Caroline Jahn (MSc)

Position

I am a first year PhD student in the 'Frontiers in Life Science' program (Paris Descartes University) under the supervision of Dr. Sébastien Bouret in the Motivation Brain and Behavior lab, Brain and Spine Institute, Paris, France, and Dr. Mark Walton in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.

Research project

My work focuses on two neuromodulators: dopamine and noradrenaline. These molecules are known to influence behavior and high-level cognitive functions. In particular, dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems play a critical role in encoding aspects of incentive motivation and adaptive behavior, but their precise roles in decision making remain elusive. The aim of my project is to understand their role in decision making both at the behavioral and neurobiological levels in monkeys. More specifically, I'm interested in situations where subjects are engaged in a goal-oriented action ('default option') and are offered an alternative option. This situation is closer to the types of choices animals are faced with on a day-to-day basis in nature. My goal is to provide a quantitative description of subjects' behavior when performing these types of decisions, comparing formal models derived from neuroeconomics with those from behavioral ecology. To address the complementary roles of dopamine and noradrenaline, I use:

- a pharmacological approach to study how pharmacological agents targeting these neuromodulatory systems influence decision making,

- a neuroimaging (fMRI) approach to elucidate which forebrain networks are involved in this type of decision making paradigm,

- a combination of pharmacology and fMRI to investigate the influence of dopamine and noradrenaline on forebrain networks involved in this task.

Previous research experience

March – September 2014: NeuroPhysics and MicroImaging lab, NeuroSpin, Saclay CEA, France

Under the supervision of Dr. Luisa Ciobanu, I studied the role of serotonin and dopamine in the induction of the neuronal activity in the buccal ganglia of the Aplysia using manganese-enhanced MRI at single cell resolution.

March – August 2013: Motivation Brain and Behavior lab, Brain and Spine Institute, Paris, France

Under the supervision of Dr. Sebastien Bouret, I conducted a pharmacological study in monkeys to elucidate the respective contribution of dopamine and noradrenaline to motivation during an effortful goal oriented action.

Academic background

2013 – 2014: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland

2011 – 2014: Chimie ParisTech (Grande Ecole), Paris, France (Master in Chemical Science and Engineering)

2009 – 2014: Prep classes (PCSI – PC*), Saint-Maur-des-fossés, France