Consistent individual differences in behaviours represent an ubiquitous feature in animal populations. These behavioural differences among individuals define personality and have been linked to the susceptibility to addiction. Indeed, the susceptibility to develop drug addiction differs substantially between individuals and some traits that characterize an individual,…  Continue reading →

The infrastructure of the human brain allows us to acquire a language without formal instruction in the first years of life. I will discuss the features that make our brain language-ready. Next to the neuro-architectural features I will discuss the…  Continue reading →

In order to succeed in a changing environment, animals need to take into account noisy and ambiguous stimuli and select appropriate behavior. Furthermore, animals need to modify their behavior when the outcome is unsuccessful. In this talk, I will present…  Continue reading →

Early-life adversity can have devastating and lasting consequences on individuals, considerably increasing the lifetime risk of negative mental health outcomes such as depression and suicide. Yet, the neurobiological processes underlying this increase in vulnerability remain poorly understood. I will present…  Continue reading →

Honeybees possess miniature brains but exhibit a sophisticated behavioral repertoire. In the last decades, bees have emerged as useful models for the study of the neural bases of simple forms of associative learning based on their capacity to learn elemental,…  Continue reading →