I completed a bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Paris 8 where I did my first 6-month research internship in electrophysiology on semantic approximations in 4-year-old children at the BabyLab of the University of Paris(INCC) under the supervision of Louise Goyet. I then completed a master's degree in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Paris (PCFA) where I worked on false memories with Valentina La Corte and Pascale Piolino at the LMC2 (EEGand virtual reality). The same year, I completed a ten-month internship in the laboratory of physiopathology and clinical pharmacology of pain (Ambroise Paré hospital). I worked on the emotional modulation of pain with Sophie Baudic and Didier Bouhassira. For my second-year master internship, I worked on a research project with Delphine Oudiette on the reactivation of recent learning in sleepwalkers in the sleep disorders department of the Pitié Salpêtrièrehospital within the Mov'It team of the ICM (Brain Institute). Our goal was to explore the link(s) between dreams and memories (at the level of learning replay during Slow Wave Sleep). This study allowed me to start developing the first study of my thesis project, namely: "Can we trigger a memory-related behavior in sleepwalkers? (Sleep-Dance)".

Lacaux C, Andrillon T, Bastoul C, Idir Y, Fonteix-Galet A, ArnulfI, Oudiette D. Sleep onset is a creative sweet spot. Science Advances. 2021

What is the role of sleep and dreams in on our cognitive functioning?

This question is difficult because mental and cognitive processes are virtually inaccessible in a sleeping person. To solve this problem, we propose to use sleepwalking patients whose nocturnal behaviors can objectively visualize mental activity during Slow Wave Sleep (SWS). In the ‘Talk-To-Me’ project, I will use this model to test whether it is possible to communicate with sleepwalkers in the middle of an episode in order to have live access to their mental activity. Then in the ‘Sleep-Dance’ project, I will test if the presentation during the SWS of a melody previously associated with a motor learning triggers, in sleepwalkers, a behavioral re-execution of the learned choreography as well as a dream related to the task. This project should allow us to better characterize sleepwalking and to learn more about the cognitive functions associated with SWS.

Coming soon!