Matthieu GILSON

How does the brain integrate information about the subject's environment with internal processes like motivation to produce behavior? What are the neuronal mechanisms and circuits that implement those functions?
To address those questions, I develop models of neuronal networks to study their dynamics and emerging functions, at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. My continuing interest is on distributed representations and computations in neuronal networks. I use network models to interpret neuroimaging and electrophysiological data (spike trains, fMRI, EEG, MEG), in terms of brain communication at the macroscopic level and in terms of neuronal computations at the microscopic level.

The model-based approach is motivated by:

• understanding how neuronal processing implements the information processing and transmission
• a network-oriented analysis motivated by the distributed nature of neuronal processing
• combining diffrent neuronal mechanisms and data together to make sense out of them beyond a pure data analysis (e.g. statistical inference or "black-box" machine learning)

See Projects and Publications for details.

Although we have filled recent positions, you can check the project section and have a look at past position offers to get an idea of the current composition of the team: post-doc, PhD, PhD, PhD. Feel also free to contact us to know about projects in preparation.
Desired profiles: computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, (biomedical) engineering, applied mathematics, computer science

I am involved in CONECT, which aims to bring together neuroscientists around computational methods and questions. CONECT organizes seminars and continuing education actions, see here for details.
Every year around November-December we organize the BrainHack Marseille, 3 days dedicated to open science and coding in neuroscience with the aim to develop collaborative projects in the Marseille neuroscience community and beyond. I am part of the program committee of OCNS.

Research is an exciting intellectual adventure, but it is not a "hydroponic" activity, detached from society and the whole Earth environment. There is indeed a growing concern in the scientific community about the implications of research and developed technologies like big data in terms of energetical and social impacts, see for instance the opinion on environmental issues by the of CNRS ethics committee (COMETS). I am thus trying to contribute in organizing research in a collaborative manner, while taking into account the foreseen limits. In particular, I am part of Atécopol Marseille that focuses on ecology in academia and around.