Development of the human brain is one of the most fascinating process in neurosciences. While brain-behavior relationships have been suggested in infants by developmental psychology studies, only recent advances in neuroimaging have enabled us to explore the human brain functioning in vivo, providing the opportunity to demonstrate developmental links in a direct way. Recent findings have supported the idea that the relative variability across infants in motor and cognitive acquisitions are not only the consequence of endogeneous determinants of brain development, but that in utero and post-natal sensorimotor experiences modulate cerebral changes in a complex way, dependant on the environment. Nevertheless, how functional acquisitions relate to the brain structural organization and progressive maturation remains under investigated so far.
Understanding how cognitive functions develop in infants requires to correlate behavioral assessments with neuroanatomical and electrophysiological mappings, and thus to implement original approaches with non-invasive imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electro-encephalography (EEG). My research career has enabled me to capitalize on my schooling in Engineering, Physics and Neurosciences to explore this fascinating issue. By proposing original MRI approaches, my transversal researches have shed light on two major brain mechanisms so far: 1) the early development and folding of the cortex from the preterm period to early infancy, as studied with anatomical MRI; 2) the development and maturation of white matter bundles in infants, as studied with multi-parametric imaging notably diffusion MRI and EEG. I have been particularly interested in the development of the visual, auditory and sensorimotor modalities.
Aside from fundamental knowledge on the development of human cognitive abilities, investigating how the infant brain networks are functionally organized and become efficient is essential in a clinical context, to understand the complexity of various neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, and early disruptions in key mechanisms responsible for long-term disabilities. To characterize these early disturbances and to design appropriate remediation strategies, we cannot bypass the definition of early brain markers and the identification of neurodevelopmental trajectories in typical infants.
Understanding how cognitive functions develop in infants requires to correlate behavioral assessments with neuroanatomical and electrophysiological mappings, and thus to implement original approaches with non-invasive imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electro-encephalography (EEG). My research career has enabled me to capitalize on my schooling in Engineering, Physics and Neurosciences to explore this fascinating issue. By proposing original MRI approaches, my transversal researches have shed light on two major brain mechanisms so far: 1) the early development and folding of the cortex from the preterm period to early infancy, as studied with anatomical MRI; 2) the development and maturation of white matter bundles in infants, as studied with multi-parametric imaging notably diffusion MRI and EEG. I have been particularly interested in the development of the visual, auditory and sensorimotor modalities.
Aside from fundamental knowledge on the development of human cognitive abilities, investigating how the infant brain networks are functionally organized and become efficient is essential in a clinical context, to understand the complexity of various neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, and early disruptions in key mechanisms responsible for long-term disabilities. To characterize these early disturbances and to design appropriate remediation strategies, we cannot bypass the definition of early brain markers and the identification of neurodevelopmental trajectories in typical infants.
