Dr. Judith Nicolas is a neuroscientist specializing in cerebral plasticity and its interactions with memory and attention. During her PhD as a Fondation de France fellow, she conducted in-depth research on the link between saccadic adaptation and visuospatial attention. Utilizing advanced techniques such as magnetoencephalography, eye tracking, and psychophysics, she explored the functional coupling between oculomotor plasticity and visuospatial attention. The outcomes led to the development of an anatomo-functional model, providing new insights into the impact of saccadic adaptation on attention and potential rehabilitation opportunities for visuo-attentional deficits.
In her first postdoctoral position as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, her focus shifted towards exploring the impact of sleep on plasticity. She developed an innovative line of research on sleep-dependent motor memory consolidation, employing a multimodal approach with behavioral recordings, magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, and auditory stimulation during sleep.
Currently, as a fellow of the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, She is dedicated to studying the impact of epilepsy on memory in epilepsy patients. Using intracranial electroencephalography and machine learning, she aims to uncover the complex relationship between epilepsy, memory, and potential rehabilitation approaches based on sleep-dependent plasticity.
Her overarching commitment is to deepen our understanding of cerebral plasticity and identify innovative applications, particularly in the context of healthy aging and neurological disorders. Her goal is to make meaningful contributions to sleep and memory research field and develop innovative and clinically relevant approaches.
