NeoPhen

The NeoPhen team conducts technological research to develop new tools for processing physiological data that it applies to sleep-related diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders. Our research is conducted at the preclinical level in genetic and experimental mouse models, and at the clinical level in the Physiology, Psychiatry and Sleep Centres of the Robert Debré and Bichat hospitals.

Sleep-related diseases: a major public health issue

The management and treatment of sleep-related respiratory disorders is a major public health issue, particularly during the neonatal period. Recently, important discoveries have been made to identify the neurological structures of respiratory rhythm generation in mice, opening the way to the development of new diagnostic and treatment tools. Furthermore, in recent years at the clinical level, new tools for advanced physiological signal processing have been developed.

Our objectives are :

• to study the pathophysiology of sleep-related breathing disorders
• to study the genetic determinants of respiratory control, and to identify the neurological supports, especially in pathological situations
• to find and test biomarkers and drugs for sleep-related diseases

Ongoing research

Our work applies to research on several rare paediatric pathologies such as Ondine syndrome (CCHS) or Auriculo-condylar syndrome, as well as to sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, certain myopathies and sudden death in epileptic patients (SUDEP).

Recent publications

• Obstructive apneas in a mouse model of congenital central hypoventilation syndrome., Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021.
• Cross-sectional case-control study of the relationships between pharyngeal compliance and heart rate variability indices in childhood obstructive sleep apnoea., J Sleep Res. 2021.
• Sleep complaints are associated with increased suicide risk independently of psychiatric disorders: results from a national 3-year prospective study., Mol Psychiatry. 2021.
• Mind-wandering, or the allocation of attentional resources, is sleep-driven across childhood., Sci Rep. 2019.
• Breathing under Anesthesia: A Key Role for the Retrotrapezoid Nucleus Revealed by Conditional Phox2b Mutant Mice., Anesthesiology 2019.

Team members

Our team is composed of experts in the fields of physiology, applied mathematics and physics, signal and video processing, mechanical, electronic and biomedical engineering, and preclinical and clinical drug testing. See a list of NeoPhen team members here !