Research

The general theme involves the study of processes implicated in the normal and pathological development of the nervous system employing different animal models.

The research work concerns the functional and anatomical organization of the visual system in birds and mammals. It seeks to shed light on the anatomical and neurochemical substrates underlying various visual related behaviours (binocular vision, form discrimination, visual attention/detection). The findings are also interpreted in a comparative framework, addressing questions of the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its various components.

In addition, other investigations concern the anatomical, neurochemical, molecular and behavioural aspects of plasticity of the nervous system following retinal or cortical lesions in normal specimens, and in cases of congenital pathologies. The investigation of these degenerative, regenerative and compensatory changes allow us to better understand certain human pathologies and the mechanisms of plasticity which underlie functional recovery.