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The VESTISELF Project aims at advancing the rather recently initiated development of the interdisciplinary research field of cognitive vestibular neuroscience, by systematically linking basic human vestibular physiology to the cognitive psychology of the self. - Identification of factors favoring de

The Knoblauch team published a highly influential article on the anatomy of hierarchy (Markov et al., 2014) that laid down the empirical data supporting two important concepts: the Hierarchical Distance Rule and the Dual Counterstream Architecture (DCA). Pascal Fries’s team reformulated the Hierarch

We all know the statement “It’s like riding a bike!” commonly used to convince someone that a task is really easy. However, the neural mechanisms making it so simple remains extremely complex. Indeed, once we learned how to ride a bike, or how to play the piano, we do it automatically, “without thin

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis requires both symptoms of socio-emotional impairments (e.g. not responding to smiles) and repetitive behaviors/restricted interests (e.g. not reacting to changes or regularities in the environment in a typical way). While both aspects are clearly prone to int

The overarching aim of 3DNaviBee is to understand how flying insects use visual information to navigate in 3D across motivational contexts and spatial scales. For small-brained insects, successful navigation may not require complex cognitive operations but instead emanate from optimized combination

Characterized by extreme and persistent fear, worry, and/or the avoidance of perceived threats, anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent forms of psychiatric disorder. These disorders have an extremely negative impact on quality of life, and currently rank in the top ten contributors to globa

Le projet RELAX s’intéresse à la modulation de la douleur chronique, dans ses composantes sensorielles et affectives, et des comorbidités anxieuses ou dépressives par le système peptidergique relaxin-3/RXFP3. Il repose sur des expertises complémentaires à Bordeaux, Strasbourg et Melbourne, pour étud

INSIghTS aims to obtain a multi-level understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying social behaviors, winner/loser effects and chemosensory perception, with three objectives: OBJ1. Characterize brain neural circuits required for formation, maintenance and recall of winner/loser effects. We

We will systematically test the cellular effects of a new safer form of non-invasive brain stimulation, focal low-intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS), which is at an intensity too low to directly activate neuronal firing. We will use use multiple experimental approaches, from short-term effects on neuronal ex

Individual differences in vulnerability to stress determine among others the likelihood to develop a mental disorder upon exposure to traumatic events and adversity. Understanding molecular signatures and brain networks that underlie, explain, and predict individual differences in susceptibility to

Auditory attention is a rich and complex process that allows the mind to target specific information and filter out noise and distractions. The study of attention is central in all the cognitive neurosciences, and its dysfunction is found in many degenerative and developmental brain diseases. Despit

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex psychiatric disease whose etiology is unknown. Treatments aim at restoring a normal weight but the relapse remains high with persistence of altered feeding behavior. A better understanding of core mechanism of altered reward value of food in AN will help to better

Predictions and control of impending reward require accumulating information about one’s environment and choosing actions that maximize the outcomes of these actions. Since information intake and choice seeking promote survival, agents should prefer contexts where these variables are available. Choi

The use of tools to functionally extend the body is ubiquitous in our lives and huge research efforts on tool-use have been done on sighted persons over the last decades. This work focused on the motor aspect of tool use, neglecting the sensory aspect. However, any action involving a tool carries

Touch is the first sensory input a fetus receives, and it shapes prenatal brain activity before distal senses build upon it. However, little is known about the links between tactile perception and development. We argue that tactile processing is the key to understanding the origins of cognitive deve

The initial objectives of this project were to recruit a postdoc to the project, build a new two-photon microscope, implement the fictive locomotion preparation underneath the microscope, and begin to image populations of identified cells in the cerebellar cortex. This initial phase would involve st

By combining electrophysiology, pharmacogenetics and optogenetics in a series of experiments in rats and monkeys, we will test: i) Whether the action of NA on the median prefrontal cortex influences behavioral flexibility ii) If the selective and regional disruption of LC / NA afferents induce cha

Our hypothesis is that the adaptation to a novel sensorimotor situation (skill learning or following a peripheral trauma) involves the coordinated recruitment of multiple cerebellar modules. To demonstrate this, we will 1) characterize the role of cerebellar modules in adapting locomotion and in le

Drug addiction remains a major health and societal problem. A core symptom of addiction is continued drug use despite a persistent desire to stop to pursue other important goals. Such loss of control mainly occurs when users are under the drug influence. For instance, when cocaine users are under th

*Context* Reward is essential for motivation and learning, but can also lead to maladaptive behaviors such as addiction. Reward processing in the brain has been described at various levels, with a large part of the animal literature focusing on subcortical dopamine, while the human literature has r

Opiates such as morphine and heroin have been both a benediction and a curse to mankind for centuries. While they remain the most efficient and prescribed painkillers in modern medicine, their chronic use also leads in some individuals to the emergence of addiction. Once hooked, affected individuals

Interacting with our environment requires to constantly analyse sensory information (from the outside world) depending on internal cognitive states. For example, While searching for a friend in a crowded environment, we analyze in priority, using a mechanism called selective attention, people with s

Fear is an evolutionarily conserved behavioural response that is essential for protecting us against dangerous situations. When a danger occurs within a particular place, an associative fear memory is formed in the brain enabling individuals to adapt their behaviour. Yet, fear can severely affect qu

Representations of value guide our everyday choices. Faced with a decision between two courses of action we, and other animals, typically choose the action that delivers the more valuable consequence or outcome. Such behavior is defined as ‘goal-directed’. Goal-directed behavior is essential for ada

Imagine trying to navigate through a busy city, you can be a bit overwhelmed by all the traffic around you, the smell from a bakery or the sounds of a construction site. Still, from this stream of sensory input you're able to select an item that is relevant for you, for example a street sign. This p

Primates’ brains are specifically tuned toward social information. This might well have organized all our neural circuits around the necessity of living with peers. As a matter of fact, social cognition is first to be impacted in many neurological and psychiatric disorders. This project aims at prov

Creativity is a critical cognitive function to meet the challenges of our society as well as of our daily lives. Understanding its mechanisms and the factors that can influence these mechanisms appears essential. Among the factors we can act upon, sleep seems to play a key role. Yet the mechanisms t