Starting date: January/February 2026

The Brainlab – Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group (Universitat de Barcelona) is seeking an outstanding candidate with strong motivation for the neuroscience of music and its impact on early development, through experiments on brain plasticity and electrophysiology (brain oscillations and potentials). The candidate will join the project (funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Bial Foundation, Portugal):

The impact and scope of music-induced neural plasticity across early language acquisition.

Principal Investigator: Prof. Carles Escera

The project aims to investigate neural plasticity induced by passive music exposure during late pregnancy (preliminary evidence in Arenillas-Alcón et al., 2021) and early postnatal life on a cascade of neural mechanisms supporting early language acquisition to boost language outcomes. Using a broad set of neurocognitive markers of auditory development, including FFR to test milestones in the neural encoding of formant structure of speech (Puertollano et al., 2025), mismatch negativity (MMN) to unveil the emergence of prototypic phonetic categories, and frequency-tagging analysis of EEG to probe the ability to detect non-adjacent dependencies in speech (i.e., statistical learning), we aim to understand the neurophysiological underpinnings of the beneficial effects of music exposure across early language acquisition. The underlying neural network involved in these plastic changes will be investigated with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

The main task of the candidate will involve designing, implementing and testing, in adults and infants, the music exposure program, specific tools for controlling attachment to the program and the experimental protocols to record brain activity, including data analysis strategies. Specifically, we expect the postdoc to:

1) Review relevant literature on passive auditory/music induce neural plasticity

2) Design and implementation of the music exposure program. This includes selection of music, set up of the online platform, development of a protocol for attachment control, and behavioral assessment

3) Contribution to experimental designs of FFR, MMN and statistical learning paradigms

4) Design and creation of auditory stimuli and creation of stimulation sequences

5) Implementation of pilot studies in adults and infants

6) Programming analysis algorithms for FFR, MMN and statistical learning, based on spectral and time/frequency approaches

7) Design and implementation of complex statistical analyses.

8) Dissemination of results in the form of conference contributions and scientific papers.

Candidate Profile

1. EU citizenship or valid work permit in Spain.
2. PhD in Neuroscience or related discipline.
3. Music background, and research experience in the neuroscience of music.
4. Consolidated experience in experimental designs and with EEG recording and analysis (brain oscillations and brain potentials.
5. Strong statistical and programming skills in Matlab, EEGlab, Python or R.
6. Proficiency in English.

We offer a thrilling international working atmosphere at our Brainlab, and the benefits of joining the Maria de Maeztu Center of Excellence Institute of Neurosciences, including its brand new Cognitive Neuroscience Unit facility. Yearly salary depending on skills and experience, starting at 24000€.

How to Apply

Please, send your CV, motivation letter, three relevant publications, and two reference letters,

to Dr. Carles Escera (cescera@ub.edu) with the subject “postdoc HAMELIN”

Deadline for applications is November 30th, 2025

Please feel free to circulate this announcement among potential candidates.

For any questions regarding the positions, please contact cescera@ub.edu

Open call for 1-year postdoctoral position in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Music