Research
Our team, enriched by its multidisciplinary nature, comprises neurologists, neurosurgeons, biologists, biomedical science researchers, and engineers, all united by a common goal: advancing research and ensuring innovation in the field of refractory epilepsy.
Our laboratory aims to enhance the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with refractory epilepsy and optimize vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) treatment. We investigate the central and peripheral effects of VNS to better understand how the activity of these networks is modulated by the therapy. Our objectives are to understand the mechanisms of action of the therapy, optimize it to maximize its antiepileptic effects, and better select VNS-responsive patients. Our lab consists of two complementary research teams: Clinical Research and Animal Research.
Team members
Principal Investigator
Prof. Riëm El Tahry, Epileptologist and Associate Clinical Chief at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, and Laboratory Director at UCLouvain
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Enrique Germany Morrison
Dr. Ayse Dereli
PhD candidates
Dr. Roberto Santalucia, Pediatric Neurologist at Saint-Luc University Clinics
Dr. Vincent Joris, Neurosurgeon at Saint-Luc University Clinics
Dr. Venethia Danthine
Alexandre Berger
Inci Cakiroglu
Andres T. Sanchez
Elena Acedo Reina
Elise Collard
Auriane Apaire
Master students
Najoua Boughaba
Abigail Niyibizi
Collaborations
National Collaborations
- Prof. Antoine Nonclercq, Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles, Bio, Electro, and Mechanical Systems and Bio-Mechatronics research unit
- Prof. Emmanuel Hermans, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences UCL, Institute of Neuroscience, Cellular and Molecular Pole, Neuropharmacology
- Prof. André Mouraux, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, UCL, Institute of Neuroscience, Systems & Cognitive Neuroscience
- Prof. Giulia Liberati, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, UCL, Institute of Neuroscience, Systems & Cognitive Neuroscience
- Prof. Gilles Vandewalle, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, GIGA CRC In Vivo Imaging - Sleep and Chronobiology
International Collaborations
- Prof. Ron Kupers, University of Copenhagen, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology
- Prof Fabrice Bartolomei, faculty of medicine at Aix-Marseille University, Chief of Service Neurophysiologie Clinique of the Timone Hospital, Marseille, France
- Prof George Ibrahim, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering, the Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, Canada
- Prof. Irene Wang, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic Epilepsy Center, Cleveland OHIO, USA.
Ongoing Projects
Clinical Research
- EEG Synchronization Measures as a Predictive Biomarker of VNS Response in Drug-resistant Epilepsy: A Retrospective Study [Venethia Danthine]
- A Longitudinal Vagus Nerve Stimulation Study: Effects on Laryngeal Motor Evoked Potentials and EEG Synchronization [Venethia Danthine]
- Neural Correlates of taVNS: Scalp EEG and Insular sEEG Heartbeat Evoked Potentials Modulation in an Epileptic Patient [Enrique Germany Morrison]
- VNS-dose-dependent pupil dilation response (PDR) [Andrès T. Sanchez]
- EEG Connectivity Analysis of VNS-dose-dependency in Refractory Epilepsy [Andrès T. Sanchez]
- Effect of blue light on VNS brain modulation [Inci Cakiroglu]
- Rs-fMRI and micro-fingerprinting in the preoperative analysis of epileptogenic networks [Vincent Joris]
- The added value of VBM in the presurgical work-up: a SEEG study. [Vincent Joris]
- Optimization of the care in refractory childhood epilepsy [Roberto Santalucia]
- Use of advanced EEG analysis for the care of childhood epilepsy [Roberto Santalucia]
- Peripheral level: biomarkers of effective stimulation of the nerve [Alexandre Berger]
- Central level: modulation of the Locus Coeruleus and thalamocortical network with VNS [Alexandre Berger]
Animal Research
- Vagus Nerve Electroneurogram based detection of kainic acid induced seizures in rats [Elena Acedo Reina]
- Vagus Nerve Activity modulation during absence seizures in GAERS rats [Elise Collard]
- Investigating circadian VENG variations in Epileptic vs. Non-Epileptic animals [Elise Collard]
- VENG-based Seizure Detection Algorithm Using Chronic Data Recordings in Awake and Freely Moving GAERS [Enrique Germany Morrison]
- Characterisation of central chemoreception and cardio regulation in the kainic acid model of epilepsy and its modulation by vagus nerve stimulation [Ayse Dereli and Auriane Apaire]
- Characterisation of VENG modulation during CO2 challenge between healthy and kainic acid rats [Auriane Apaire]
Key publications
- Berger, A. et al. Vagus nerve stimulation-induced laryngeal motor evoked potentials for response prediction and intensity titration in drug-resistant epilepsy. Clin. Neurophysiol. 147, 99–107 (2023).
- Fahoum, F. et al. VNS parameters for clinical response in Epilepsy. Brain Stimulat. 15, 814–821 (2022).
- Vespa, S. et al. Corrigendum to “Characterization of vagus nerve stimulation-induced pupillary responses in epileptic patients” [Brain Stimul. 15 (2022) 1498–1507, (S1935861X22002388), (10.1016/j.brs.2022.11.002)]. Brain Stimulat. 16, 1461 (2023).
- Stumpp, L. et al. Vagus nerve electroneurogram-based detection of acute pentylenetetrazol induced seizures in rats. Brain Stimulat. 14, 1725–1726 (2021).
- Vespa, S. et al. Vagus Nerve Stimulation Elicits Sleep EEG Desynchronization and Network Changes in Responder Patients in Epilepsy. Neurotherapeutics 18, 2623–2638 (2021).