Nicolas Catz

Nicolas Catz is a Lecturer at Aix Marseille University, affiliated with the Laboratoire de Neurosciences intégratives et adaptatives (LNIA), a research laboratory jointly operated by Aix Marseille University and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

Dr. Catz's research focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying sensory processing, with particular emphasis on the somatosensory system. His work investigates how sensory experiences during critical developmental periods shape cortical organization and influence the brain's capacity for plasticity in adulthood. Using rat models, his research examines neural responses to various sensory stimuli and environmental conditions, including hypergravity exposure.

His publication record demonstrates a consistent research trajectory examining neural mechanisms of sensory integration and cortical plasticity. Dr. Catz has made significant contributions to understanding how early sensory experiences durably shape somatosensory maps and limit their potential for modification by novel experiences in adulthood, as evidenced by his 2016 Journal of Neurophysiology paper.

Dr. Catz has established productive research collaborations with colleagues including Christian Xerri and Yoh'I Zennou-Azogui, with whom he has co-authored multiple publications in high-impact neuroscience journals.

His research has been published in prestigious journals including Cerebral Cortex (2020), eNeuro (2018), and Journal of Neurophysiology (2016), demonstrating his expertise in neural encoding of multisensory information, cortical organization of sensory processing, and developmental aspects of neural plasticity.