Rochelle ACKERLEY

Group leader, CNRS researcher

2015: Docent (HDR) in Physiology (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
2006: PhD in Physiology (University of Bristol, UK)
2001: BSc(Hons) Psychology (University of Sheffield, UK)

Employment
2017-current   Researcher – group leader (CR1) CNRS
Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitive, Aix-Marseille University, France

2015-2017 MSCA postdoctoral fellow (funded by EU FP7-People-COFUND MoRE)
Laboratoire de Neurosciences Sensorielles et Cognitives, Aix-Marseille University, France

2010-2017      Postdoctoral Researcher (supervisor: Johan Wessberg)
Dept. of Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

2007-2010      Postdoctoral Researcher (supervisor: Graham Barnes)
Sensorimotor Laboratory, University of Manchester, UK

2006-2007       Cognitive Neuroscientist
Consumer Science Insights, Unilever Research & Development, UK

Grants
2023-2026    Open Research Area 7 ANR grant (PI)
2022-2022    NeuroMarseille ICR+ grant (co-PI)
2021-2022    CNRS – INSIS PEPS “Future Mechanics” project grant (co-PI)
2021-2022    Partenariat Hubert Curien (France) AURORA collaboration grant (co-PI)
2020-2024 ANR project COMTACT (collaborator)
2019-2023    ERC Consolidator grant “ARTTOUCH” (PI)
2019-2021    L’Oréal Research & Development funding (PI)
2015-2018    MRC (UK) project grant, international co-investigator
2015-2017    EU FP7-People-COFUND Mobility for Regional Excellence MSCA Fellowship 2012-2013    Pain Research Foundation (UK) project grant (co-PI)
2011-2012    Boehringer Ingelheim grant for international collaboration (PI)
2006-2007    Unilever Research & Development funding (PI)

Awards & Prizes
2020 CNRS Bronze Medal
2017 Incoming Scientist Recognition & Reallocation Award, City of Marseille

Scientific and Editorial Responsibilities
2020-current  President of the International Association for the Study of Affective Touch (IASAT)
2020-current  Associate Editor for Royal Society Open Science
2020-current  Member of the International Group of NeuroMarseille
2017-current  Member of the CERCLE initiative, Marseille, France

Journal Publications

  1. Watkins RH, Durao de Carvalho Amante M, Backlund Wasling H, Wessberg J, Ackerley R (2022). Slowly-adapting type II afferents contribute to conscious touch sensation in humans: Evidence from single unit intraneural microstimulation. Journal of Physiology, 600(12): 2939-2952.
  2. Ackerley R (2021). C-tactile (CT) afferents: evidence of their function from microneurography studies in humans. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 43: 95-100.
  3. Ribot-Ciscar E, Ackerley R (2021). Muscle proprioceptive feedback can be adapted to the behavioral and emotional context in humans. Current Opinion in Physiology, 20: 46-51
  4. Watkins RH, Dione M, Ackerley R, Backlund Wasling H, Wessberg J, Löken LS (2020). Evidence for sparse C-tactile afferent innervation of glabrous human hand skin. Journal of Neurophysiology, 125(1): 232-237.
  5. Croy I, Bierling A, Sailer U, Ackerley R (2021). Individual variability of pleasantness ratings to stroking touch over different velocities. Neuroscience, 464: 33-43.
  6. Fabre M, Antoine M, Robitaille MG, Ribot-Ciscar E, Ackerley R, Aimonetti JM, Chavet P, Blouin J, Simoneau M, Mouchnino L (2020). Large postural sways prevent foot tactile information from fading: neurophysiological evidence. Cerebral Cortex Communications, 2(1).
  7. Ackerley R, Sverrisdόttir YB, Birklein F, Elam M, Olausson H, Krämer HH (2020). Cutaneous warmth, but not touch, increases muscle sympathetic nerve activity during a muscle fatigue hand-grip task. Experimental Brain Research, 238: 1035-1042.
  8. Eriksson Hagberg E, Ackerley R, Lundqvist D, Schneiderman J, Jousmäki V, Wessberg J (2019). Spatio-temporal profile of brain activity during gentle touch investigated with magnetoencephalography. NeuroImage, 201: 116024.
  9. Ackerley R, Croy I, Olausson H, Badre G (2019). Investigating the putative impact of odors purported to have beneficial effects on sleep: neural and perceptual processes. Chemosensory Perception, 8: 1-13.
  10. Ackerley R, Chancel M, Aimonetti JM, Ribot-Ciscar E, Kavounoudias A (2019). Seeing your foot move changes muscle proprioceptive feedback. eNeuro, 6(2): e0341-18.2019.
  11. O’Neill GC, Watkins RH, Ackerley R, Barratt EL, Sengupta A, Asghar M, Sanchez Panchuelo RM, Brookes MJ, Glover PM, Wessberg J, Francis ST (2019). Imaging human cortical responses to intraneural microstimulation using magnetoencephalography. NeuroImage, 189: 329-340.
  12. Samain-Aupic L, Ackerley R, Aimonetti JM, Ribot-Ciscar E (2019). Emotions can alter kinesthetic acuity. Neuroscience Letters, 694: 99-103.
  13. Sailer U, Ackerley R (2019). Exposure shapes the perception of affective touch. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 35: 109-114.
  14. Ackerley R, Wiklund Fernström K, Backlund Wasling H, Watkins RH, Johnson RD, Vallbo Å, Wessberg J (2018). Differential effects of radiant and mechanically applied thermal stimuli on human C-tactile afferent firing patterns. Journal of Neurophysiology, 120(4): 1885-1892.
  15. Ackerley R, Watkins RH (2018). Microneurography as a tool to study the function of individual C-fiber afferents in humans: responses from nociceptors, thermoreceptors, and mechanoreceptors. Journal of Neurophysiology, 120(6): 2834-2846.
  16. Ackerley R, Backlund Wasling H, Ortiz-Catalan M, Brånemark R, Wessberg J (2018). Case Studies in Neuroscience: Sensations elicited and discrimination ability from nerve cuff stimulation in an amputee over time. Journal of Neurophysiology, 120(1): 291-295.
  17. Ackerley R, Aimonetti JM, Ribot-Ciscar E (2017). Emotions alter muscle proprioceptive coding of movements in humans. Scientific Reports, 7: 8465.
  18. Croy I, Sehlstedt, I, Backlund Wasling H, Ackerley R, Olausson H (2017). Gentle touch perception: from childhood to adolescence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, S1878-9293(17): 30023-3.
  19. Glover PM, Watkins RH, O’Neill G, Ackerley R, Sanchez-Panchuelo R, McGlone F, Brookes MJ, Wessberg J, Francis ST (2017). An intra-neural microstimulation system for ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 290: 69-78.
  20. Watkins RH, Wessberg J, Backlund Wasling H, Dunham J, Olausson H, Johnson RD, Ackerley R (2017). Optimal delineation of single C-tactile and C-nociceptive afferents in humans using latency slowing. Journal of Neurophysiology, 117(4): 1608-1614.
  21. Filingeri D, Ackerley R (2017). The biology of skin wetness perception and its implications in manual function and for reproducing complex somatosensory signals in neuroprosthetics. Journal of Neurophysiology, 117(4): 1761-1775.
  22. Sanchez Panchuelo RM*, Ackerley R*, Glover PM, Bowtell RW, Wessberg J, Francis ST, McGlone F (2016). Mapping quantal touch using 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging and single-unit intraneural microstimulation. eLife, 5: e12812. *contributed equally to this work
  23. Ackerley R, Borich M, Oddo C, Ionta S (2016). Insights and perspectives on sensory-motor integration and rehabilitation. Multisensory Research, March: 1-27.
  24. Sehlstedt I,Ignell H, Backlund Wasling H, Ackerley R,Olausson H, Croy I (2016). Gentle touch perception across the lifespan. Psychology & Aging, 31(2): 176-184.
  25. Ackerley R, Kavounoudias A (2015). The role of tactile afference in shaping motor behaviour and implications for prosthetic innovation. Neuropsychologia, 79B: 192-205.
  26. Hudson KM, Condon M, Ackerley R, McGlone F, Olausson H, Macefield VG, Birznieks I (2015). Effects of changing skin mechanics on the differential sensitivity to surface compliance by tactile afferents in the human finger pad. Journal of Neurophysiology, 114(4): 2249-2257.
  27. Ackerley R, Badre G, Olausson H (2015). Positive effects of a weighted blanket on insomnia. Journal of Sleep Medicine & Disorders, 2(3): 1022.
  28. Ackerley R, Backlund Wasling H, Liljencrantz J, Olausson H, Johnson RD, Wessberg J (2014). Human C-tactile afferents are tuned to the temperature of a skin-stroking caress. Journal of Neuroscience, 34: 2879-2883.
  29. Ackerley R, Carlsson I, Wester H, Olausson H, Backlund Wasling H (2014). Touch perceptions across skin sites: differences between sensitivity, direction discrimination and pleasantness. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8: 54.
  30. Ackerley R, Saar K, McGlone F, Backlund Wasling H (2014). Quantifying the sensory and emotional perception of touch: differences between glabrous and hairy skin. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8: 34.
  31. Triscoli C, Ackerley R, Sailer U (2014). Touch satiety: differential effects of stroking velocity on liking and wanting touch over repetitions. PLoS ONE, 9: e113425.
  32. Liljencrantz J, Marshall A, Ackerley R, Olausson H (2014). Discriminative and affective touch in human experimental tactile allodynia. Neuroscience Letters, 563: 75-79.
  33. Guest S, Mehrabyan A, Ackerley R, McGlone F, Phillips N, Essick G (2014). Tactile experience does not ameliorate age-related reductions in sensory function. Experimental Aging Research, 40: 81-106.
  34. Ackerley R, Eriksson E, Wessberg J (2013). Ultra-late EEG potential evoked by preferential activation of unmyelinated tactile afferents in human hairy skin. Neuroscience Letters, 535: 62-66.
  35. Ackerley R, Hassan E, Curran A, Wessberg J, Olausson H, McGlone F (2012). An fMRI study on cortical responses during active self-touch and passive touch from others. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 6: 51.
  36. Ackerley R, Olausson H, Wessberg J, McGlone F (2012). Wetness perception across body sites. Neuroscience Letters, 522: 73-77.
  37. Makin ADJ, Poliakoff E, Ackerley R, El-Deredy W (2012). Covert tracking: Acombined ERP and fixational eye movement study. PLoS ONE, 7: e38479.
  38. Makin ADJ, Ackerley R, Wild K, Poliakoff E, Gowen E, El-Deredy W (2011). Coherent illusory contours reduce microsaccade frequency. Neuropsychologia, 49: 2798-2801.
  39. Ackerley R, Barnes GR (2011). The interaction of visual, vestibular and extra-retinal mechanisms in the control of head and gaze during head-free pursuit. Journal of Physiology, 589: 1627-42.
  40. Ackerley R , Barnes GR (2011). Extraction of visual motion information for the control of eye and head movement during head-free pursuit. Experimental Brain Research, 210: 569-82.
  41. Guest S, Dessirier J, Mehrabyan A, McGlone F, Essick G, Gescheider G, Fontana A, Xiong R, Ackerley R, Blot K (2011). The development and validation of sensory and emotional scales of touch perception. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 73: 531-550.
  42. Makin A, Wild K, Ackerley R (2010). The middle temporal area does not relay vestibular signals. Journal of Neuroscience, 30: 1199-1200.
  43. Ackerley R, Wild, K, Makin A (2008). Cognitive influences on the generation of eye movements. Journal of Neuroscience, 28: 8863-8864.
  44. Sherwood JL, Mistry R, Ackerley R, Melvin TRO (2008). Isolating the kinetics of facilitation in the mossy fibre pathway. Journal of Physiology, 586: 2671-2672.
  45. Ackerley R, Pardoe J, Apps R (2006). A novel site of synaptic relay for climbing fibre pathways relaying signals from the motor cortex to the cerebellar cortical C1 zone. Journal of Physiology, 576: 503-518.
  46. Odeh F*, Ackerley R*, Bjaalie JG, Apps R (2005). Pontine maps linking somatosensory and cerebellar cortices are in register with climbing fiber somatotopy. Journal of Neuroscience, 25: 5680-90. * contributed equally to this work
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