ExTraPsy

Experimental & Translational Psychiatry

Stress-, mood- and reward-processing dysfunctions are pivotal in eliciting mental disorders such as major depression (MD), anxiety-related disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), addictive disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 
Our strategic choices are constructed along three main lines, representing key developments regarding our general objectives (see above, see Figure 4) and our research and medical domains:

• To promote basic/clinical research that relies on multi-scale examinations of brain dysfunctions and psychiatric disorders. 
• To foster bidirectional translation between bench and bedside. Favoring precision psychiatry and approaches relying on biologically-based constructs. (RDoC, NIMH 2009)

Objectives

• To uncover the neurobiological mechanisms underlying stress-, mood- and reward- processing dysfunctions.
• To identify relevant markers.
• To develop of innovative therapeutic approaches.

Specific research axes

Stress- and mood-related disorders

Our research aims to consider this risk for psychopathology, the symptoms and the response to therapeutic/preventive treatments for depression and stress-related disorders, through the prism of major domains of basic neurobehavioral functioning and their alterations, referred to as RDoC domains (cognitive systems, social processes, positive and negative valence systems, arousal and regulatory systems and sensorimotor systems). This axis includes : 

• Preclinical models of stress, depression and PTSD in mice at different stages of development and lifespan (from juvenile to older adults) including the study of: 
  • early-life adversity (ELA) mouse model, ELA may play a role in the development of depressive-like phenotypes.
  • stress-related disorders (RDoC - cognitive systems).
  • the impact of innovative neurostimulation strategies on different RDoC domains relevant to depression and PTSD. 
• Clinical studies of: 
  • olfactory perception and stimulation in depression
  • the effects of nitrous oxide (N2O) as a potential fast-acting antidepressant
  • novel therapeutic brain stimulation strategies to be tested in homogeneous subgroups of patients and/or targeted biomarkers
• Epistemological reasons for using preclinical and clinical protocols

Reward-related disorders

Our Team aims to develop new lines of research investigating anhedonia and reward processing dysfunctions in other mental disorders than MD or stress-related disorders, such as ASD, addictive disorders and ADHD, and to enhance understanding of (1) underlying neurobiological mechanisms and (2) novel preventive/therapeutic strategies.

• Preclinical models to 
  • identify the neurobiological underpinnings of social anhedonia and withdrawal under physiological and pathological conditions such as ASD 
  • develop novel therapeutic strategies to relieve behavioral domains relevant to ASD across multiple mouse models.
• Clinical studies
  • Investigating the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions in different types of behavioral addictions
  • Investigating the association of addictive disorders with ADHD, and its psychobiological correlates or underlying mechanisms, especially for addictive-like eating 

Functional Groups