CV Science

Véronique Coizet PhD Neuroscience / CR1 INSERM

Course and current status

- 2019 HDR Neuroscience

- 2008 CR1 INSERM, Grenoble Institut of Neuroscience, France

- 1999 - 2008  Post-doctoral position. Department of psychology, University of Sheffield (United-Kingdom) with Peter Redgrave and Paul Overton on the following projects:

• 1- The tectonigral projection: a potential source of short latency visual input to dopaminergic neurons.
• 2 - Short-latency auditory and somatosensory input to dopaminergic neurons.
• 3 - Subcortical loops through the basal ganglia.

- 2000 PhD. Neurosciences, University of Strasbourg, France

- 1996 M2 Neuroscience, University of Strasbourg, France

- 1995 M.Sc. Cognitive Psychology, University of Strasbourg, France

- 1993 Degree Psycholog, University of Strasbourg, France

Scientific summary

I completed my PhD in the Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience (LN2C, UMR 752, University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg) on an animal model of Alzheimer disease. In humans, this disease is characterized by a progressive degeneration of cholinergic neurons localized in the septum innervating the hippocampus and associated by important memory impairments. We used a rat model of the disease to test different strategies to reduce and restore the cholinergic loss and subsequent behavioral deficits. I then became a post-doctoral research assistant with Peter Redgrave and Paul Overton in Sheffield (UK). My research focused in large part on the basal ganglia and related structures, especially sensori-motor structures from the brainstem. Two main questions have been approached during my post-doc. The first one concerns the role of visual short latency phasic responses of dopamine neurons while the second one was around the wider role of the basal ganglia. In a technical point of view, my post doc has allowed me to acquire much wider skills. The behavioral pharmacological technique learned during my PhD has been completed by those of neuroanatomy and electrophysiology.

I have been appointed an INSERM permanent research position at the Grenoble institute of neuroscience in 2009. My research project focused on the anatomical and functional link between the sensori-motor structures from the brainstem and the subthalamic nucleus. In Grenoble, I have established multi sites in vivo single unit and field potential recordings within this network and equipped the laboratories for all kind of sensory stimulations (visual, audition, pain …). These electro-physiological techniques are routinely combined with neuroanatomical tract tracing and immuno-histochemistry. I took advantage of my new working environment favoring clinical and pre-clinical research to study this network in Parkinson’s disease and animal models of this disease. This research combines electrophysiology with neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) via well-established collaborative national and international collaborators.