Research in neuroscience and cognitive science in France

All put together, diseases of the brain and the nervous system represent the largest single area of health expenditure in Europe, at €800 billion per year. In France, 625 research teams are active across all bodies in the fields of neuroscience, cognitive science, neurology, psychiatry, and sensory organs, at different institutions such as Inserm, CNRS, universities, INRA, CEA, Institut Pasteur, and INRIA. Understanding the organization and functioning of the brain remains a challenge for international research conducted in France, in which some 2 500 faculty and researchers are involved, working in about 250 teams and over 80 research units and laboratories associated to 20 Doctoral Departments in biology and the life and health sciences.
French research in neuroscience, cognitive science, neurology, psychiatry, and sensory organs is ranked third in Europe, behind the UK and Germany, and seventh worldwide. Since 2005, the National Research Agency (ANR) has funded some 1,000 neuroscience projects, nearly a quarter of them in biology and health. At the European level, of the 40 projects granted support by the European Research Council (ERC), a high proportion is found in the field of cognitive neuroscience. French researchers are also pioneers in the field of functional neurosurgery, biotherapy, and cellular and gene therapy as well as the development of brain-machine interfaces. More...