Nectarine, a team bursting with energy to improve mental health care

Major challenges in mental health

Axel Hutt began his studies in physics in the 1990s, but soon switched to computational neuroscience and has (almost) never left the field. So much so that the researcher has now created a new team in this field at the Inria Centre at the University of Lorraine, called Nectarine (on neuromodulation through pharmacological and digital treatments). It builds on the work that Axel Hutt, previously part of the Mimesis project team, has been conducting since 2019 in close collaboration with the Inserm UMR 1329 “Strasbourg Translational Neuroscience & Psychiatry” team. 

“We are working together on two main areas: attention deficit disorder and time perception disorders in schizophrenic patients,” says Axel Hutt. Needless to say, there are considerable challenges in both cases: “There are drugs to treat attention deficit disorder, but we know that after a few years, the body adapts and the treatment becomes less effective,” continues the researcher. “As for the problem of time perception in schizophrenia, it prevents patients from anticipating changes in their environment or the actions of those around them, which makes their lives much more difficult.” Axel Hutt hopes to find new avenues of treatment for both Schizophrenia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).  

Using modelling to improve treatments

To achieve this, he has adopted an original approach, inspired by his four years (between 2015 and 2019) at the Deutsche Wetterdienst, the German weather service. “The atmosphere is so complex that meteorologists don’t have a perfect model that explains the impact of each of the parameters involved. However, they have developed models that are sufficient to predict the weather effectively.” 

With Nectarine, he plans to proceed in the same way: dispensing with knowledge of the precise workings of the brain (which is still unavailable at present), but relying on models describing certain mechanisms to improve neuromodulation, i.e. the use of (in this case non-invasive) treatments that modify brain activity in patients with brain disorders. This method was applied in two theses, co-supervised by Axel Hutt with Anne Bonnefond and Anne Giersch, from UMR 1329.

One thesis on attention deficit disorder, the other on schizophrenia

The first thesis focuses on attention deficit disorder, testing behavioral feedback as a treatment. PhD student Negin Majzoubi has already conducted psychophysical experiments with twelve volunteers: they took part in a cognitive game that tests attention, either without feedback or with a positive or negative image displayed when the answer was correct or incorrect. 

“Our initial results confirm what other studies have begun to show: behavioral feedback improves attention; response times are reduced and the rate of correct responses increases”, says Axel Hutt. “It’s actually quite logical: we are all more motivated to work, and therefore perform better, when we get positive feedback on our achievements.” 

The experiment will be repeated in the autumn, but this time the participants’ brain waves will also be observed using EEG (electroencephalogram). This data will provide a better understanding of what is going on in the brain, but above all it will enable AI to be used to process the data. What is the aim? To develop a model that makes it possible to adapt behavioral feedback based in order to make it as effective as possible.

The second thesis aims to establish whether transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), applied to the cerebellum, can help improve time prediction in schizophrenic patients. Here again, PhD student Telma Nette is conducting both psycho-cognitive experiments and EEG measurements. “The principle is the same: test a treatment and from these observations, which vary according to each patient, derive a generic model that will then enable us to improve the treatment for all patients”, continues Axel Hutt. 

Attention deficit disorders: the search for a simple protocol

The researcher also wants to analyse the data from an experiment conducted two years ago by a Master’s student on (low-frequency) binaural beats in order to observe their effects on relaxation and concentration. A paper on the subject is currently being published. “My dream is that one day, patients suffering from attention deficit disorder will be able to benefit from a simple protocol for treating themselves on a daily basis,” hopes Axel Hutt. 

The neuroscience specialist’s collaborations and ambitions do not stop there. For example, he is also working with the University of Ottawa in Canada on mathematical theories in neuroscience, and with the University of Freiburg in Germany, for which he is analysing EEG data from neuromodulation experiments.  

A focus on non-invasive treatments

Finally, a grant application is about to be submitted in collaboration with the Inci (Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience). “Our goal is to fund a thesis to test an algorithm developed by a former PhD student for closed-loop neurostimulation,” explains Axel Hutt. “We know that in the case of psychosis, for example, alpha waves are too weak and gamma waves too strong.  In theory, the algorithm can optimise neurostimulation for each patient in order to correct these imbalances, and we want to test this, initially on animal models.” 

All of this research will be carried out by the Nectarine team, benefiting from the expertise of Axel Hutt and Camille Gontier, the other permanent member of the team. Camille Gontier, a specialist in active learning, will focus on creating algorithms that will make it possible to study the results of experiments in real time in order to adapt their parameters, also in real time, in order to optimise them. This will further facilitate the development of non-invasive treatments for various brain disorders.