Profiles
Christine Schiltz
Christine is a Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Luxembourg since 2003, where she started as an Associate Professor and then became Full Professor in 2015. She is also the vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences since 2014. As one of the actors of the emerging scientific culture of the highly multi-lingual environment of Luxembourg, she finds it especially interesting and exciting to study the mechanisms underlying thinking and learning in this context using cognitive neuroscience approaches. With her research group - the UL Cognitive Neuroscience lab - , we therefore study cognition in (a)typical children and adults with a focus on numeracy and literacy.
When off work, she likes to spend time with music, photography and some relaxed physical activity. And of course with her family and friends.
Selected publications
For selected publications after 2017, please see also her lab members’ lists.
Van Rinsveld, A., Dricot, L., Guillaume, M. Rossion, B. Schiltz, C. (2017) Mental arithmetic in the bilingual brain: Language
matters. Neuropsychologia. 2017 Jul 1;101:17-29. DOI:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.05.009
Hoffmann, D., Hornung, C., Martin, R., Schiltz, C. (2013) Developing number-space associations: SNARC effects using a
color-discrimination task in 5-year-olds. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 09/2013; 116(4):775-791., doi:
10.1016/j.jecp.2013.07.013 (IF: 3.12)
Goffaux, V., Dormal, G., Goebel, R., Martin, R., & Schiltz, C. (2012) Attentional shifts induced by uninformative number symbols
modulate neural activity in human occipital cortex. Neuropsychologia, 50(14):3419-28. doi:
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.09.046. (IF: 3.64)
Schiltz, C., & Rossion, B. (2006). Faces are represented holistically in the human occipito-temporal cortex. Neuroimage, 32(3),
1385-1394. (IF: 6.25)
Schiltz, C., Sorger, B., Caldara, R., Ahmed, F., Mayer, E., Goebel, R., & Rossion (2006). Impaired face discrimination in acquired
prosopagnosia is associated with abnormal response to individual faces in the right middle fusiform gyrus. Cereb
Cortex, 16(4), 574-586. (IF: 6.82)
Schiltz, C., Bodart, J. M., Dubois, S., Dejardin, S., Michel, C., Roucoux, A., & Crommelinck, M. (1999). Neuronal mechanisms of
perceptual learning: Changes in human brain activity with training in orientation discrimination. Neuroimage, 9(1), 46-
62. (IF: 6.25)
Amaury Barillon
Student Scientist at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment (COSA).
He has a master’s degree in neuropsychology and clinical neuroscience from the university of Lyon (FR). His master's thesis was on the neural mechanisms of word recognition and attention in young monolinguals. The project provided novel evidence on interactions between language processing and attention during an important developmental period during language acquisition.
After he completed his master's he traveled around the world for three years and he joined the University of Luxembourg in September 2022. His PhD research aims to understand how neural representations for words emerge and how they are shaped by teaching methods. He tries to understand how the brain acquires new lexical representations and he investigates the role of vocabulary and semantics when learning new French words. In his research, he uses both behavioral methods and electroencephalography, both in children
and in adults.
In his free time, he enjoys hiking or rock climbing.
Carrie Georges
Carrie is a Research Scientist at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment (COSA).
After completing a Master in Neuroscience at University College London (UK), she joined the University of Luxembourg in 2013 on an FNR/AFR grant and defended her PhD thesis on the association between numbers and space in 2017.
Her research primarily focusses on the relation between numerical quantities and space and whether their association predicts arithmetic competences across development. She is also interested in the role of spatial language and abilities in early numerical learning and to what extent reading comprehension in the language of instruction can explain mathematical achievement.
She currently works on the international research project “Understanding the role of spatial number representations and spatial skills in mathematical abilities: From kindergarten to higher education” (SpaNuMaDev), which is funded by the INTER grant scheme of the FNR.
In her research, she uses both behavioural methods and electroencephalography.
She is also part of the Learning Expertise and Research Network (LEARN), which is a group of scientists and practitioners interested in cognitive learning processes and learning difficulties.
In her free time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her family and dog.
Selected publications
Georges, C., Cornu, V., & Schiltz, C. (2019). Spatial Skills First: The Importance of Mental Rotation for Arithmetic Skill Acquisition. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 5(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v5i1.165
Georges, C., Cornu, V., & Schiltz, C. (2021). The importance of visuospatial abilities for verbal number skills in preschool: Adding spatial language to the equation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 201, 104971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104971
Georges, C., Guillaume, M., & Schiltz, C. (2020). A robust electrophysiological marker of spontaneous numerical discrimination. Scientific Reports, (0123456789), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75307-y
Georges, C., Hoffmann, D., & Schiltz, C. (2017). Mathematical abilities in elementary school: Do they relate to number-space associations? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 161, 126–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.011
Claire joined the COSA team in October 2023 after completing a master’s degree in Speech Language Therapy.
She is currently pursuing a PhD focused on the learning of written words in alphabetic languages among children with and without dyslexia. Under the guidance of Dr. Aliette Lochy, her work analyzes how the complexity of letter-sound correspondences in French and German impacts visual word recognition, as well as the integration and retrieval of these words in the mental lexicon.
Her research aims to enhance teaching practices and the development of effective rehabilitation methods.
Vera Hilger
Vera is a PhD candidate at the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET) under the supervision of Prof. Christine Schiltz.
She completed both a Bachelor and Master in Psychology at the University of Luxembourg. During this time, she also worked as a student assistant and did internships in neuro- and educational psychology. In 2021, Vera joined LUCET for her PhD studies on a project to develop a neuropsychological test battery in the area of mathematics for children in third grade, which will be tailored to the Luxembourgish multilingual education context. Her research interests include numerical processing, the typical and atypical development of numerical abilities, the relation between language and mathematics, as well as standardized test development.
In her free time, Vera plays music, and enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends.
Rémy Lachelin
Rémy Lachelin is a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment (COSA).
He completed his M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Developmental Psychology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Rémy joined the CALIDIE (Capitalizing on Linguistic Diversity in Education) doctoral school at the university of Luxembourg in 2019. His thesis is about the influence of language on numerical cognition. In other words, how different languages influence how numbers are learned and used. In his projects, he investigates the question of how German and French influence number processing, in monolinguals and bilingual adults and children using both behavioral and EEG methods. Previous projects comprised number transcoding in bilingual adults and children and bilingual number distance effect priming. The ongoing projects are the monolingual and bilingual number matching and Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation (FPVS) in adult and children bilinguals.
Selected publications
Lachelin, R., Marinova, M., Reynvoet, B., & Schiltz, C. (2023). Weaker semantic priming effects with number words in the second language of math learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(3), 706–719. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-38195-001
Lachelin, R., Rinsveld, A. van, Poncin, A., & Schiltz, C. (2022). Number transcoding in bilinguals—A transversal developmental study. PLOS ONE, 17(8), e0273391. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273391
Hoyeon joined the team in May 2022 as a doctoral student in the Collaboration 21 consortium. She holds a master's degree in educational psychology, in which she studied the development of numerical cognition in preschool children. Her master’s thesis focused on investigating whether the inhibitory control involved in the non-symbolic numerical comparison task is domain-general or domain-specific.
She is excited to be working on the topic of “collaboration”, as she has always been interested in child development, in particular the process of becoming a social being. She will be working on how children and teachers can benefit from collaboration in learning mathematics as part of C21 Research Challenge 1b, “Empowering instructors through software applications”, led by Prof. Christine Schiltz.
Otherwise, she loves the image of the universe as a metaphor for human society, where each enlightened star comes together to form a bright galaxy in the midst of the darkness. And being one of them could well be her life’s purpose.
Aliette is a Research Scientist at the University of Luxembourg since 2017. She obtained her PhD in 2001 in cognitive neuropsychology (number transcoding) at UCLouvain (Belgium), and pursued several post-docs abroad from 2001 to 2006 in cognitive neuroscience (Universitätsklinik für neurologie Innsbruck, Austria; Université de Montréal, Canada; FC Donders Center, The Netherlands). She then interrupted her scientific activities for 6 years, when she lived and worked as a school director in Rwanda (2006-2011), and acquired administrative and human management skills, and a strong interest in education. From 2012 to 2017, she worked in the visual and face processing lab at UCLouvain (under a Belgian federal research program), which raised her interest in comparing the visual expertise for faces and words and investigating the neural recycling hypothesis.
Given her background, she has acquired broad theoretical and research knowledge in number processing, arithmetic and transcoding, language, prosody, reading, and face perception. At the methodological level, she currently uses mainly EEG recordings, although she keeps interest in single-case and group studies, developmental, longitudinal, cross-linguistic studies, and neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., dyslexia). Her research has focused on how the brain processes symbolic information like words, letters or numbers, how these arbitrary and cultural signs represent thoughts, and how they are implemented in the brain to allow building the most sophisticated knowledge. She wishes to contribute discovering how development, learning, or cerebral dysfunction modify these processes and brain representations.
In the CNS lab, she currently pursues her research on developmental issues of reading and number processing, for instance in measuring changes in a child’s brain when learning to read, or understanding the neural impact of different teaching methods. She has recently obtained a FNR grant (CORE program), to extend knowledge about the crucial neural changes associated with learning new words, and the factors affecting this fundamental human activity.
In her free time, she likes hiking, camping, gardening, and being in the middle of nowhere in the nature.
Selected publications
Rossion, B. & Lochy, A. (2021). Is human face recognition lateralized to the right hemisphere due to neural competition with left lateralized visual word recognition? A critical review. Brain Structure and Function. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02370-0
Lochy, A., Schiltz, C, & Rossion B. (2020). The right hemispheric dominance for face perception in preschool children depends on the visual discrimination level. Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12914
Van de Walle de Ghelcke, A., Rossion, B., Schiltz, C. & Lochy, A. (2020). Impact of learning to read in a mixed approach on neural tuning to words in beginning readers. Front. Psychol., 10:3043. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03043
Lochy, A. & Schiltz, C. (2019). Lateralized neural responses to letters and digits in first graders. Child Development, 90 (6), 1866-1874. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13337
Lochy, A., Jacques, C., Maillard, L., Colnat-Coulbois, S., Rossion, B., & Jonas, J., (2018) Selective visual representation of letters and words in the left ventral occipito-temporal cortex with intracerebral recordings. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 115 (32) 8049-8050. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718987115
Lochy, A., Van Reybroeck, M. & Rossion, B. (2016). Left cortical specialization for visual letter strings predicts rudimentary knowledge of letter-sound association in preschoolers. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 8544-8549 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1520366113
Marion Marchive
She is a PhD student at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment (COSA) and the Centre de Recherche en Automatique de Nancy (CRAN).
After graduating with a master’s degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology at University of Bordeaux (France), she was interested in studying hemispheric specialization of language.
She is currently doing a joint ("cotutelle") thesis between the University of Luxembourg (COSA) and the University of Lorraine (CRAN, France). During her thesis, she is interested in using fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) coupled with electroencephalography recordings (EEG) to study biomarkers of hemispheric lateralization and language ability in drug-resistant epilepsy patients and in healthy subjects.
The aim of her work at the University of Luxembourg is to use FPVS-EEG approach with visual word recognition paradigm to contribute, on an individual basis, to the evaluation of lateralization and language performance at the lexical and semantic levels in healthy adults.
At the University of Lorraine, she works with drug-resistant epileptic patients to compare biomarker measurements recorded (FPVS-EEG) for language before and after surgery in order to establish a cognitive outcome model.
Mila Marinova
Since December 2020, Mila Marinova joined the CNS Lab team at the University of Luxembourg as a Research Associate, where she is involved in various scientific and teaching activities. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the KU Leuven (Belgium), where she remains a voluntary researcher and an M.Sc. in Cognitive Science from New Bulgarian University.
Mila’s work is primarily experimental and focuses on the question of how children and adults acquire and process symbolic numbers, using both behavioural and neuro-cognitive methods (e.g., EEG). In her most recent project, she also investigates how various factors, such as language, home learning environment, and cross-cultural differences, contribute to early numerical development and later math performance.
Besides numerical cognition, Mila’s broader research interests reside in the field of attention, (cross-format) perception, decision-making, learning, neuro-cognitive research methods, etc. She is also very passionate about science communication and has her science blog, where she discusses all things neuroscience and psychology in an attempt to bridge the gap between scientific findings and our daily life.
In her free time, you could usually find Mila doing all kinds of sports, hiking, or reading books. Personal page: https://milamarinova.com/
Selected publications
Marinova, M., Georges, C., Guillaume, M., Reynvoet, B., Schiltz, C., Van Rinsveld, A. (2021). Automatic integration of numerical formats examined with frequency‑tagged EEG. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00738-0
Marinova, M., Reynvoet, B., & Sasanguie, D. (2021). Mapping between number notations in kindergarten and the role of home numeracy. Cognitive Development, 57 (March 2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.101002
Marinova, M., Sasanguie, D., Reynvoet, B. (2020). Numerals do not need numerosities: robust evidence for distinct numerical representations for symbolic and non-symbolic numbers. Psychological Research-Psychologische Forschung. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01286-z
Marinova, M., Sasanguie, D., Reynvoet, B. (2018). Symbolic estrangement or symbolic integration of numerals with quantities: Methodological pitfalls and a possible solution. PLoS One, 13 (7), Art.No. e0200808. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200808
Styliani (Stella) Politi
Styliani (Stella) is a PhD candidate of the Experiments, Ethics and Economics (3e) Doctoral Training Unit (DTU) under the supervision of Prof. Christine Schiltz.
She completed both her Bachelor’s studies in Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and her Master’s in Psychological Interventions at the University of Luxembourg. During her studies she worked in the Computer-based Assessment Research Group at the University of Luxembourg. Since the beginning of her PhD in 3e DTU in October 2021, she is exploring the impact of money as manipulatives in primary math education. Her research interests include a compound of cognitive and numerical processing in adults and children, and socio-economic factors.
In her free time, Stella enjoys climbing, being in nature, and attending local cultural events.
Tânia Ramos
Tânia is a PhD Researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Assessment (COSA).
She completed her bachelor's degree in Psychology and followed this with a master's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology at the University of Algarve (PT). Master since 2020 and lover of knowledge and challenges, she decided to adventure into a new stage of knowledge and joined the University of Luxembourg in March 2022 to pursue her PhD. Although one of her passions is the adult population, specifically with neurodegenerative diseases, with which she worked for her Master's dissertation (Parkinson's disease), she also enjoys the child population and the challenges it poses. It is in this sense, that she currently finds herself working on the international research project alongside Carrie entitled: "Understanding the role of spatial numerical representations and spatial skills in mathematical abilities: From kindergarten to higher education" (SpaNuMaDev), which is funded by the FNR INTER grant programme. This current research focuses mainly on number cognition and spatial skills and how their association may predict an increase in arithmetic skills throughout development.
In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, watching films, playing with her cats, and playing general culture games. LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tâniaramos1993/
Talia Retter
Talia started her postdoc at the University of Luxembourg in October, 2019. Just prior to that, she acquired her PhD through a joint program between the University of Nevada, Reno (USA) and UCLouvain (Belgium). Her earlier training occurred as a full-time research assistant for three years (UCLouvain), and a part-time undergraduate research assistant for four years (The University of Chicago, USA).
Her research has centered on perceptual (visual) brain responses, with a particular focus on temporal dynamics. She developed the understanding of frequency-tagged harmonic brain responses (Retter & Rossion, 2016; Retter, Rossion & Schiltz, 2021). She also introduced a frequency-sweep design with EEG frequency-tagging (Retter et al., 2020). The focus of her PhD, and ongoing research interest, is in high-level color perception, and the association of color with other categories.
In Christine’s lab, Talia is applying color perception to numerical concepts. She is also continuing to develop and assist others with the frequency-tagging approach and EEG technique. Also, she designed this lab website! For the academic community, she has contributed to a frequency-tagging workshop (2018), and served as a reviewer for the American Psychological Association, RELX/Elsevier, Oxford Academic, the National Science Centre of Poland, etc.
Outside of research, she enjoys reading, traveling, and food.
Selected publications
Retter, T. L., Eraßmy, L. & Schiltz, C. (2024). Identifying conceptual neural responses to symbolic numerals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 291: 20240589. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0589
Retter, T. L., Eraßmy, L. & Schiltz, C. (2023). Categorical consistency facilitates implicit learning of color-number associations. PLoS One, 18(7): e0288224. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288224
Retter, T. L., Gao, Y., Jiang, F., Rossion, B. & Webster, M. A. (2023). Automatic, early color-specific neural responses to object color knowledge. Brain Topography. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-023-00979-4
Retter, T. L., Rossion, B. & Schiltz, C. (2021). Harmonic amplitude summation for frequency-tagging analysis. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 33(11), 2372-2393. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01763
Retter, T. L., Jiang, F., Webster, M. A. & Rossion, B. (2020). All-or-none face categorization in the human brain. NeuroImage, 213:116685, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116685