Prof. Dr. Jonas Rose

Research interest

The overarching aim of our work is to understand the neural basis of avian cognition. We study mostly corvids species, carrion crows and jackdaws but we also work with pigeons. A core interest of the group is the neural mechanism of working memory, particularly capacity limitations and the control of working memory. Other topics include learning of sequences, categories, and extinction learning as well as episodic memory. In all projects, we seek to find similarities or differences between the brains of birds and mammals in order to identify general biological principles of cognition.

Methods

• Design of a behavioral protocol
• Animal training and testing
• Modern neurophysiological techniques (fMRI, extracellular recordings)
• Data analysis using Matlab
• Assistance during surgeries

Master theses

Requirements: basic knowledge of MATLAB is very beneficial

Our work requires extensive behavioral training, extracellular recordings, MRI and data analysis in Matlab. You are the ideal candidate if you have experience with (some of) these techniques and a background in neuroscience or a related field. But most importantly, you need a keen interest in the research topic and you have to have the patience to conduct the experiments and to learn the techniques that you might not yet have mastered.

Suggestions for Master projects in the department of Neural Basis of Learning (2024)

Examples of previously supervised Master theses:

• Behavioral mechanisms of cognitive control in jackdaws (Corvus monedula): Similarities and differences between attention and working memory (2023)
• Renewal in Pigeons: The effect of context control in an ABA extinction-renewal protocol (2022)
• Spatial Cognition: Neural Correlates of the Traveling Salesman Problem (2022)

Website

click here to find out more about the department of Neural Basis of Learning