Emergence of cortical speech representations during postnatal development in the ferret

The ability to perceive and categorize speech sounds develops early in life, well before language acquisition. The neural mechanisms underlying this early plasticity, and in particular the role of auditory experience in shaping the maturation of auditory cortical areas, remain poorly understood. Our group addresses these questions using the ferret as an animal model, whose protracted postnatal brain development makes it especially well suited for experimental investigation.

The intern will participate in functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) experiments conducted on young ferrets exposed to speech sounds across varying durations and exposure protocols. The work will include conducting fUSI acquisition sessions, processing and analyzing hemodynamic data, and contributing to the interpretation of exposure-dependent effects in relation to the cortical localization of responses across primary and non-primary auditory fields.

Skills gained: functional brain imaging in vivo, neuroimaging signal processing, auditory functional neuroanatomy, supervised animal handling.

Candidate profile: M1/2 student in neuroscience or biology, with an interest in systems neuroscience and in vivo experimental approaches.