Serotonin modulation on cortico-striatal circuits involved in eating disorders, impulsivity and...

Tremblay's team, named "Pathophysiology of Basal Ganglia" is specialized in the study of neurological (Parkinsons disease, Tourette's syndrome) and psychiatric disorders (impulsivity, anxiety and anorexia) resulting from dysfunctions of these subcortical structures. This team, led by Dr Tremblay, is part of the "Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod" (ISCMJ) which is located on Vinatier site, in Bron. This laboratory has access to the CERMEP brain imaging platform, located a 5-minute walk from the Institute. It is on this imaging platform that the multimodal imaging acquisitions will be carried out, on one of the rare hybrid cameras that can simultaneously perform acquisitions by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional MRI.
This project on Behavioral Neurosciences is part of a translational research project, including a clinical component with anorexia nervosa patients. The project is funded by the National Research Agency (ANR) for 4 years, making it possible to carry out this thesis project over 3 years of studies leading to "PhD in Cognitive Neurosciences". Dr Tremblay's team is part of the ISCMJ which encourages interaction and collaboration between research teams, with weekly seminars, several social activities and scientific exchanges on the Neurosciences of normal and pathological behaviors. The scientific reputation and the level of the research works of Dr. Tremblay's team and his colleagues make the ISCMJ a center of excellence for research and student training.

This thesis aims to determine the involvement of serotonergic transmission on the Basal Ganglia (GB), a set of subcortical structures known to be involved in cognitive and motivational processes, underlying food intake, impulsivity and anxiety, on which selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may exert their therapeutic effects. The PhD student will be in charge of performing pharmacological tests with drugs modulating serotonergic transmission, including fluoxetine (a SSRI better known under the name of Prozac), which will be injected directly into the striatum of non-human primates (NHP) who perform behavioral tasks addressing food preferences and aversive anticipation. He or she will be responsible for the daily training of NHP involved in the project. He/she will be responsible for the acquisition and processing of behavioral data and PET-MRI imaging to determine the striatal territories and cortico-striatal circuits involved in the therapeutic effects. The PhD student will be responsible for carrying out the analysis of datas to lead these results to the writing and publication of two scientific articles.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Knowledge of the brain anatomy of animal and/or human,
- Knowledge of the cognitive processes underlying food intake,
- Skills to work with animals, ideally with a level 1 for animal experimentation,
- Disposition to teamwork and strong motivation,
- Fluency in written English.