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PhD in Unpredictable Reward and Motor Memory Retention

Project 2236 · University of Birmingham · School of Psychology

Application workspace

Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

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Country or region
United Kingdom
Application deadline
2026-11-23 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
Competitive BBSRC-supported MIBTP funding. Successful international awardees receive full tuition coverage; international awards are capped at 30% of the cohort (not a personal probability). £21,805/year is the 2026/27 stipend benchmark; the 2027/28 amount is unconfirmed. Students pay visa/IHS costs.

The research opportunity

PhD in Unpredictable Reward and Motor Memory Retention

Research question

Reward can improve movement while feedback is available, but that does not show whether a newly learned action remains after rewards stop. Animal studies suggest that reward predictability may affect persistence. This project tests whether unpredictable reward schedules produce more durable motor memories in humans; the claim is a hypothesis, not an established training or rehabilitation rule.

Doctoral work

The student will compare reward schedules for their effects on short- and long-term retention of a newly learned action, use functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate related neural mechanisms, and test whether transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) targeting the striatum can mimic reward's reinforcing effect. The target is named, but the advert does not specify stimulation parameters or a protocol. Immediate performance is distinct from retained learning; the project does not promise a treatment effect or require a patient trial.

School and training

The University of Birmingham awards the degree, based in its School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health (CHBH). The four-year Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP) includes a training year, research and technical mini-projects, an away-university component and a professional placement. It does not automatically confer a joint degree. The generic Psychology PhD page's three-year duration and September start do not describe this project. Project and supervisors · MIBTP programme

Eligibility and application

  • The listed entry is October 2027. The deadline is Monday, 23 November 2026; no cutoff time or timezone is stated, and current application status is unconfirmed.
  • MIBTP normally seeks a first or high 2:1 in a relevant subject. A lower 2:1 may be considered with a master's degree or substantial relevant postgraduate experience; a 2:2 requires exceptional evidence. The project does not specify a compulsory master's degree, programming language or prior TUS qualification. Individual degree equivalence and English-language requirements need confirmation.
  • Apply through the official MIBTP page for this Psychology project. The listed requirements include a CV, English academic records and module marks, plus a research-methods training response. The research proposal may be left blank and the optional personal statement may be marked N/A. Applicants may select one project per programme and apply to up to five programmes separately. Interviews are expected in late January or early February 2027. MIBTP application and eligibility
  • Contact primary supervisor Joseph Galea at j.galea@bham.ac.uk about the project. The MIBTP team at uob-mibtp@contacts.bham.ac.uk can clarify the course, materials, English requirements and deadline arrangements. Davinia Fernández-Espejo is listed as second supervisor.

Funding and living costs

This is a competitive BBSRC-supported MIBTP studentship. Successful international awardees receive full tuition coverage; international awards are capped at 30% of the cohort, a cohort allocation limit rather than an individual's chance of success. The £21,805 annual figure is a 2026/27 stipend benchmark, not a confirmed 2027/28 amount. Students pay visa and Immigration Health Surcharge costs; research, training, laptop or scanning budgets are not personal living allowances. The saved 2025/26 living-cost examples are not 2027 quotations; detailed estimates and exclusions are in the report and Birmingham's budget guidance.

Research and application brief

Report generated: . This date does not confirm that recruitment remains open.

Information updated: . Recheck the original notice before applying.

Show report contents

PhD in Unpredictable Reward and Motor Memory Retention

Does a newly learned action persist after reward feedback stops, and does predictability change that retention? The project tests reward timing, rather than simply whether reward helps performance, linking human motor learning, behavioural experiments and brain mechanisms. The saved project-specific MIBTP page names Joseph Galea as primary supervisor, Davinia Fernández-Espejo as secondary supervisor, with Birmingham as the registering university. The saved Birmingham 2027 list includes the topic, October 2027 entry and 23 November 2026 deadline, with all tuition covered for successful international awardees. A listed project still requires competitive funding selection. Official motor retention MIBTP project Birmingham MIBTP 2027 exact projects and application

Research work and unresolved problem

Reward can improve how people move while it is available, but that does not establish whether a skill persists after feedback stops. Animal reinforcement findings motivate a hypothesis that unpredictable rewards support more enduring behaviour than predictable ones. The advertised human-motor hypothesis remains to be tested; it is not a universal recommendation for training, gambling or rehabilitation. Official motor retention MIBTP project Sporn and Galea 2025 motor vigour and movement fusion Codol et al. 2023 reward sensitive feedback loops

Three objectives are explicit: quantify effects of reinforcement schedules on short- and long-term retention of a newly learned action; identify neural mechanisms with fMRI; and test whether TUS directed at the striatum can mimic the reinforcing effect of reward. The target is stated in this advert, but no stimulation protocol is specified here. The project promises a foundation for future neural/behavioural interventions, not an established treatment or mandatory patient trial. The pharmacological study discussed below is previous work, not an added doctoral objective. Official motor retention MIBTP project

A decisive design must separate durable learning from immediate motivation, movement vigour, speed–accuracy strategy, awareness of reward schedules and persistence despite non-reward. Ask how comparable learning levels are established, what outcomes distinguish retention from expression, how delayed testing/recruitment will be managed, and what fMRI/TUS support and fallback behavioural scope exist. A striatal imaging association alone cannot establish that stimulation reproduces reward's mechanism; interpretable control conditions and technical support matter. Official motor retention MIBTP project Sporn and Galea 2025 motor vigour and movement fusion Codol et al. 2023 reward sensitive feedback loops Hamel et al. 2023 reward punishment intracortical excitability

School, subject and doctoral training

Birmingham awards the doctorate, with Psychology/CHBH as the research setting. MIBTP is a six-university quantitative bioscience training partnership, not an automatic joint degree. The saved university ranking summary places Birmingham 68th globally in QS World University Rankings 2027 overall, which should not become a Psychology subject rank or supervision score. The more relevant strength is motor-learning expertise alongside human imaging and stimulation; the 2024 CHBH report supports institutional FUS/fMRI capability, not allocated 2027 scanning time or approvals. MIBTP current programme Birmingham official university rankings Joseph Galea current official profile Birmingham Psychology PhD programme CHBH annual report 2024 facilities

MIBTP lasts four years, including a training year with research/technical mini-projects, an away-university element, masterclasses and professional placement. This differs from the generic Psychology page's three-year/full-time heading and September start. Psychology describes first-year probation, a nine-month report/mini-viva, annual review and a thesis up to 50,000 words plus viva; ask how MIBTP schedules these milestones. Confirm travel/accommodation and the transition into the main motor-memory project. General doctoral support adds transferable skills, wellbeing and careers provision. MIBTP current programme MIBTP programme FAQ Birmingham Doctoral Programme Birmingham Psychology PhD programme

Supervisors and recent research evidence

Joseph Galea is Professor of Motor Neuroscience and Head of Research in Psychology, promoted to professor in 2024 after earlier Reader status. His Birmingham doctorate and subsequent Johns Hopkins/UCL research precede his current Birmingham role. Reward-based motor learning and action sequencing directly match this project. Fernández-Espejo is Professor of Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience/Deputy Head of Research, bringing imaging/stimulation experience; her clinical portfolio does not make this a patient study. Joseph Galea current official profile Davinia Fernandez-Espejo current profile

Galea's official MIBTP statement describes weekly individual/group meetings, initially guided training with increasing independence, on-site core hours, no expected evening/weekend replies and two weeks' notice for feedback on writing up to 5,000 words. These are useful stated expectations, not independently measured supervision outcomes. Clarify daily technical support, recruitment workload, the second supervisor's contribution and what “outcome-oriented” progression means in practice. Official motor retention MIBTP project

Recent studies and their limits

The existing assessments draw on results, discussion and contributions of three primary studies; no new full-paper reading is claimed.

Sporn and Galea: 2025 motor vigour and movement fusion

Sporn and Galea, 2025, PLOS ONE is now titled The effects of haloperidol on motor vigour and movement fusion during sequential reaching, replacing the older title cited in the advert. In 95 participants the study distinguishes reward-related movement vigour from movement fusion: pharmacological effects on the former did not establish corresponding impairment of the latter. No evidence of an effect is not proof of no effect, and task/circuit interpretation remains limited. Galea supplies conception, funding, resources, supervision and editing; Sporn leads investigation/analysis/drafting. Sporn and Galea 2025 motor vigour and movement fusion

Codol et al.: 2023 feedback responses

Codol et al., 2023, eLife compares reward sensitivity across multiple feedback responses. Fastest responses were insensitive, while gain and latency changes differed across slower responses. Galea contributes methodology, resources, supervision and editing rather than the main analysis. Behavioural response categories do not uniquely identify neural circuits; proposed mechanisms remain partly speculative. This is immediate control evidence, not proof about delayed retention under unpredictable schedules. Codol et al. 2023 reward sensitive feedback loops eLife original peer review

Hamel et al.: 2023 motor-cortical excitability

Hamel et al., 2023, Brain Stimulation examines incentive-related changes in motor-cortical excitability during preparation. Galea contributes conception/methods/resources/validation/editing, while Hamel leads investigation, analysis and drafting. Measurements are indirect, restricted to M1 and a particular recorded representation; they do not establish striatal TUS effects or neurotransmitter concentrations. Together the papers demonstrate relevant experimental judgement while leaving this PhD's central schedule/retention question open. Hamel et al. 2023 reward punishment intracortical excitability

Funding and living costs

Birmingham MIBTP explicitly pays all international tuition for successful awardees, resolving UKRI's generic home-fee-only contribution rule. Up to 30% of cohort awards may be allocated internationally. £21,805/year is the 2026/27 stipend benchmark, not confirmed 2027/28 funding. Research/training expenses and laptop use are not personal income. Visa/IHS remain student costs; obtain current charges and the award rather than use a programme approximate immigration estimate as a quote. Ask about scan/participant budgets and training-year travel accommodation. Birmingham MIBTP 2027 exact projects and application MIBTP 2027 application and eligibility MIBTP current programme UKRI student funding support

The university's 2025/26 budget examples total £241–253/week for private housing and £268–280 in halls, including listed rent/bills, food, care, phone and study costs. For 52 weeks that is £12,532–13,156 or £13,936–14,560, before travel, social spending and clothing. They are not 2027 quotations, and rent must not be added twice. Comparing against the 2026 stipend leaves a nominal balance before exclusions, inflation, visa/IHS and rotation costs, not guaranteed savings. Birmingham current living-budget guidance

Applicant fit and preparation

MIBTP normally seeks a first or high 2:1 in a relevant subject; a lower 2:1 with a master's or substantial postgraduate experience may be considered, and a 2:2 needs exceptional evidence. Psychology's generic 2:1/master's rule is not the entire funding-selection threshold. The advert does not mandate a particular language, prior stimulation qualification or master's. Ask about quantitative/non-Psychology backgrounds and current English/reference conditions. Useful preparation is reproducible analysis, human-experiment reasoning and explaining how one would distinguish improved performance from retained learning. MIBTP 2027 application and eligibility Birmingham Psychology PhD programme

A useful application example should explain personal contributions to a behavioural study, data quality, analysis choices and failed results. Delayed testing also creates participant-attrition and scheduling constraints. Institutional equipment does not automatically confer operating access: training, ethical approvals and team support need agreement.

Career and transferable skills

The combination supports academic motor neuroscience, behavioural data analysis, human movement/neurotechnology research and other analytical work. MIBTP placements and doctoral careers guidance can help explore options; no lab employment rate, clinical qualification or guaranteed industry employer was established. Applicants should be comfortable with participant-facing work, delayed follow-up and uncertain mechanistic results. MIBTP programme FAQ Doctoral researcher career support Galea lab publication record

Next actions and questions

Contact j.galea@bham.ac.uk about task readiness, delayed-retention design, supervision and the fMRI/TUS balance. Use uob-mibtp@contacts.bham.ac.uk for the correct Psychology MIBTP course, exact cutoff time and document conditions. Apply through the exact project's link on Birmingham's 2027 list, state title/supervisor, supply mandatory CV and academic evidence/English transcripts, answer methods-training questions and complete EDI after portal submission. Research-proposal fields may be blank and an optional personal statement marked N/A under MIBTP guidance. One project per programme, up to five programmes via separate applications; interviews are expected late January/early February 2027. Before acceptance obtain the 2027 award and written confirmation of participant/scanner/stimulation support and progression dates. Official motor retention MIBTP project Birmingham MIBTP 2027 exact projects and application MIBTP 2027 application and eligibility

Evidence and Sources

Current vacancy availability and individual eligibility remain unconfirmed. The three paper accounts retain their historical results/discussion/contribution reading limits. Institutional capability, existing pharmacological evidence and general doctoral provisions are not new project allocations, treatment recommendations or confirmed 2027 personal terms.

Sources

The listing may come from a university or recruitment platform. Check the notice and official sources in the report for current application requirements. View the recruitment source

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