Description du sujet de thèse

Resilience to Childhood Maltreatment and the Role of the Noradrenergic System.
Childhood maltreatment (abuse and neglect) affects around one billion children worldwide and is a major risk factor for developing psychiatric disorders such as depression and suicide. These disorders tend to appear earlier, are more severe, and respond poorly to conventional antidepressants when linked to early trauma. However, some individuals exposed to such adversity do not develop mental illness — they are considered resilient.
While the harmful effects of childhood trauma are well studied, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying resilience remain poorly understood. This project aims to investigate how the noradrenergic system, particularly neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC), might contribute to protection against the long-term effects of childhood maltreatment.

Contexte de travail

The student will pursue their PhD in the Pathophysiology of Psychiatric Disorders team, led by Elsa Isingrini, at the INCC (Université Paris Cité).

Contraintes et risques

The PhD student will be present at the host institution (Saint-Germain-des-Prés site, Université Paris Cité) for 35 hours per week. Weekend and public holiday presence may be required depending on experimental needs. The student will be required to obtain the necessary authorizations for animal experimentation (level: project designer) and for performing surgery.