Team DOCC

Our lab is interested in olfaction as a means of communication between an emitter and a receiver and investigates odor-related cognition and behavior in the receiver relying on a developmental perspective focused on early infancy.  Our research is divided into two main axes that evaluate: (1) olfactory communication and signalization; (2) olfactory cognition in a multisensory environment.

Axis (1) aims to understand the mechanisms of olfactory communication across the lifespan, with a particular interest in odor-driven adaptive responses during early life transitions (prenatal development, birth, weaning). Our work especially addresses: volatile compounds in maternal secretions that elicit appetitive responses in neonates; fetal reactivity to the uterine chemical ecology and the first olfactory learnings; state- (e.g., emotion) or trait- (e.g., identity) related cues conveyed by human odors and to which other humans or species respond (intra- and interspecific chemosignaling).

Axis (2) aims to delineate the position of olfaction within cognition in comparison to, and in interaction with, the other senses. In particular, the mechanisms of olfactory cognition are investigated through the lens of those subtending the “dominant” senses – vision and audition. We tackle topics such as: the emotional dimension of odors vs. other sensory inputs (e.g., stimulating/relaxing aspect of odors vs. music); the impact of odors on the perception of other sensory stimulations (e.g., the influence of body odors on face perception).

These goals are pursued with a comparative and multidisciplinary approach, combining ethology, psychology and neurosciences across several models (animals – mice, rabbits and sheep – and humans – healthy and clinical populations). We mainly conduct experimental studies collecting behavioral (e.g., approach/avoidance, orientation, facial expression, eye movements) and physiological (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance, breathing, electrical brain activity) measures.

Permanent
Véronique Boulanger, Technician INRAe
Gérard Brand (PhD), Associate Professor UFC
Renaud Brochard (PhD), Full Professor UBE
Fabrice Damon (PhD), Associate Professor UBE
Alexandra Destrez (PhD), Associate Professor IAD
Karine Durand (PhD), Associate Professor UBE
Vincent Gigot (PhD), Researcher CNRS
Bruno Patris (PhD), Researcher CNRS
Benoist Schaal (PhD), Senior Researcher CNRS (emeritus)

Non-permanent
Florenn Gallian, PhD student
Izïa Larrigaldie, PhD student
Rémi Moncorgé, PhD student

Alary, J., Schaal, B., Chotro, G., Patris, B., & Destrez, A. (2023). Mother’s scent for motherless neonates: Responses of artificially reared lambs to ewe’s inguinal wax odor. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 258, 105812. 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105812; hal-03930186

Baccarani, A., Donnadieu, S., Pellissier, S., & Brochard, R. (2023). Relaxing effects of music and odors on physiological recovery after cognitive stress and unexpected absence of multisensory benefit. Psychophysiology, 60 (7), e14251. 10.1111/psyp.14251; hal-03994009

Rekow, D., Baudouin, J.-Y., Poncet, F., Damon, F., Durand, K., Schaal, B., Rossion, B., & Leleu, A. (2021). Odor-driven face-like categorization in the human infant brain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 118 (21), e2014979118. 10.1073/pnas.2014979118; hal-03230756

Klaey‐Tassone, M., Schaal, B., Durand, K., Patris, B., & The Milkodor Consortium. (2021). The role of papillary skin glands in guiding mouse pups to the nipple. Developmental Psychobiology, 63 (2), 226–236. 10.1002/dev.22004; hal-02947751

Baccarani, A., Grondin, S., Laflamme, V., & Brochard, R. (2021). Relaxing and stimulating effects of odors on time perception and their modulation by expectancy. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 83 (1), 448–462. 10.3758/s13414-020-02182-0; hal-02997811

Damon, F., Mezrai, N., Magnier, L., Leleu, A., Durand, K., & Schaal, B. (2021). Olfaction in the multisensory processing of faces: A narrative review of the influence of human body odors. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 750944. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750944; hal-03426289

Destrez, A., Costes-Thiré, M., Viart, A.-S., Prost, F., Patris, B., & Schaal, B. (2021). Male mice and cows perceive human emotional chemosignals: A preliminary study. Animal Cognition, 24, 1205–1214. 10.1007/s10071-021-01511-6; hal-03216060

Schaal, B., Saxton, T., Loos, H., Soussignan, R., & Durand, K. (2020). Olfaction scaffolds the developing human from neonate to adolescent and beyond. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 375 (1800), 20190261. 10.1098/rstb.2019.0261; hal-02882389

Leleu, A., Rekow, D., Poncet, F., Schaal, B., Durand, K., Rossion, B., & Baudouin, J.-Y. (2020). Maternal odor shapes rapid face categorization in the infant brain. Developmental Science, 23 (2), e12877. 10.1111/desc.12877; hal-02147749

Durand, K., Baudouin, J.-Y., Lewkowicz, D. J., Goubet, N., & Schaal, B. (2013). Eye-catching odors: Olfaction elicits sustained gazing to faces and eyes in 4-month-old infants. PLoS One, 8 (8), e70677. 10.1371/journal.pone.0070677; hal-00866209

Schaal, B., Coureaud, G., Langlois, D., Giniès, C., Sémon, E., & Perrier, G. (2003). Chemical and behavioural characterization of the rabbit mammary pheromone. Nature, 424 (3), 68–72. 10.1038/nature01739; hal-02677728