Driss Boussaoud

Driss Boussaoud
Born	1958 Morocco
Nationality	French & Moroccan
Alma mater	Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
Known for	Neuroanatomy; Neurophysiology; Learning
Scientific career
Fields	Neuroscience
Institutions	CNRS - Center National de la Recherche Scientifique (Director)
Doctoral students	Christophe Jouffrais, Judith Tanné-Garieppy, David Thura, Fadila Hadj-Bouziane, Elisa Monfardini

Driss Boussaoud is a neurophysiologist and neuroanatomist working on the brain mechanisms of action planning and skill learning. His research has first focused on the connectivity of the visual cortex, and the pathways that provide visual information to the motor cortex. He has been trying to disentangle neural activity that reflects (a) attention versus intention or motor preparation, and (b) reference frames used for reaching arm movements. He has recently shifted his interest to the dynamics of neuronal activity during learning, which he studies using single neuron recordings as well as brain imaging techniques (fMRI namely).

Background

Driss Boussaoud comes from a small village (called Mezdou) of the Middle Atlas Morocco, where he went to high school at the city of Sefrou (Lycée Lahcen Lyoussi). After getting his Baccalauréat (1976), he went to the University of Rabat (University Mohamed Vth, Faculty of Science), where he studied biology and geology for 4 years. When he gratuated (1980), he moved to France to pursue his doctoral sudies in Neuroscience, at the [[Claude Bernard University]]. His first steps in research were in the Experimental Neuropsychology Lab, an INSERM Unit headed by Prof. Marc Jeannerod. Back then, in the early 80s, neuroscience was still at early days, as we did not know yet how come that eye movements were slow in Parkinson's patients. Boussaoud, with his thesis supervisor Dr. Jean-Paul Joseph, set up to study the neurons of one of the basal ganglia nuclei suspected to control eye movements, the substancia nigra pars reticulata.

Main scientific contributions

1. Post-doc work

For his post-doctoral work, Driss Boussaoud moved to National Institutes of Health (Bethesda MA, USA) to work with Leslie Ungerleider and Robert Desimone on the connections of the motion pathways. He made a significant contribution to advancement of knowledge on the visual stream in the brain. He has published important work on : 1) The visual field representation in the temporo-occipital cortex (TEO) 2) The connectivity of this area with the rest of the brain 3) The cortical and sub-cortical connections of areas MST (medial superior temporal area) and FST (fundus of the superior temporal sulcus) Driss Boussaoud has also contributed to the physiology of the frontal lobe, a work he carried out in the Laboratory of Neurophysiology, directed by Steve Wise. Together, they have disentangled the neuronal activity related to spatial attention/memory from the activity that reflects preparation and execution of voluntary action (refs). In addition, Driss Boussaoud's work played a decisive role in the now recognized interaction between gaze direction and the motor commande of arm action (refs).

1. Work carried out in Boussaoud's lab

Current research interests

Driss Boussaoud's current research is centered on the brain mechanisms of learning, both through self experience (trial and error learning) and through other forms, namely mental imagery and social interactions.

Other interests / International cooperation

Driss Boussaoud has always been keen to develop North-South cooperation, and to promote the development of research in the South countries. He thus played a leading role in the creation of two consortia which he has been coordinating since 2008: A French-Moroccan Neuroscience consortium (GDRI de Neurosciences fondamentales et cliniques), and the Mediterranean Neuroscience Network (Neuromed, funded by the EU). These consortia have allowed students and researchers to meet and exchange their expertise, and to create a network. Due to these exchanges, a new society was born in 2009, the Mediterranean Neuroscience Society (MNS, www.mnsociety.com), and he served as the first President for a 3 years term (2009-2012).