CerCo
Centre de Recherche Cerveau & Cognition

Pascal Barone

DR CNRS
Equipe C3P
pascal.barone@cnrs.fr
Tel : 05 62 74 61 50

During my career, I have worked on many aspects of cortical functions, ranging from sensory perception (vision and hearing) to the complex processes of multisensory fusion, as well as cognitive functions such as language, motor preparation, short-term memory and action planning. Common to all my work is the quest to establish links between cortical structures and functions. I have approached this task using various investigative tools: neuroanatomy, unitary electrophysiology, brain imaging and psychophysics, as well as two theoretical approaches: the study of cortical development and the analysis of brain plasticity phenomena during development and in adults.

Multisensory interaction and sensory vicariance. My previous anatomical and electrophysiological work on primates has demonstrated the existence of multisensory integration phenomena in the early stages of information processing in primary sensory areas. This work has an important theoretical impact on the understanding of multisensory integration mechanisms, such as the perceptual effects facilitated by the presentation of multimodal stimuli, and on the mechanics of vicariance in the event of the loss of a sensory modality in the deaf subject.

Functional compensation and adult deafness. Much of my work over the last few years has focused on profound deafness and cochlear implant rehabilitation, with a strong emphasis on clinical rehabilitation. We are studying how the potential for brain plasticity in patients is crucial to the successful recovery of auditory functions, as the cochlear implant delivers only rudimentary information. We continue our exploration of adult brain plasticity by focusing on unilateral deafness in adults and young children, and more specifically on the compensatory mechanisms affecting spatial hearing after loss of binaurality.

Social cognition in the Prader Willi patient. In collaboration with prof. M. Tauber (CHU Purpan), I have been investigating communication signal processing deficits in patients suffering from Prader Willi syndrome (PWS).

Techniques

  • Psychophysics
  • Brain imaging: EEG, PET scan, fMRI, fNIRS
  • Electrophysiology

Main publications

  1. Strelnikov K., Debladis J., Salle J., Valette M., Cortadellas J., Tauber* and Barone* P . Amygdala hyperactivation relates to eating behavior: a potential indicator of food addiction in Prader-Willi syndrome Brain Communication 5 (3) (2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcad138.
  2. Karoui, K. Strelnikov, P. Payoux, A.-S. Salabert, O. Deguine, P. Barone*, M. Marx*. Cortical processing for sound location is restored after cochlear implantation in asymmetric hearing loss . Evidence from a PET H2O15 study Cerebral Cortex. 5 (1) (2023) 2229-2244. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac204
  3. Magrou L., Barone P., Markov N.T., Killackey H., Giroud P., Berland M., Knoblauch K., Dehay C., Kennedy H. How Areal Specification Shapes the Local and Inter-Areal Circuits in A Macaque Model of Congenital Blindness. Cerebral cortex 28 (2018). 3017-3034
  4. K. Strelnikov, J. Rouger, J.-F. Demonet, S. Lagleyre, B. Fraysse, O. Deguine, and P. Barone. Visual activity predicts auditory recovery from deafness after cochlear implantation in adult. Brain 136 (2013) : 3682-3695.
  5. Rouger J., Lagleyre S., Demonet JF, Fraysse B., Deguine O., and Barone P. Evolution of crossmodal reorganization of the voice area in cochlear-implanted deaf patients. Human Brain Mapping 33(2012):1929-40.
  6. Wang, Y., Celebrini, S., Trotter, Y., and Barone P. Visuo-auditory interactions in the primary visual cortex of the behaving monkey. Electrophysiological evidence. BMC Neuroscience 2008, 9:79
  7. Rouger J , Lagleyre S, Deneve S , Fraysse B , Deguine O. Barone P : Evidence that cochlear implanted deaf patients are better multisensory integrators. PNAS. 104 (2007) : 7295-7300.
  8. Cappe C. and P. Barone : Heteromodal connections supporting multisensory integration at low levels of cortical processing in the monkey. European Journal of Neuroscience 22 (2005) : 2886-2902.
  9. Fonta C., Négyessy L., Renaud L., and Barone P.: Areal and subcellular localization of the ubiquitous alkaline phosphatase in the primate cerebral cortex: evidence for a role in neurotransmission. Cerebral Cortex 14 (2004) : 595-609.
  10. Falchier A., S. Clavagnier, P. Barone and H. Kennedy. Anatomical evidence of multimodal integration in primate striate cortex. Journal of Neuroscience 22 (2002): 5749-59.
  11. P. Barone, C. Dehay, M. Berland and H. Kennedy. The role of directed growth and target selection in the formation of cortical pathways: prenatal development of the projection of area V2 to V4 in the monkey. Journal of Comparative Neurology 374 (1996): 1-20.
  12. Barone, A. Batardière, K. Knoblauch and H. Kennedy. Laminar distribution of neurons in extrastriate areas projecting to visual areas V1 and V4 correlates with the hierarchical rank and indicates the operation of a distance rule. Journal of Neuroscience 20 (2000): 3263-3281.
  13. J. C. Clarey, P. Barone and T.J. Imig: Functional organization of sound direction and sound pressure level in primary auditory cortex of the cat. Journal of Neurophysiology 72 (1994): 2383-2405.
  14. P. Barone and J.P. Joseph: Prefrontal cortex and spatial sequencing in monkey. Experimental Brain Research 78 (1989): 447-464.

Student supervision

  • Lasfargue. Thèse de Neurosciences. Université Toulouse 3. Co-direction O. Deguine. Restauration des fonctions auditives et cognitives chez l’enfant sourd implanté cochléaire en fNIRS
  • 2021-. V. Housé-Cerfon. Thèse de Neurosciences. Université Toulouse 3. Co-direction C. Farrér. Les processus cognitifs mis en jeu chez les médecins urgentistes en situation de stress
  • 2022-. Yann Lemaire. Thèse de Neurosciences. Université Toulouse 3. Co-direction O. Deguine. Plasticité cérébrale et rehabilitation fonctionnelle chez les enfants sourds implantés cochléaires

Teachings.

  • Master Neuroscience . Univ. Toulouse 3.

Research Administration.

  • 2011-2016. Director of GDR 2976 GRAEC. Groupement de Recherche en Audiologie Expérimentale et Clinique.
  • 2016-2021. President-elect of Section 26 of the CNRS National Committee.
  • 2021-present. Director of the Institut Fédératif Toulouse Mind Brain Institut 2.0 https://tmbi.univ-tlse3.fr/

Complete list of publications.

P. Barone

Research ID. A-4008-2009.  H35

Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=JD5AUY4AAAAJ&hl=fr