Past event
Circle of Friends winter reception
On 15 December 2025, in attendance of Professor Gérard Saillant and Serge Weinberg, respectively Honorary President and President of the Paris Brain Institute, major donors and patrons of the Paris Brain Institute gathered for the now traditional Winter Reception of the Friends' Circle. Held twice a year for the Institute's philanthropists, the Cercle des Amis Cocktail Parties are a special opportunity for the Institute to share its latest news and the progress made by its teams with those who support it.
This winter edition, hosted at Publicis on Avenue des Champs-Élysées, focused on mental health, a topic at the heart of current society issues.
Spotlight on scientific and institutional news from the Paris Brain Institute
Professor Stéphanie Debette, Executive Director, outlined the major scientific and institutional news from the Paris Brain Institute, highlighting recent advances in research, ongoing therapeutic challenges and the importance of new approaches based on biological criteria.
Her presentation provided an opportunity to review several major scientific findings published in 2025, as well as the launch of the OneBrain4.0 programme, a large-scale cohort dedicated to precision neuroscience. This ambitious initiative aims to improve our understanding of brain diseases using clinical, biological and multimodal imaging data in order to accelerate the development of innovative diagnostic methods and treatments. Stéphanie Debette also stressed the urgent need for international and cross-sector mobilisation to make brain health a major issue for the 21st century. This is why, in January 2026, the Paris Brain Institute launched the first edition of the World Brain Health Forum, which was held at the Institute, UNESCO and the Institut de France from 14 to 16 January.
Mood and self-confidence fluctuations in psychiatric disorders
The second presentation focused on mental health, the central theme of this edition of the winter cocktail reception. Marion Rouault, a researcher in cognitive neuroscience, and Professor Fabien Vinckier, a psychiatrist and researcher, presented their work on mood and self-confidence fluctuations in psychiatric disorders.
Their presentation highlighted the central role of confidence and self-assessment in cognition, behaviour and mental health, as well as the alterations in these mechanisms in disorders such as depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Drawing on innovative approaches combining neuroscience, computational modelling and machine learning, they showed how detailed study of these trans-diagnostic dimensions could pave the way for a better understanding of psychiatric disorders and, ultimately, more personalised therapeutic strategies.
The Paris Brain Institute would like to extend its warmest thanks to Maurice Lévy, co-president of the Campaign committee, The Brain Challenge, for hosting the event at Publicis and moderating the debates, as well as to all the speakers.
Watch the recording of the event below:
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