Dr Elsa Fouragnan

Biography

Future Leader Fellow UKRI

Head of the Stimulation Lab at BRIC

Invited lecturer in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience

Bio: My research focuses on the neurobiology of decision-making and learning, both in healthy adults and in patients with psychiatric disorders. After working as a biomedical engineer, developing brain-related clinical devises, I pursued an academic career in computational neuroscience at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford. My previous research focused on the use of multimodal neuroimaging, including simultaneous EEG and fMRI methods, which allowed uncovering latent brain states that remain unobserved with conventional methods. Additionally, I worked on the proof of principle - in an animal model - that transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation can safely and transiently change neural activity in precise parts of the brain. My ambition is to bring this technology forward and apply it to mental health challenges.

Do you know how incredible the different applications of therapeutic ultrasound can be for mental health disorders? I created this cool video with @Animate_Science

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KsuqRldCspU… Enjoy!

Qualifications

PhD in Computational Neuroscience - European fellowship & Visiting scholar at USC, Los Angeles, USA

Master in Biomedical Engineering (ENSC Bordeaux, France)

Roles on external bodies

Member of the Focused Ultrasound international working group on safety and ethics 2018-present

Board member of the Change Group, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Oxford, 2017-2018

Treasurer, French federation of students and early researchers in Cognitive Sciences, 2006

Key publications

Fouragnan EF, Chau BKH, Folloni D, Kolling N, Verhagen L, Klein-Flügge M, Tankelevitch L, Papageorgiou GK, Aubry J-F & Sallet J (2019) 'The macaque anterior cingulate cortex translates counterfactual choice value into actual behavioral change' Nature Neuroscience 22, (5) 797-808 , DOI Open access

Fouragnan E, Queirazza F, Retzler C, Mullinger KJ & Philiastides MG (2017) 'Spatiotemporal neural characterization of prediction error valence and surprise during reward learning in humans' Scientific Reports 7, (1) , DOI Open access

Fouragnan E, Retzler C, Mullinger K & Philiastides MG (2015) 'Two spatiotemporally distinct value systems shape reward-based learning in the human brain' Nature Communications 6, (0) 0-0 , DOI Open access

View all publications

Teaching

Teaching interests

UG:

412 - Psychological Science
415 - Topics in Psychology
406 - Applied psychology
404 - Current topics in Psychology

MA:

570 - Issues in Cognitive and Brain Science

Staff serving as external examiners

PhD examiner:

Elodie Levy, ICM, CNRS, Paris, France

Research

Research interests

I am fascinated by the brain's remarkable capacity to process our continually changing environment, allowing us to avoid repeated mistakes and make smart decisions. How is this normally achieved, and what are the consequences of brain damage? To address these questions, a large part of my work focuses on both value-based decision-making and reward-learning and involves various methods including multimodal neuroimaging (simultaneous EEG-fMRI), focal ultrasound neurostimulation and comparative neuroscience.

Research groups

Neuroscience

Other research

Award for best Neuroscientific contribution (~$20,000) by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2019

Best poster price, Foundation for Focused Ultrasound, Oxford University, September 2019

Best poster price, Neuroeconomics Summer School, Amsterdam University, June 2012

Award for exceptional performance in Mathematics, Atomic Energy Commissariat, Toulouse, 2006

Grants & contracts

UKRI FLF 2020-2024 (£1,032,516.11), Principal Investigator "Mapping the neural circuit of credit assignment for a new targeted brain intervention in addiction"

Leverhulme 2019-2022 (£462,995), Co-investigator “Social perception as Bayesian hypothesis testing and revision” with Prof. Patric Bach (PI)

Praxis Clinical Grant (£2,000), Small Research Grant - Developing psychiatric tasks in eating disorders with Dr Remi Neveu

Publications

Key publications

Key publications are highlighted

Journals

Articles

Komarnyckyj M, Retzler C, Cao Z, Ganis G, Murphy A, Whelan R & Fouragnan EF (2022) 'At‐risk alcohol users have disrupted valence discrimination during reward anticipation' Addiction Biology 27, (3) , DOI Open access

Darmani G, Bergmann TO, Butts Pauly K, Caskey CF, de Lecea L, Fomenko A, Fouragnan E, Legon W, Murphy KR & Nandi T (2021) 'Non-invasive transcranial ultrasound stimulation for neuromodulation' Clinical Neurophysiology 135, 51-73 , DOI Open access

Folloni D, Fouragnan E, Wittmann MK, Roumazeilles L, Tankelevitch L, Verhagen L, Attali D, Aubry J-F, Sallet J & Rushworth MFS (2021) 'Ultrasound modulation of macaque prefrontal cortex selectively alters credit assignment–related activity and behavior' Science Advances 7, (51) , DOI Open access

Lopez-Persem A, Roumazeilles L, Folloni D, Marche K, Fouragnan EF, Khalighinejad N, Rushworth MFS & Sallet J (2020) 'Differential functional connectivity underlying asymmetric reward-related activity in human and nonhuman primates' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, (45) 28452-28462 , DOI Open access

Trudel N, Scholl J, Klein-Flügge MC, Fouragnan E, Tankelevitch L, Wittmann MK & Rushworth MFS (2020) 'Polarity of uncertainty representation during exploration and exploitation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex' Nature Human Behaviour 5, (1) 83-98 , DOI Open access

Wittmann M, Fouragnan E, Folloni D, Klein-Flugge M, Chau B, Khamassi M & Rushworth M (2020) 'Global reward state affects learning and activity in raphe nucleus and anterior insula in monkeys' Nature Communications 11, (1) 0-0 , DOI Open access

Queirazza F, Fouragnan E, Steele JD, Cavanagh J & Philiastides MG (2019) 'Neural correlates of weighted reward prediction error during reinforcement learning classify response to cognitive behavioral therapy in depression' Science Advances 5, (7) eaav4962-eaav4962 , DOI Open access

Folloni D, Verhagen L, Mars R, Fouragnan E, Constans C, Aubry J-F, Rushworth MFS & Sallet J (2019) 'Manipulation of subcortical and deep cortical activity in the primate brain using transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation' Neuron , DOI Open access

Fouragnan E, Retzler C & Philiastides MG (2018) 'Separate neural representations of prediction error valence and surprise: Evidence from an fMRI meta-analysis' Human Brain Mapping Author Site , DOI Open access

Pisauro MA, Fouragnan E, Retzler C & Philiastides MG (2017) 'Neural correlates of evidence accumulation during value-based decisions revealed via simultaneous EEG-fMRI' Nature Communications 8, (1) , DOI Open access

Neveu R, Fouragnan E, Barsumian F, Carrier E, Lai M, Nicolas A, Neveu D & Coricelli G (2016) 'Preference for Safe Over Risky Options in Binge Eating' Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 10, , DOI Open access

Neveu R, Fouragnan E, Barsumian F, Carrier E, Lai M, Nicolas A, Neveu D & Coricelli G (2016) 'Preference for Safe Over Risky Options in Binge Eating' FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 10, Author Site , DOI

Neveu R, Neveu D, Barsumian F, Fouragnan E, Carrier E, Lai M, Sultan J, Nicolas A & Coricelli G (2014) 'Improved Planning Abilities in Binge Eating' PLoS ONE 9, (8) e105657-e105657 , DOI Open access

Fouragnan E, Chierchia G, Greiner S, Neveu R, Avesani P & Coricelli G (2013) 'Reputational Priors Magnify Striatal Responses to Violations of Trust' Journal of Neuroscience 33, (8) 3602-3611 , DOI

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