Research Centre on Cognition and Learning (CERCA)

The major objective of CeRCA is to conduct fundamental research allowing a better understanding of the cognitive and social aspects that characterize individuals. These mechanisms are studied in particular according to the characteristics of the individual (age, sex, abilities) and the characteristics of the environment (social aspects, characteristics of the task). In addition, the research carried out at CeRCA aims to respond to several societal challenges relating in particular to education (educational inequalities, role of digital in learning), health (assistance in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of motor, cognitive or psychiatric disorders, preservation of autonomy) and work (gender inequalities, interface between human and artificial systems). CeRCA’s work is organized around 5 research teams. The aim of the “Aging and Psychopathology of Memory” team (ViPsyM) based on the sites of Tours and Poitiers is to study cognitive functioning, with a particular interest in memory, in normal and pathological aging and in psychiatric pathologies.

Research topics

• Memory
• Normal aging
• Pathological aging
• Psychopathology

Equipment and technology

• Electroencephalogram station (EEG/ERPs),
• Eye-tracking station,
• Conductance Response Recording Station,
• Psychological tests enabling the exploration of cognitive functions.