroscience environment is in the School of Neurological and Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, while Chadwick is in Informatics/IANC. The cross-school connection supports experimental and computational perspectives. Edinburgh ranks 35th in QS 2027 overall, which says little about this individual lab's supervision or project feasibility. The neuroscience community, relevant papers and accessible mentoring matter more. No personal imaging allocation, computational budget or completion statistics were verified. Edinburgh Neuroscience research degree 2027 Edinburgh neuroscience community QS Edinburgh 2027 Rebecca Jordan official university profile Angus Chadwick official academic page

The generic Neuroscience degree lists 36 months full-time plus a 12-month submission period. This must not be confused with the advertised four-year EASTBIO award: ask which registration route, training time and final writing support apply. The degree describes laboratory research, guided reading, individual supervision, seminars and workshops. Formal admission and the funding competition are separate processes. Edinburgh Neuroscience research degree 2027

EASTBIO's redesigned curriculum applies from the 2025 cohort onward: core training in years 1–2, with years 3–4 focused on research and optional cohort/professional development. Methods, interdisciplinary bioscience/mathematics, communication and professional placements broaden training. The displayed 2026/27 event calendar serves existing students, not a promise of dates for October 2027 starters. PIPS offers non-academic experience; a named company or job outcome is not guaranteed. EastBio training overview EastBio professional placements

Supervisors and recent research evidence

Jordan is a Simons Early Career Academic Fellow, with a 2018 Crick PhD, subsequent FMI postdoctoral experience and a 2024 ERC Starting Grant. Her work links sensory predictions, neuromodulation and experience-dependent plasticity. This is a growing group; grants show research capacity but do not establish individual funding or long-run doctoral outcomes. Angus Chadwick is Lecturer in Computational Neuroscience and AI, combining dynamical systems, normative theory and neural-data analysis. Agree how often each meets the student and how behavioural work and modelling will be balanced. Rebecca Jordan official university profile Prediction and Plasticity Lab Angus Chadwick official academic page Chadwick research programme Chadwick publication list

• Jordan and Keller, 2023 eLife: the cited analysis is limited to the Results, Discussion and author-contribution statements. Cortical LC activity tracked unsigned visuomotor errors; gain-of-function evidence supported facilitation of stimulus-specific plasticity. It did not establish necessity; the editorial assessment explicitly sought loss-of-function evidence. Jordan contributed conception, analyses, software, investigation, methodology and writing; Keller supplied supervision/resources and related roles. Jordan and Keller 2023 sensorimotor plasticity
• Vasilevskaya et al., 2023 Cell Reports: the cited analysis covered the full text and author-contribution statements. Coupling and experience comparisons show that a uniform locomotion gain cannot explain mismatch responses. Prediction-error interpretation remains a model rather than the sole logically possible explanation. Jordan designed/performed the analyses; Widmer performed imaging. This directly motivates careful controls rather than treating any motion response as prediction error. Vasilevskaya et al 2023 mismatch versus gain
• Chadwick et al., 2023 Neuron, published online in 2022: only the primary abstract and publisher highlights were assessed; the full text and individual author-contribution statements were not verified. A theory relates high-signal input dimensions to slowly decaying recurrent modes; mouse V1 population analysis supports learning-related realignment, with an excitatory/inhibitory model. Chadwick is first/corresponding author, but individual contribution statements were not verified. Model agreement does not prove the new behavioural task will work. Chadwick et al 2023 recurrent learning dynamics

Jordan's 2024 opinion and 2026 preprint appear in the lab list; the latter's full text was inaccessible and is not treated as established peer-reviewed evidence. Jordan lab publications

Funding and living costs

EASTBIO provides Home-rate tuition, stipend and annual research support. Crucially, its official FAQ confirms successful international candidates receive a waiver of the overseas top-up fee. Therefore this is not an advertised Home-fee-only funding gap for selected overseas students. International awards are capped at 30% of each annual EASTBIO cohort. This is a partnership-wide quota, not a project allocation or an individual probability of success. Visa and immigration health surcharge are excluded, and a Student-visa holder must study full-time and reside in the UK. Obtain the individual offer and fee-waiver confirmation before committing. EastBio how to apply EastBio international eligibility FAQ

UKRI's 2026/27 minimum stipend is £21,805, with Home-fee support £5,238. These are a prior-year benchmark: the exact 2027/28 award and annual increases are unconfirmed. Edinburgh's March 2026 estimate for a single postgraduate is £1,542/month or £18,504/52 weeks, including £978 accommodation/utilities. Do not add rent again. Benchmark stipend minus this budget is £3,301/year, a conditional arithmetic comparison rather than predicted savings. 2027 inflation, actual housing, deposits, relocation, visa/IHS and study extras can absorb the margin. UKRI 2026/27 minimum rates Edinburgh postgraduate living costs 2026/27

Applicant fit and formal materials

Programme eligibility is 2:1 or higher undergraduate degree/international equivalent; a master's is not mandatory. Quantitative backgrounds can fit if the applicant demonstrates genuine interest in neural experiments; neuroscience applicants should show coding, statistics and model reasoning. The generic 2027 neuroscience course requires IELTS Academic 6.5 overall, each 6.0, and does not accept One Skill Retake. Confirm the exact course and accepted evidence, including validity, rather than assuming funding eligibility waives English admission. EastBio how to apply EastBio international eligibility FAQ Edinburgh Neuroscience research degree 2027 Angus Chadwick official academic page

The official competition requires the EASTBIO application form, anonymous EDI survey response ID, transcripts and two references on its prescribed template, academic or professional, excluding project supervisors. Provide official English translations alongside original non-English records. Extra CVs are disregarded in the formal competition, although the lab welcomes a CV for informal contact. Only one EASTBIO project may be applied for across all institutions. This project's advertised destination is INCR.Postgraduate@ed.ac.uk, including references by 16 November; confirm the address before sending. Do not submit to the central EASTBIO office. EastBio how to apply EastBio international eligibility FAQ Jordan lab recruitment

Career directions and preparation

Behavioural design, imaging analysis, reproducible coding and modelling can support academic or research-intensive biotechnology/data roles. This is a skills-based inference, not evidence of a specific placement rate. The degree and PIPS provide career preparation, not an industry job guarantee. EastBio professional placements Edinburgh Neuroscience research degree 2027

A useful account of previous research explains the question, personal contribution, model assumptions and uncertain outcomes. Behavioural evidence and competing explanations matter more than naming an imaging instrument. Applicants seeking a purely theoretical doctorate should clarify the experimental share; those unwilling to sustain animal behavioural work should consider that mismatch before applying. These are preparation judgments, not additional advertised entry requirements.

Next actions and questions

Contact Jordan at rjordan3@ed.ac.uk, explain experimental/quantitative experience and ask about the new task's initial milestones, available behavioural data, imaging access and fallback scope. Discuss Chadwick's modelling role and supervision frequency. Before applying, select one EASTBIO project, request both template references and confirm local submission. Before accepting, verify the 2027 stipend, overseas waiver, four-year registration/writing arrangements, housing and visa/IHS budget. Selection normally includes local nomination followed by programme assessment and a presentation about prior research; the current timeline gives March interviews, so a supervisor's interest is not the final funding award. EastBio selection process Rebecca Jordan official university profile

Evidence and sources

Available institutional material does not confirm the specific 2027 slot or current acceptance status; confirm availability and local instructions with Jordan. Paper claims below retain their stated author-version and evidence scope: the eLife analysis covers selected sections, the Cell Reports analysis covers the full text and contributions, and the Neuron analysis is limited to the abstract and publisher highlights. The inaccessible 2026 preprint is not treated as a verified result.

Recruitment, training and institution

• EastBio 2027 recruitment
• EastBio how to apply
• EastBio international eligibility FAQ
• EastBio selection process
• EastBio training overview
• EastBio professional placements
• Edinburgh Neuroscience research degree 2027
• Edinburgh neuroscience community
• QS Edinburgh 2027

Supervision and research

• Rebecca Jordan official university profile
• Prediction and Plasticity Lab
• Jordan lab recruitment
• Jordan lab publications
• Angus Chadwick official academic page
• Chadwick research programme
• Chadwick publication list
• Jordan and Keller 2023 sensorimotor plasticity
• Vasilevskaya et al 2023 mismatch versus gain
• Chadwick et al 2023 recurrent learning dynamics

Finance and living costs

• UKRI 2026/27 minimum rates
• Edinburgh postgraduate living costs 2026/27