Dylan Brimaud
General information
DOCC – Development of Olfactory Communication and Cognition
Position
Research assistant – INRAe
Engineer in agronomy specialized in ethology
Research
My research has so far focused on animal communication through different sensory modalities, particularly sight and olfaction. I worked at both the intraspecific level for instance in guppies (Poecilia reticulata), and at the interspecific level, between humans and sheep (Ovis aries) or between goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) and one of their natural predators, the wolf (Canis lupus).
Currently, as a member of the DOCC team and within the WOLF project (under the supervision of Karine Durand, Fabrice Damon and Benoist Schaal), my research heads towards humans with a particular focus on the olfactory communication in mother-newborn dyad during breastfeeding.
Keywords
Ethology, Communication, Olfaction, Behavioural ecology, Cognition, Social cognition
Featured publications
Roberts S.C, Damon F, Durand K, Havlíček J, Kourtis D, Langford B, Sorokowska A, Sorokowski P, Swanson V, Williams J, Arnoldi-Meadows T, Brimaud D, Dlouhá D, Jelínková L, Kaňková S, Kapicová L, Poirier A, Roberts K, Sander J, Schwambergová D, Silvestria M, Wang N, Simon E, Schaal B (2025). Breastfeeding, bonding, and olfaction: unlocking the potential of mother-infant odour exchange. eBioMedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.106086
Larrigaldie I, Damon F, Brimaud D, Lansade L, Schaal B, Destrez A (2025). Behaviour of ewes and lambs in response to human emotional odours. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29186-w
De Meester G, Brimaud D, Wollin M, Martin J.M, Kotrschal A, Fitzpatrick J.L, Kolm N (2025). Individual recognition in guppies does not require large brains. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 79, 123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-025-03667-4