Mathieu Wolff
Équipe : Decision and adaptation (DECAD)
Chef d'équipe | Directeur de recherche | CNRS
I conducted my postdoctoral research (2004–2007) at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where I developed a strong interest for thalamic nuclei and their critical roles in cognition. During this time, I also explored strategies to mitigate cognitive deficits caused by thalamic damage, focusing on the potential benefits of environmental enrichment. In 2008, I secured a permanent research position at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Since then, I have established multiple research avenues to uncover how interactions between thalamic nuclei and cortical regions underpin cognitive processes. My work integrates a range of experimental approaches, from descriptive and functional neuroanatomy to behavioral paradigms rooted in experimental psychology.
Currently, I lead the Decision & Adaptation (DECAD) team and serve as deputy director for the Bordeaux Neurocampus.
Research axes
Functional interactions between the orbitofrontal cortex and the mediodorsal thalamus during adaptive decision-making
ANR PRC 2025 OrbiThalamix Thalamocortical functional architecture for adaptive decision-making - PI : M Wolff (300k€), Co-PI ; Audrey Hay, Emmanuelle Courtiol (CRNL, Lyon)
ANR PRC 2024 Neuro-Flex Neurocomputational and neurophysiological bases of Individual behavioural flexibility – PI : M Benoit-Marand (LNEC, Poitier), Co-PI : M Wolff (219k€), M Khamassi (ISIR, Paris)
Projet Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine 2024 Analyse multimodale des dysfonctionnements neurovasculaires dans les maladies neurodéveloppementales – PI : B Bontempi, Co-PI : M Wolff (52k€), C Nicolas, M Thobby-Brisson (INCIA)
FRC 2023 Thalamocortical dysconnectivity as a central psychiatric syndrome – PI: S Parnaudeau (Paris), Co-PI : M Wolff (40k€)
Thalamocortical determinants of voluntary actions: focus on the secondary motor region
ANR PRC 2022 THALACOR Thalamocortical bases of voluntary actions – PI : M Wolff (257k€), Co-Pi : F Gambino & Lisa Roux (IINS, Bordeaux Neurocampus)
GPR BRAIN_2030 ADAPSY
Role of the anterior thalamus in memory consolidation
ANR PRC 2023 ThalaGram Thalamus control of memory engrams in the retrosplenial cortex – PI : C Mulle (IINS), Co-PI : M Wolff (205k€), Bruno Bontempi (INCIA)
Projet Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine 2023 Dimensions symptomatologiques et physiopathologiques communes à la Maladie de Parkinson et la Maladie d’Alzheimer PI : M Wolff (111k€), Co-PI : B Bontempi, G Barrière, M Cador (INCIA)
GPR BRAIN_2030 MEMORY
Scientific responsibilities
Deputy director Bordeaux Neurocampus
Treasurer-elect Société des Neurosciences
European Brain and Behaviour Society
eLife reviewing editor
Supervision
Juan Manuel Dafauce Garcia (PhD)
Neuronal circuits of learning in uncertain environments
Emma Marillat (PhD)
Thalamocortical bases of voluntary actions
Risa Iguchi (Post-Doc)
Thalamocortical functional architecture for adaptive decision-making
Collaborations
Frédéric Gambino, Lisa Roux, Christophe Mulle (IINS)
Marianne Benoit-Marand (LNEC, Poitier)
Sébastien Parnaudeau (IBPS, Paris)
Mehdi Khamassi (ISIR, Paris)
Francisco Clasca (Madrid)
Publications
Adaptive Responding to Stimulus–Outcome Associations Requires Noradrenergic Transmission in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Alessandro Piccin, Hadrien Plat, Mathieu Wolff, Etienne Coutureau
J. Neurosci..
2024-04-29
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0078-24.2024
Inhibition of noradrenergic signaling in rodent orbitofrontal cortex impairs the updating of goal-directed actions
Juan Carlos Cerpa, Alessandro Piccin, Margot Dehove, Marina Lavigne, Eric J Kremer, Mathieu Wolff, Shauna L Parkes, Etienne Coutureau
eLife.
2023-02-20
10.7554/eLife.81623
A thalamic bridge from sensory perception to cognition
M. Wolff, S. Morceau, J. Martin-Cortecero, R. Folkard, A. Groh
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
2020-11-01
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.013
The reuniens and rhomboid nuclei are necessary for contextual fear memory persistence in rats
Etienne Quet, Monique Majchrzak, Brigitte Cosquer, Thomas Morvan, Mathieu Wolff, Jean-Christophe Cassel, Anne Pereira de Vasconcelos, Aline Stéphan
Brain Struct Funct.
2020-03-07
10.1007/s00429-020-02048-z
Targeting Reciprocally Connected Brain Regions Through CAV-2 Mediated Interventions
Sarah Morceau, Robin Piquet, Mathieu Wolff, Shauna L. Parkes
Front. Mol. Neurosci..
2019-12-10
10.3389/fnmol.2019.00303
Vitamin A deficiency impairs contextual fear memory in rats: Abnormalities in the glucocorticoid pathway
Damien Bonhomme, Serge Alfos, Scott P. Webster, Mathieu Wolff, Véronique Pallet, Katia Touyarot
J Neuroendocrinol.
2019-11-01
10.1111/jne.12802
A thalamocortical circuit for updating action-outcome associations
Virginie Fresno, Shauna L Parkes, Angélique Faugère, Etienne Coutureau, Mathieu Wolff
Elife.
2019-04-23
10.7554/eLife.46187
The Cognitive Thalamus as a Gateway to Mental Representations
Mathieu Wolff, Seralynne D. Vann
J. Neurosci..
2018-11-02
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0479-18.2018
Thalamocortical and corticothalamic pathways differentially contribute to goal-directed behaviors in the rat
Fabien Alcaraz, Virginie Fresno, Alain R Marchand, Eric J Kremer, Etienne Coutureau, Mathieu Wolff
eLife.
2018-02-06
10.7554/eLife.32517
Insular and Ventrolateral Orbitofrontal Cortices Differentially Contribute to Goal-Directed Behavior in Rodents.
Shauna L Parkes, Pascal M Ravassard, Juan-Carlos Cerpa, Mathieu Wolff, Guillaume Ferreira, Etienne Coutureau
Cerebral Cortex.
2017-05-25
10.1093/cercor/bhx132
Parallel inputs from the mediodorsal thalamus to the prefrontal cortex in the rat
Fabien Alcaraz, Alain R. Marchand, Gilles Courtand, Etienne Coutureau, Mathieu Wolff
Eur J Neurosci.
2016-07-01
10.1111/ejn.13316
Mediodorsal but not anterior thalamic nuclei lesions impair acquisition of a conditional discrimination task
Mathieu Wolff, Angélique Faugère, Émilie Desfosses, Étienne Coutureau, Alain R. Marchand
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.
2015-11-01
10.1016/j.nlm.2015.07.018
Functional heterogeneity of the limbic thalamus: From hippocampal to cortical functions
Mathieu Wolff, Fabien Alcaraz, Alain R. Marchand, Etienne Coutureau
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
2015-07-01
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.11.011
Anterior thalamic nuclei lesions and recovery of function: Relevance to cognitive thalamus
John C. Dalrymple-Alford, Bruce Harland, Elena A. Loukavenko, Brook Perry, Stephanie Mercer, David A. Collings, Katharina Ulrich, Wickliffe C. Abraham, Neil McNaughton, Mathieu Wolff
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
2015-07-01
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.12.007
Impaired spatial working memory after anterior thalamic lesions: recovery with cerebrolysin and enrichment.
Elena A. Loukavenko, Mathieu Wolff, Guillaume L. Poirier, John C. Dalrymple-Alford
Brain Struct Funct.
2015-03-01
10.1007/s00429-015-1015-x
Dissociable effects of anterior and mediodorsal thalamic lesions on spatial goal-directed behavior
Fabien Alcaraz, Fabien Naneix, Emilie Desfosses, Alain R. Marchand, Mathieu Wolff, Etienne Coutureau
Brain Struct Funct.
2014-09-27
10.1007/s00429-014-0893-7
Reduced cytochrome oxidase activity in the retrosplenial cortex after lesions to the anterior thalamic nuclei.
Magdalena Mendez-Lopez, Jorge L. Arias, Bruno Bontempi, Mathieu Wolff
Behavioural Brain Research.
2013-08-01
10.1016/j.bbr.2013.04.052
A role for anterior thalamic nuclei in affective cognition: Interaction with environmental conditions
Alexandra Dupire, Patricia Kant, Nicole Mons, Alain R. Marchand, Etienne Coutureau, John Dalrymple-Alford, Mathieu Wolff
Hippocampus.
2013-02-25
10.1002/hipo.22098
Lesions of the anterior thalamic nuclei and intralaminar thalamic nuclei: place and visual discrimination learning in the water maze
Pierre-Henri Moreau, Yanina Tsenkina, Lucas Lecourtier, Joëlle Lopez, Brigitte Cosquer, Mathieu Wolff, John Dalrymple-Alford, Jean-Christophe Cassel
Brain Struct Funct.
2012-04-29
10.1007/s00429-012-0419-0
Extinction of Spatial Memory Alters CREB Phosphorylation in Hippocampal CA1
Y. Porte, P. Trifilieff, M. Wolff, J. Micheau, M.C. Buhot, N. Mons
Hippocampus.
2010-09-16
10.1002/hipo.20844
Hyperfunction of Muscarinic Receptor Maintains Long-Term Memory in 5-HT4 Receptor Knock-Out Mice
Luis Segu, Marie-José Lecomte, Mathieu Wolff, Julie Santamaria, René Hen, Aline Dumuis, Sylvie Berrard, Joël Bockaert, Marie-Christine Buhot, Valérie Compan
PLoS ONE.
2010-03-04
10.1371/journal.pone.0009529
The Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei Contribute to Remote Spatial Memory
J. Lopez, M. Wolff, L. Lecourtier, B. Cosquer, B. Bontempi, J. Dalrymple-Alford, J.-C. Cassel
Journal of Neuroscience.
2009-03-11
10.1523/jneurosci.5576-08.2009
The Extended Hippocampal-Diencephalic Memory System: Enriched Housing Promotes Recovery of the Flexible Use of Spatial Representations After Anterior Thalamic Lesions
Mathieu Wolff, Elena A. Loukavenko, Bruno E. Will, John C. Dalrymple-Alford
Hippocampus.
2008-10-01
10.1002/hipo.20457
The concept of brain plasticity--Paillard's systemic analysis and emphasis on structure and function (followed by the translation of a seminal paper by Paillard on plasticity).
Bruno Will, John Dalrymple-Alford, Mathieu Wolff, Jean-Christophe Cassel
Behavioural Brain Research.
2008-09-01
10.1016/j.bbr.2007.11.030
Reflections on the use of the concept of plasticity in neurobiology - Translation and adaptation by Bruno Will, John Dalrymple-Alford, Mathieu Wolff and Jean-Christophe Cassel from J. Paillard, J psychol 1976;1 : 33-47
Bruno Will, John Dalrymple-Alford, Mathieu Wolff, Jean-Christophe Cassel
Behavioural Brain Research.
2008-09-01
10.1016/j.bbr.2007.11.031
Anterior but not intralaminar thalamic nuclei support allocentric spatial memory
Mathieu Wolff, Sheree J. Gibb, Jean-Christophe Cassel, John C. Dalrymple-Alford
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.
2008-07-01
10.1016/j.nlm.2008.01.007
Towards therapy to relieve memory impairment after anterior thalamic lesions: improved spatial working memory after immediate and delayed postoperative enrichment
Elena A. Loukavenko, Mark C. Ottley, James P. Moran, Mathieu Wolff, John C. Dalrymple-Alford
European Journal of Neuroscience.
2007-11-14
10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05879.x
Odour-place paired-associate learning and limbic thalamus: Comparison of anterior, lateral and medial thalamic lesions
Sheree J. Gibb, Mathieu Wolff, John C. Dalrymple-Alford
Behavioural Brain Research.
2006-09-01
10.1016/j.bbr.2006.05.017
Beyond spatial memory: The anterior thalamus and memory for the temporal order of a sequence of odor cues
M. Wolff
Journal of Neuroscience.
2006-03-15
10.1523/jneurosci.5481-05.2006
Age-dependent effects of serotonin-1A receptor gene deletion in spatial learning abilities in mice
Mathieu Wolff, Pierre Costet, Cornelius Gross, René Hen, Louis Segu, Marie-Christine Buhot
Molecular Brain Research.
2004-11-01
10.1016/j.molbrainres.2004.07.012
Interaction between the nature of the information and the cognitive requirement of the task in problem solving in mice
Mathieu Wolff, Narimane Benhassine, Pierre Costet, Louis Segu, Marie-Christine Buhot
Cognitive Brain Research.
2004-11-01
10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2004.06.016
Spatial learning in the 5-HT1B receptor knockout mouse: Selective facilitation/impairment depending on the cognitive demand
M.-C. Buhot
Learning & Memory.
2003-11-01
10.1101/lm.60203
Serotoninergic receptor subtypes in cognition
M.C. Buhot, M. Wolff, L. Segu
European Neuropsychopharmacology.
2003-10-01
10.1016/s0924-977x(03)91657-9
Delay-dependent working memory impairment in young-adult and aged 5-HT1BKO mice as assessed in a radial-arm water maze
M. Wolff
Learning & Memory.
2003-09-01
10.1101/lm.60103
Protective effect of 5-HT1B receptor gene deletion on the age-related decline in spatial learning abilities in mice
Marie-Christine Buhot, Mathieu Wolff, Magdaléna Savova, Gaël Malleret, René Hen, Louis Segu
Behavioural Brain Research.
2003-06-01
10.1016/s0166-4328(02)00400-x
Serotonin 1B knockout mice exhibit a task-dependent selective learning facilitation
M. Wolff, M. Savova, G. Malleret, R. Hen, L. Segu, M.-C. Buhot
Neuroscience Letters.
2003-02-01
10.1016/s0304-3940(02)01339-3
Differential learning abilities of 129T2/Sv and C57BL/6J mice as assessed in three water maze protocols
Mathieu Wolff, Magdaléna Savova, Gaël Malleret, Louis Segu, Marie-Christine Buhot
Behavioural Brain Research.
2002-11-01
10.1016/s0166-4328(02)00192-4
