Alessia Ruyant Belabbas

Fascinated by how thoughts emerge from brain matter and driven by clinical impact, I study consciousness at its limits in the Intensive Care Unit. I am a fourth-year PhD student working between the DreamTeam (Dr. Thomas Andrillon) and the PICNIC Lab (Pr. Benjamin Rohaut). Using neurophysiological approaches such as high-density EEG, I investigate residual cognition in patients with Disorders of Consciousness (coma, Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome, Minimally Conscious State). On one hand, I examine alterations in brain dynamics, particularly the pathological intrusion of sleep-like slow waves, as potential fine-grained biomarkers of consciousness states that could improve diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. On the other hand, given the key role of memory in shaping conscious experience, I develop auditory EEG paradigms to probe the preservation of memory capacities in these non-communicating patients, without relying on behavioral responses. My goal is to refine our understanding of their possible subjective life and contribute to better-informed clinical care.