Description
Collaboration contract, 20 months (renewable)
Location: Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Rome, Italy.
Step into a world of endless possibilities, together let’s leave something for the future!
At IIT, we are committed to advancing human-centered Science and Technology to address the most urgent societal challenges of our era. We foster excellence in both fundamental and applied research, spanning fields such as neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and material sciences, offering a truly interdisciplinary scientific experience. Our approach integrates cutting-edge tools and technology, empowering researchers to push the limits of knowledge and innovation.
We are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering diversity in all its forms, creating an inclusive environment. We value the unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives of our people. By embracing diversity, we believe science can achieve its fullest potential.
THE ROLE
The Neuroscience of Perception and Action Research Unit (NPA; npa.iit.it) is led by Giacomo Novembre (giacomonovembre.com). We are seeking a postdoc to contribute to our ongoing research activities. We are an interdisciplinary team of brain and behavioral scientists with diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, combining insights from both hard sciences and social sciences. Our research explores fundamental questions about how humans perceive the world and act within it, with a particular focus on two widespread human capacities: 1. Social interaction and 2. Musicality (the biological predispositions that make humans universally apt for musical behavior). We primarily study these capacities in human adults, but also compare them with human infants and non-human models. Our research integrates both traditional laboratory-based experiments and naturalistic approaches to brain and behavior, including free-behavior studies and ecologically valid sensory stimulation. We believe that these approaches complement each other—naturalistic settings allow us to observe behavior in its authentic context, while laboratory-based research enables rigorous testing of new theories.
Current Research Topics & Methods
Our current research topics include:
Neural bases of musicality (in human adults, infants, and other models)
Collective dance and joint music-making
Spontaneous social behavior (both verbal and non-verbal)
Intersections of the above topics
Our methodologies include:
Neuroimaging & Brain Stimulation: EEG, transcranial electrical stimulation (tES)
Physiology: Heart rate, pupil dynamics, skin conductance, respiration
Motion Tracking: Optical and video-based motion capture, eye tracking
Computational modelling: EEG decoding (TRF, Bayesian models), movement extraction & object recognition (DNNs), 3D kinematic decomposition
Your Role as a Postdoc
As a postdoc in our lab, you will specifically contribute to the design and implementation of multibrain stimulation experiments—for an overview of this approach, see Novembre & Iannetti, Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2021) (other relevant references are listed below). The successful candidate will lead experimental work involving transcranial electrical stimulation (ideally transcranial alternating current stimulation, tACS) and potentially dual-EEG hyperscanning. Data analysis will focus on the social and physiological dynamics of dyads interacting in real time, including body movement, social cue exchange, and autonomic measures such as heart rate, pupil dynamics, skin conductance, and respiration.
The ideal candidate should be independent, proactive and suited for collaborative work within an international and inter-disciplinary team. The candidate will join a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, lead experimental design for the project(s), collect and analyze data, disseminate scientific results, and possibly collaborate with other research groups (nationally and internationally).
COMPENSATION PACKAGE
Private health care coverage
Candidates from abroad or Italian citizens who have carried scientific research activity permanently abroad and meet specific requirements, may be entitled to a deduction from taxable income of up to 90% from 6 to 13 years.
This open position is financed by European Research Council within the MUSICOM project (Sensorimotor Foundations of Communicative Musicality) – Grant Agreement n° 948186 – CUP J55F20000130006.
Please submit your application using the online form (link below) and including a detailed CV, a cover letter explicitly detailing your motivation for joining our team and, if possible, outlining the specific research you would like to conduct with us or contribute to, and contact details of at least 2 referees.
https://app.ncoreplat.com/jobposition/754345/postdoctoral-position-in-social-neuroscience-it/istituto-italiano-di-tecnologia
Application’s deadline: 14th November.
To discover more about life at IIT, visit the dedicated section here: https://www.iit.it/en/work-at-iit
Relevant references
Novembre G, Knoblich G, Dunne L, Keller PE. Interpersonal synchrony enhanced through 20Hz phase-coupled dual brain stimulation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2017;12(4):662–70.
Szymanski, C., Müller, V., Brick, T. R., Von Oertzen, T., & Lindenberger, U. Hyper-transcranial alternating current stimulation: experimental manipulation of inter-brain synchrony. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2017 11, 539.
Pan Y, Novembre G, Song B, Zhu Y, Hu Y. Dual brain stimulation enhances interpersonal learning through spontaneous movement synchrony. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021;16(1–2):210–21.
Novembre G, Iannetti GD. Hyperscanning alone cannot prove causality. Multibrain stimulation can. Trends Cogn Sci 2021;25(2):96–9.
Moreau Q, Dumas G. Beyond correlation versus causation: multi-brain neuroscience needs explanation. Trends Cogn Sci 2021;25(7):542–3.
Novembre G, Iannetti GD. Proving causality in hyperscanning: multibrain stimulation and other approaches: response to moreau and dumas. Trends Cogn Sci 2021;25(7):544–5.
Yang Y, et al. Wireless multilateral devices for optogenetic studies of individual and social behaviors. Nat Neurosci 2021;24(7):1035–45.
Chen D, et al. Gamma-band neural coupling during conceptual alignment. Hum Brain Mapp 2022;43(9):2992–3006.
Liu J, et al. Shared intentionality modulates interpersonal neural synchronization at the establishment of communication system. Commun Biol 2023;6(1):832.
Lu, H., Wang, X., Zhang, Y., Huang, P., Xing, C., Zhang, M., & Zhu, X. Increased interbrain synchronization and neural efficiency of the frontal cortex to enhance human coordinative behavior: A combined hyper-tES and fNIRS study. NeuroImage 2023, 282, 120385.
Lee, E., Hwang, E., Kim, W., Yoon, H. G., Lee, A., Shin, S., ... & Kim, E. (2025). Restoring theta synchronization reverses social deficits in Shank2 mutant mice. (Preprint).
Zheng, Lifen, and Chunming Lu. (2025) Non-invasive dual-brain stimulation facilitates social cooperation through enhancing interpersonal neural synchronization. NeuroImage: 121326.
Requirements
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS
A PhD in neuroscience, psychology, computational sciences, or any related discipline. Candidates with a PhD in another field may also be considered, provided they hold an additional degree in a hard science (e.g. mathematics, physics, as well as biology).
Coding skills (ideally signal processing).
Good writing and verbal communication skills (in English).
ADDITIONAL SKILL
Experience with brain stimulation methods (ideally tACS).
Experience with neuroimaging data collection or analysis (ideally hyperscanning).
Technical skills for hardware synchronization and integration.
