Working together to understand our brains
The Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS) is one of the five research institutes of the UCLouvain healthcare sector (SSS). It hosts a multidisciplinary team of over 300 researchers and supporting staff, committed to advancing knowledge of the brain in health and disease. The institute is structured along three organizational axes, a cellular and molecular axis (CEMO), a systems and cognition axis (COSY) and a clinical neuroscience axis (NEUR). Its research facilities are located in Brussels and in Louvain-la-Neuve, and include three technological platforms, one dedicated to studying animal behavior (BEAP), the second to the analysis of human neuroimaging data (NIMA), and the third to multidisciplinary investigations in nutrition (CICN). The institute also benefits from close interactions with two academic hospitals, the Saint-Luc University Hospital in Brussels, and the CHU Namur-Godinne in Wallonia.
The Cellular and Molecular (CEMO) axis comprises 8 research groups using molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, transgenesis, imaging and electrophysiology and animal behavior analyses to investigate the fundamental bases of neural development, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology and pathophysiology of the nervous system.
The Systems and Cognition (COSY) axis is highly multidisciplinary in nature. It unites 24 research groups exploring the neural mechanisms underlying perceptual, cognitive and motor functions in humans using a wide range of methods such as psychophysics, neuropsychology, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scalp and intracerebral electroencephalography (EEG), and non-invasive brain stimulation.
The Clinical Neuroscience (NEUR) axis is composed of 16 research groups closely interconnected to the Cliniques Universitaires UCL Saint-Luc and the CHU Dinant-Godinne UCL. This research axis aims at gaining a holistic understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders, and at developing novel diagnostic tools and treatments. Its work is patient-centered, and often complemented by back-translated preclinical studies.