Viktoriya Vitkova

Viktoriya est doctorante en seconde année de thèse en cotutelle entre l’Université de Lorraine (laboratoire Interpsy, Prof. Ariane Bazan) et l’Université Libre de Bruxelles (laboratoire de Neurophysiologie et Biomécanique du mouvement, Prof. Ana Maria Cebolla Alvarez).

Elle est titulaire du Master en Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, obtenu à la Freie Universität Berlin et du Master en Sciences Psychologiques, à finalité psychologie clinique et psychopathologie, obtenu à l’Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Sa double formation reflète son goût pour l’interdisciplinarité et son souhait de tisser des liens entre la recherche et la pratique clinique, les neurosciences et la psychologie, le corps et l’esprit.

Le sujet de sa thèse vise à étudier la relation entre les oscillations alpha, l’inhibition linguistique et les processus primaires et secondaires décrits par Freud. A cette fin, elle utilise la technique d’électroencéphalographie (EEG), couplée à des outils linguistiques développés par l’équipe de Prof. Ariane Bazan dans le but de mesurer de manière objective les processus primaires et secondaires. Le titre provisoire de la thèse: “Le rôle des oscillations alpha dans l’inhibition/le refoulement de stimuli linguistiques : une étude à l’interface de la psychanalyse et des neurosciences motrices”.

PUBLICATIONS

2021

Lin, T.-Y., Vitkova, V., Asseyer, S., Serra, I. M., Motamedi, S., Chien, C., … Zimmermann, H. G. (2021). Increased Serum Neurofilament Light and Thin Ganglion Cell–Inner Plexiform Layer Are Additive Risk Factors for Disease Activity in Early Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology – Neuroimmunology Neuroinflammation, 8(5), e1051. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000001051

Abstract
Objective  To investigate the association of combined serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) and retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements with future disease activity in patients with early multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods  We analyzed sNfL by single molecule array technology and performed OCT measurements in a prospective cohort of 78 patients with clinically isolated syndrome and early relapsing-remitting MS with a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 23.9 (23.3–24.7) months. Patients were grouped into those with abnormal or normal sNfL levels, defined as sNfL ≥/<80th percentile of age-corrected reference values. Likewise, patients were grouped by a median split into those with thin or thick ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer (GCIP), peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer, and inner nuclear layer in nonoptic neuritis eyes. Outcome parameters were violation of no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) criteria or its components.
Results Patients with abnormal baseline sNfL had a higher risk of violating NEDA-3 (hazard ratio [HR] 2.28, 95% CI 1.27–4.09, p = 0.006) and developing a new brain lesion (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.30–4.69, p = 0.006), but not for a new relapse (HR 2.21, 95% CI 0.97–5.03, p = 0.058). Patients with both abnormal sNfL and thin GCIP had an even higher risk for NEDA-3 violation (HR 3.61, 95% CI 1.77–7.36, p = 4.2e−4), new brain lesion (HR 3.19, 95% CI 1.51–6.76, p = 0.002), and new relapse (HR 5.38, 95% CI 1.61–17.98, p = 0.006) than patients with abnormal sNfL alone.
Conclusions In patients with early MS, the presence of both abnormal sNfL and thin GCIP is a stronger risk factor for future disease activity than the presence of each parameter alone.

2020

Master thesis : “Alpha synchronization and defense mechanisms”,  Université Libre de Bruxelles

2018

Master thesis : “Optical Coherence Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging as methods for predicting disease activity in patients with Multiple Sclerosis”, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

2017

Blog post on Procrastination written in the frame of a Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Module. Target audience: general public, link: https://scanberlin.com/2017/07/23/master-procrastinators-unite-tomorrow/

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

  • FlashTalk during the conference of the Belgian Association of Psychological Sciences in Leuven, 2-3 June 2022: ThinkNothink: a linguistic inhibition task to evaluate psychotic vulnerability.
  • Vitkova, V., Thieffry, L., Bruxelmane, J., Van de Vijver, G., Vandekerckhove, M., Cheron, G., CEBOLLA, A., and Bazan, A. ThinkNoThink: a linguistic inhibition task to evaluate psychotic vulnerability. Scientific day of the Societies, Languages, Time, Knowledge (SLTC) Doctoral School, 5 April 2022.
  • Vitkova, V., Thieffry, L., Bruxelmane, J., Bazan, A., and CEBOLLA, A. NeuroLiT: a new psychometric tool for early detection of psychotic vulnerability. 13ème Congrès Français de Psychiatrie,1-4 December 2021, Montpellier, France.
  • Vitkova, V., Moghaddamfar, F., Waldhauser, G., Axmacher, N., Bazan, A. Intrapsychic conflict – slows down thought and interferes with recall… as if it were wrapped into a psychic envelope? International colloquium titled « Enveloppes psychiques: nouvelle conceptualisation et évolution sociétale », 4-6 November 2021, Besançon, France.
  • Vitkova, V., Bruxelmane, J., Thieffry, L., Cebolla Alvarez, A., Bazan, A. Think or Nothink, that is the question. A study on alpha oscillations in linguistic inhibition. Scientific day of the Societies, Languages, Time, Knowledge (SLTC) Doctoral School, 22 April 2021.
  • 11.10.2018 –Vitkova, V., Zimmermann, H., Ayadi, N., Martorell Serra, I., Koduah,P., Chien, C., Kuchling, J., Gieß, R., Motamedi, S., Gawlik, K., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Ruprecht, K., Scheel, M., Paul, F., Brandt, A., Quantitative OCT and MRI in MS as surrogates for clinical activity based on annual follow-ups, European committee for treatment and research in multiple sclerosis (ECTRIMS), 2018, Berlin, Germany, Poster 834.
  • Zimmermann, H., Vitkova, V., Martorell Serra, I., Papadopoulou, A., Motamedi, S., Gawlik, K., Gieß, R., Ruprecht, K., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Paul, F., Brandt, A., Temporal dynamics of intra-retinal thickness changes in clinically isolated syndrome and early multiple sclerosis, European committee for treatment and research in multiple sclerosis (ECTRIMS), 2018, Berlin, Germany, Poster 1157.
  • Zimmermann, H., Vitkova, V., Ayadi, N., Martorell Serra, I., Bereuter, C., Motamedi, S., Kuchling, J., Asseyer, S., Scheel, M., Ruprecht, K., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Paul, F., Brandt, A., Individual reflection of brain atrophy on intraretinal thickness changes in multiple sclerosis, retinal thickness changes in clinically isolated syndrome and early multiple sclerosis, European committee for treatment and research in multiple sclerosis (ECTRIMS), 2019, Stockholm, Sweden, Poster 933.
  • 21.09.2017, Vitkova, V., Sarrazin, V., Stick to your colors! Perceptual continuity for colors and insights from the world of synesthesia, Second Conference for Student Research, 2017, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
  • Pressigout, A., Charvillat, A., Fayel, A., Vitkova, V. & Doré‐Mazars, K., Does conceptual quantity of words affect the spatial coding of saccade responses, like a SNARC effect? European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), 2016, Barcelona, Spain, Poster.