Théotime DE CHARRIN

MD-PhD trainee from ENS and ESPCI (PSL).

– Laboratoire Plasticité du Cerveau, CNRS UMR8249
ESPCI ParisTech
10 rue Vauquelin
75231 Paris cedex 5 France
– email :

Research projects
Manipulation of Memory via Brain-Computer Interface for PTSD Treatment

After studying both fundamental biology, modelization and medicine, I wanted to pursue a PhD in integrative neurosciences. I had the opportunity to do so within Karim Benchenane’s lab, a highly holistic and interdisciplinary lab working on the understanding of brain states through memory, spatial navigation and behaviour. My PhD research focuses on innovative approaches to manipulating memory for therapeutic purposes, particularly for PTSD treatment. Memory is a fundamental part of learning and adaptation, but in conditions like PTSD, maladaptive memories can be detrimental. My work explores how brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can be used to alter aversive memories by manipulating brain activity during sleep. Using neural decoding and AI models, such as deep neural networks (DNN), I aim to decode the brain code in a first time, in order to selectively target and modify negative memories in a second step, creating potential pathways to treat trauma-related disorders. This project builds on the most recent research in memory reactivation and BCI technology, offering promising insights into the future of mental health therapies.

ACADEMICS
2024- PhD Trainee, ESPCI Paris-PSL, Laboratoire de Plasticité du Cerveau (UMR 8249)
▪ Under the supervision of Karim BENCHENANE ; Memory, Oscillations and Brain states team
▪ Funded by the Life Sciences Doctoral School, PSL
▪ My main focus will be about the impact of emotional valence on hippocampic reactivations during sleep and wakefulness.

2022-2025 MD-PhD program from École Normale Supérieure - PSL

2023-2024 MSc in Mathematics, Vision, Learning (MVA) at UPC and ENS-Saclay, Paris
▪ Highly competitive degree in applied mathematics, with a focus on Health applications :
• Convex Optimization (d’Aspremont)
• Computational Statistics (Allassonnière)
• Geometrical Data Analysis (Feydy)
• Deep Learning for Medical Imaging (Colliot)
• fMRI and Brain Computer Interface (Thirion, Corsi)
▪ Obtained with the highest honours (averaged 16.5/20)
▪ Funded by the PaRis Artificial Intelligence Research InstitutE (PRAIRIE) fellowship

2020-2023 Medical studies at Université Paris-Cité, Paris (75005)
▪ Attended the first cycle of French Medical Studies.
▪ Third Year (pre-residency)
• Internal Medicine, Cochin Hospital (8 weeks), Paediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Necker Hospital (8 weeks)

2022-2023 École Normale Supérieure PSL, Paris (75005)
▪ 1st Year Life Sciences MSc Student at ENS.
• 9 students nationwide in the MD-PhD program
• Courses : Mathematics, Computational Biology, Synaptic
foundations of network function, Systems Neurophysiology

2022 Other MD-PhD programs, École de l’INSERM Liliane Bettencourt and Université Paris-Cité
▪ Attended the winter school and integrated the MD-PhD INSERM Network.
▪ Statistical Physics (Di Meglio)
▪ Applied Mathematics and Statistics - GMM Select
▪ (Allassonnière)
▪ Machine Learning and Computer Vision (Ponce)

Research experience
2024 MSc Internship – Rehabilitation Lab, Health and Science technologies, ETH Zürich. 6 months
▪ Coherences of EEG, DBS and IMUs data recorded during movement
in Parkinson’s Disease.

2023 MSc Internship – Team Ashwini Oswal, Brain Network Dynamics Unit, University of Oxford. 3 months
▪ Caracterization of the relationship between VTA fiber tract density
and synchronized neural oscillation in cluster headache patients.
DBS, MEG and tractography analysis.

2022 MSc Internship – Team Xavier Morin, Institut de Biologie de l’ENS, ENS-PSL. 3 months