Bordeaux will host the sixth Center of Excellence for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Source :
Press release
As part of the National Strategy for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (2023–2027), a sixth Center of Excellence for Neurodevelopmental Disorders has been established in Bordeaux. It will be led by Professor Anouck Amestoy (INCIA).
On July 17, 2025, the creation of the sixth Center of Excellence for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD) was announced. The center will be based in Bordeaux, located at the Charles Perrens Hospital.
NDDs encompass autism spectrum disorders, developmental learning and language disorders, coordination disorders (formerly known as dys disorders), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (with or without hyperactivity), and intellectual developmental disorders. This new center joins the existing national network of five Centers of Excellence located in Lyon, Montpellier, Paris, Strasbourg, and Tours.
The center will be directed by Anouck Amestoy, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Charles Perrens Hospital, professor at the University of Bordeaux, and researcher at INCIA. She also serves as coordinator of the Autism Resource Center (CRA) based at Charles Perrens Hospital. Professor Amestoy will be responsible for implementing ambitious research initiatives in close collaboration with all stakeholders.
On LinkedIn, Étienne Pot, Interministerial Delegate for the National NDD Strategy, highlighted the excellence of the application, which was validated by an international jury. He noted that this initiative builds on the work previously led by Professor Manuel Bouvard.
Research on neurodevelopmental disorders, already well-established at Bordeaux Neurocampus with nearly a dozen teams working on this theme, will be significantly strengthened. It is worth recalling that this was the focus of the international NeuroDev conference in May 2022 and is one of the new cross-cutting axes of the GPR, aiming to explore early environmental and genetic factors that influence neurological development and later brain health.
Certain aspects of NDDs will be studied in greater depth: sensorimotor function, the transition period between adolescence and adulthood, and the issue of gender.
Beyond research, the center, with an annual budget of €350,000, will also be tasked with contributing—through collaboration with family associations and self-advocates—to professional training, public awareness, and the dissemination of best practice guidelines.