Central Nervous System


Mission statement

The main objective of the CNS team is to develop innovative and quantitative pre-clinical and clinical MR methods at high and ultra-high magnetic fields, as well as image analysis techniques, in order to improve in vivo the physiological and pathophysiological characterization of both brain and spinal cord.

Preclinical studies of CNS pathological models help refine, reject, or generate hypotheses regarding the mechanistic basis of diseases by providing detailed structural, functional, and metabolic phenotypes/information associated with pathology.

Clinical MR methods developed by researchers and engineers are driven by clinical questions brought by the clinicians of the team specialized in Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy and Spinal Cord Injury. Researches focus on the different ways to characterize the anatomical, microstructural, hemodynamic, metabolic, ionic and functional alterations of the Human CNS.

The CNS team also provides through collaborations an academic platform based on the tools developed for the main topics adapted to characterize other CNS diseases (AD, ALS, Stroke, Parkinson, Schizophrenia, Spinal Cord Injury (LIA iLab-Spine) …).

Research Topics

Brain Imaging
PHENIQS - Physics and digital technologies for quantitative imaging of the central nervous system
Preclinical Imaging
Spinal Cord Imaging
Translational Neuroscience and Clinical Applications

Publications

Uher, Daniel, Gerhard S. Drenthen, Christianne M. Hoeberigs, Rick H. G. J. van Lanen, Albert J. Colon, Roy A. M. Haast, Vivianne H. J. M. van Kranen-Mastenbroek, et al. “The Role of Ultra-High Field MRI and Image Processing in the Presurgical Workup in MRI-Negative Focal Epilepsy: A Validated 7T MRI Case Study.” Epilepsy & Behavior Reports 30 (June 2025): 100761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebr.2025.100761.
Marignier, Romain, Javier Villacieros-Álvarez, Carmen Espejo, Georgin Arrambide, Nicolás Fissolo, Lucía Gutiérrez, Alessandro Dinoto, et al. “Assessment of Neuronal and Glial Serum Biomarkers in Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease: The MULTIMOGAD Study.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, May 16, 2025, jnnp-2024-335137. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2024-335137.
Cohen, Mikael, Fabien Rollot, Marc Debouverie, Hélène Zephir, Sandra Vukusic, Jérome De Seze, Pierre Labauge, et al. “Secondary Progression Activity Monitoring in MS despite an Early Highly Active Treatment the SPAM Study.” European Journal of Neurology 32, no. 5 (May 2025): e16583. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.16583.
Cotinat, Maëva, Noëlle Messaoudi, Emmanuelle Robinet, Laurent Suissa, Emilie Doche, Maxime Guye, Bertrand Audoin, Laurent Bensoussan, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, and Wafaa Zaaraoui. “Dynamics of Ionic and Cytotoxic Edema During Acute and Subacute Stages of Patients With Ischemic Stroke: Complementarity of 23Na MRI and Diffusion MRI.” NMR in Biomedicine 38, no. 5 (May 2025): e70028. https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.70028.
Demortiere, Sarah, Natacha Stolowy, Marine Perriguey, Clemence Boutiere, Audrey Rico, Frederic Hilezian, Blaise-Roger Ndjomo-Ndjomo, et al. “Diagnostic Utility of Kappa Free Light Chain Index in Adults With Inaugural Optic Neuritis.” Neurology(R) Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation 12, no. 3 (May 2025): e200386. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000200386.
Dollomaja, Borana, Huifang E. Wang, Maxime Guye, Julia Makhalova, Fabrice Bartolomei, and Viktor K. Jirsa. “Virtual Epilepsy Patient Cohort: Generation and Evaluation.” PLoS Computational Biology 21, no. 4 (April 11, 2025): e1012911. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012911.
Cotinat, Maëva, Emmanuelle Robinet, Noëlle Messaoudi, Laurent Suissa, Emilie Doche, Maxime Guye, Laurent Bensoussan, Wafaa Zaaraoui, and Jean-Philippe Ranjeva. “Added Value of Sodium MR Imaging and Proton MR Spectroscopy to Conventional MR Imaging for a Better Characterization of the Ischemic Stroke: A Narrative Review.” Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences: MRMS: An Official Journal of Japan Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, April 9, 2025. https://doi.org/10.2463/mrms.rev.2025-0002.
Hong, Jérémy, Malo Gaubert, Mathilde Lefort, Jean Christophe Ferré, Emmanuelle Le Page, Laure Michel, Pierre Labauge, et al. “Limited Added Value of Systematic Spinal Cord MRI vs Brain MRI Alone to Classify Patients with MS as Active or Inactive during Follow-Up.” Journal of Neurology 272, no. 4 (April 5, 2025): 316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-025-13068-2.
Lodé, Baptiste, Burhan Rashid Hussein, Cédric Meurée, Ricky Walsh, Malo Gaubert, Nicolas Lassalle, Guilhem Courbon, et al. “Evaluation of a Deep Learning Segmentation Tool to Help Detect Spinal Cord Lesions from Combined T2 and STIR Acquisitions in People with Multiple Sclerosis.” European Radiology, April 4, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-025-11541-0.
Piazzola, Cecilia, Thomas Graillon, Nadine Girard, Henry Dufour, Thierry Brue, and Frederic Castinetti. “Desmopressin Is a Safe and Effective Secretagogue to Replace Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone in Petrosal Sinus Sampling.” Annales d’Endocrinologie 86, no. 2 (April 1, 2025): 101678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ando.2024.101678.
Bartolomei, F., J. Makhalova, J. Benoit, and S. Lagarde. “The Different Subtypes of Temporal Lobe Seizures Networks.” Revue Neurologique, March 29, 2025, S0035-3787(25)00485-0. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurol.2025.03.004.
Barrit, Sami, Nathan Torcida, Aurelien Mazeraud, Sebastien Boulogne, Jeanne Benoit, Timothée Carette, Thibault Carron, et al. “Specialized Large Language Model Outperforms Neurologists at Complex Diagnosis in Blinded Case-Based Evaluation.” Brain Sciences 15, no. 4 (March 27, 2025): 347. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15040347.
Testud, Benoit, Aurélien Destruel, Thomas Troalen, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, and Maxime Guye. “Review of 7T MRI Imaging of Pituitary Microadenomas: Are We There Yet?” Neuroradiology, March 8, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-025-03554-9.
Schilling, Kurt G., Francesco Grussu, Andrada Ianus, Brian Hansen, Amy F. D. Howard, Rachel L. C. Barrett, Manisha Aggarwal, et al. “Considerations and Recommendations from the ISMRM Diffusion Study Group for Preclinical Diffusion MRI: Part 2-Ex Vivo Imaging: Added Value and Acquisition.” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, March 4, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.30435.
Villacieros-Álvarez, Javier, Carmen Espejo, Georgina Arrambide, Alessandro Dinoto, Patricia Mulero, Laura Rubio-Flores, Pablo Nieto, et al. “Profile and Usefulness of Serum Cytokines to Predict Prognosis in Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease.” Neurology(R) Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation 12, no. 2 (March 2025): e200362. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000200362.
Mainguy, Marie, Romain Casey, Sandra Vukusic, Christine Lebrun-Frenay, Eric Berger, Anne Kerbrat, Abdullatif Al Khedr, et al. “Assessing the Risk of Relapse After In Vitro Fertilization in Women With Multiple Sclerosis.” Neurology(R) Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation 12, no. 2 (March 2025): e200371. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000200371.
Guttieres, Laura, Lea Vannelli, Sarah Demortiere, Marine Perriguey, Maya Elziere, Pierre Durozard, Clemence Boutiere, et al. “Fluorescein Angiography as a Surrogate Marker of Disease Activity in Susac Syndrome.” Neurology(R) Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation 12, no. 2 (March 2025): e200379. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000200379.
Schilling, Kurt G., Amy F. D. Howard, Francesco Grussu, Andrada Ianus, Brian Hansen, Rachel L. C. Barrett, Manisha Aggarwal, et al. “Considerations and Recommendations from the ISMRM Diffusion Study Group for Preclinical Diffusion MRI: Part 3-Ex Vivo Imaging: Data Processing, Comparisons with Microscopy, and Tractography.” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, February 26, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.30424.
Jelescu, Ileana O., Francesco Grussu, Andrada Ianus, Brian Hansen, Rachel L. C. Barrett, Manisha Aggarwal, Stijn Michielse, et al. “Considerations and Recommendations from the ISMRM Diffusion Study Group for Preclinical Diffusion MRI: Part 1: In Vivo Small-Animal Imaging.” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, February 26, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.30429.
Sèze, Jérôme de, Pierre Labauge, Roland Liblau, Mikel Martinez, Thibault Moreau, Laurent Suchet, Patrick Vermersch, et al. “LymphoTEC: A Retrospective Real-World Study on Lymphocyte Reconstitution After Lymphopenia in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Dimethyl Fumarate in France.” Advances in Therapy, February 19, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-024-03092-5.
Stolowy, Natacha, Lilija Gutmann, Margareta Lüpke, Thierry David, Michael Dorr, Christina Mayer, Christoph Heesen, et al. “OCT-Based Retina Assessment Reflects Visual Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis.” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 66, no. 2 (February 3, 2025): 39. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.2.39.
Cho, Soomi, Julia Makhalova, Samuel Medina Villalon, Nathalie Villeneuve, Agnes Trébuchon, Manel Krouma, Didier Scavarda, et al. “Stereoelectroencephalographic Exploration and Surgical Outcome in Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.” Epilepsia, January 27, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.18283.
Pham, S. D. T., C. Chatziantoniou, J. T. van Vliet, R. J. van Tuijl, M. Bulk, M. Costagli, L. de Rochefort, et al. “Blood Flow Velocity Analysis in Cerebral Perforating Arteries on 7T 2D Phase Contrast MRI with an Open-Source Software Tool (SELMA).” Neuroinformatics 23, no. 2 (January 22, 2025): 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-024-09703-4.
Ramdani, Ryan, Julie Pique, Romain Deschamps, Jonathan Ciron, Elisabeth Maillart, Bertrand Audoin, Mikael Cohen, et al. “Evaluation of the Predictive Value of CSF-Restricted Oligoclonal Bands on Residual Disability and Risk of Relapse in Adult Patients with MOGAD: MOGADOC Study.” Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England), January 15, 2025, 13524585241311436. https://doi.org/10.1177/13524585241311435.
Farah, Kaissar, Samira Mchinda, Laurianne Pini, Guillaume Baucher, Pierre- Hugues Roche, Stéphane Fuentes, and Virginie Callot. “T1 Mapping Using MP2RAGE in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: A Longitudinal Study.” European Spine Journal, January 9, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-025-08652-z.
Kretschmer, Julian Reza, Daria Tkachenko, Tania Kümpfel, Joachim Havla, Daniel Engels, Friedemann Paul, Patrick Schindler, et al. “Worse Recovery from Acute Attacks and Faster Disability Accumulation Highlights the Unmet Need for Improved Treatment in Patients with Late-Onset Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (COPTER-LO Study).” Frontiers in Immunology 16 (2025): 1575613. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1575613.
Grapperon, Aude-Marie, Mohamed Mounir El Mendili, Adil Maarouf, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, Maxime Guye, Annie Verschueren, Shahram Attarian, and Wafaa Zaaraoui. “In Vivo Mapping of Sodium Homeostasis Disturbances in Individual ALS Patients: A Brain 23Na MRI Study.” PloS One 20, no. 1 (2025): e0316916. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316916.
Häußler, Vivien, Corinna Trebst, Daniel Engels, Hanna Pellkofer, Joachim Havla, Ankelien Duchow, Patrick Schindler, et al. “Real-World Multicentre Cohort Study on Choices and Effectiveness of Immunotherapies in NMOSD and MOGAD.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, December 27, 2024, jnnp-2024-334764. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2024-334764.
Androdias, Géraldine, Jan D Lünemann, Elisabeth Maillart, Maria Pia Amato, Bertrand Audoin, Arlette L Bruijstens, Gabriel Bsteh, et al. “De-Escalating and Discontinuing Disease-Modifying Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis.” Brain, December 21, 2024, awae409. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae409.
Segobin, Shailendra, Roy A. M. Haast, Vinod Jangir Kumar, Annalisa Lella, Anneke Alkemade, Meritxell Bach Cuadra, Emmanuel J. Barbeau, et al. “A Roadmap towards Standardized Neuroimaging Approaches for Human Thalamic Nuclei.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 25, no. 12 (December 2024): 792–808. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-024-00867-1.
Bastiancich, Chiara, Emmanuel Snacel-Fazy, Samantha Fernandez, Stéphane Robert, Roberta Stacchini, Léa Plantureux, Sébastien Boissonneau, et al. “Tailoring Glioblastoma Treatment Based on Longitudinal Analysis of Post-Surgical Tumor Microenvironment.” Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research: CR 43, no. 1 (November 28, 2024): 311. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-024-03231-4.
Testud, B., M. Guye, T. Witjas, and S. Grimaldi. “Iron Overload Revealing the Cytoarchitecture of the Red Nucleus: A Case Study.” Revue Neurologique, November 27, 2024, S0035-3787(24)00660-X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurol.2024.11.001.
Pakeerathan, T., J. Havla, C. Schwake, A. Salmen, M. Ringelstein, O. Aktas, M. Weise, et al. “Rapid Differentiation of MOGAD and MS after a Single Optic Neuritis.” Journal of Neurology 271, no. 11 (November 1, 2024): 7222–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-024-12666-w.
Durozard, Pierre, Adil Maarouf, Wafaa Zaaraoui, Jan-Patrick Stellmann, Clémence Boutière, Audrey Rico, Sarah Demortière, et al. “Cortical Lesions as an Early Hallmark of Multiple Sclerosis: Visualization by 7 T MRI.” Investigative Radiology 59, no. 11 (November 2024): 747. https://doi.org/10.1097/RLI.0000000000001082.
Hay, Marion, Fabien Rollot, Romain Casey, Anne Kerbrat, Gilles Edan, Guillaume Mathey, Pierre Labauge, et al. “Anti-CD20 Therapies in Drug-Naive Patients With Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A Multicenter Real-Life Study.” Neurology 103, no. 8 (October 22, 2024): e209886. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209886.
Chakraborty, Sudesna, Roy A. M. Haast, Kate M. Onuska, Prabesh Kanel, Marco A. M. Prado, Vania F. Prado, Ali R. Khan, and Taylor W. Schmitz. “Multimodal Gradients of Basal Forebrain Connectivity across the Neocortex.” Nature Communications 15, no. 1 (October 18, 2024): 8990. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53148-x.
Lebret, Anna, Sabina Frese, Simon Lévy, Armin Curt, Virginie Callot, Patrick Freund, and Maryam Seif. “Spinal Cord Blood Perfusion Deficit Is Associated with Clinical Impairment after Spinal Cord Injury.” Journal of Neurotrauma, September 26, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2024.0267.
Horowitz, Tatiana, Stephan Grimaldi, Henri Dufour, Thomas Graillon, Jean-Philippe Azulay, and Eric Guedj. “18F-FDG Brain PET: A Metabolic Predictive Factor for Gait Improvement after Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunting in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus?” The Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging: Official Publication of the Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine (AIMN) [and] the International Association of Radiopharmacology (IAR), [and] Section of the Society Of... 68, no. 3 (September 18, 2024): 179–86. https://doi.org/10.23736/S1824-4785.24.03582-9.
Lévi-Strauss, Julie, Julia Makhalova, Samuel Medina Villalon, Romain Carron, Christian G. Bénar, and Fabrice Bartolomei. “Transient Alteration of Awareness Triggered by Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Brain.” Brain Stimulation, August 30, 2024, S1935-861X(24)00154-2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2024.08.013.
Passoke, Sarah, Carlotta Stern, Vivien Häußler, Tania Kümpfel, Joachim Havla, Daniel Engels, Sven Jarius, et al. “Cognition in Patients with Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease: A Prospective, Longitudinal, Multicentre Study of 113 Patients (CogniMOG-Study).” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, July 30, 2024, jnnp-2024-333994. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2024-333994.
Soustelle, Lucas, Samira Mchinda, Andreea Hertanu, Soraya Gherib, Lauriane Pini, Maxime Guye, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, et al. “Inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (IhMT) Imaging Reveals Variable Recovery Profiles of Active MS Lesions According to Size and Localization.” Imaging Neuroscience 2 (July 24, 2024): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00235.
Köksal-Ersöz, Elif, Julia Makhalova, Maxime Yochum, Christian-G. Bénar, Maxime Guye, Fabrice Bartolomei, Fabrice Wendling, and Isabelle Merlet. “Whole-Brain Simulation of Interictal Epileptic Discharges for Patient-Specific Interpretation of Interictal SEEG Data.” Neurophysiologie Clinique = Clinical Neurophysiology 54, no. 5 (July 18, 2024): 103005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neucli.2024.103005.
Jougleux, C., H. Joly, H. Brissard, B. Lenne, S. François, F. Hamelin, N. Derache, et al. “French Consensus Procedure for Neuropsychological Assessment in Multiple Sclerosis.” Revue Neurologique, July 12, 2024, S0035-3787(24)00558-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurol.2024.06.005.
Pinto, Joana, Allison McGee, Hendrik Mattern, Karin Markenroth Bloch, Roy A. M. Haast, Thomas Küstner, and S. Johanna Vannesjo. “ESMRMB 2024 Focus Topic ‘MR Beyond Structures: The Dynamic Body at Different Scales.’” Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine 37, no. 3 (July 1, 2024): 319–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-024-01175-6.
Krämer, Julia, Carolin Balloff, Margit Weise, Valeria Koska, Yannik Uthmeier, Isabell Esderts, Mai Nguyen-Minh, et al. “Evolution of Retinal Degeneration and Prediction of Disease Activity in Relapsing and Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.” Nature Communications 15, no. 1 (June 19, 2024): 5243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49309-7.
Kümpfel, Tania, Katrin Giglhuber, Orhan Aktas, Ilya Ayzenberg, Judith Bellmann-Strobl, Vivien Häußler, Joachim Havla, et al. “Correction to: Update on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD) – Revised Recommendations of the Neuromyelitis Optica Study Group (NEMOS). Part II: Attack Therapy and Long-Term Management.” Journal of Neurology 271, no. 6 (June 1, 2024): 3702–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-024-12288-2.
Grimaldi, Stephan, Arnaud Le Troter, Mohamed Mounir El Mendili, Hugo Dary, Jean-Philippe Azulay, Wafaa Zaaraoui, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, Alexandre Eusebio, Ludovic de Rochefort, and Maxime Guye. “Energetic Dysfunction and Iron Overload in Early Parkinson’s Disease: Two Distinct Mechanisms?” Parkinsonism & Related Disorders 124 (May 6, 2024): 106996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2024.106996.
Maarouf, Adil, Jan Patrick Stellmann, Audrey Rico, Clemence Boutiere, Sarah Demortiere, Pierre Durozard, Wafaa Zaaraoui, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, Jean Pelletier, and Bertrand Audoin. “Active and Non-Active Progression Independent of Relapse Activity within the First 20 Years of Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, May 6, 2024, jnnp-2024-333597. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2024-333597.
Labounek, René, Monica T. Bondy, Amy L. Paulson, Sandrine Bédard, Mihael Abramovic, Eva Alonso-Ortiz, Nicole T. Atcheson, et al. “Body Size Interacts with the Structure of the Central Nervous System: A Multi-Center in Vivo Neuroimaging Study.” bioRxiv, May 1, 2024. Https://amu.hal.science/hal-04801060v1. pubmedcentral. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.29.591421.
Graille-Avy, Lisa, Clemence Boutiere, Camille Rigollet, Marine Perriguey, Audrey Rico, Sarah Demortiere, Pierre Durozard, et al. “Effect of Prior Treatment With Fingolimod on Early and Late Response to Rituximab/Ocrelizumab in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.” Neurology(R) Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation 11, no. 3 (May 2024): e200231. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000200231.