Breast cancer is the first cancer in women in France and one of the leading cause of death by cancer in women worldwide. One of the efficient treatment is mastectomy, a surgical procedure consisting of a breast amputation. Although it has been shown to improve survival, it removes the endings of the cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerves that innervate the skin of the breast, resulting in a loss of sensation. But, breast sensation is important in women's lives: for embodiment, for communication through touch, and for erogenous sensations.

Years of research have led to major innovations in the development of peripheral nerve interfaces for hand and arm amputees that can reproduce a sense of touch. Despite the importance of breast sensation, little is known about its neural basis, which are needed to develop a peripheral nerve interface to improve breast sensation.

My thesis project consists in characterizing the neural bases of tactile and affective breast sensations. To do so, we will use psychophysics measurements and innovative techniques to precisely record and stimulate the nerves in awake humans : Temporal Interference Nerve Stimulation (TINS), a non invasive technique that allows a focal and depth stimulation and Microneurography, that allow to record from the axons of single neurons of peripheral nerves. We will use them to map the tactile sensations evoked by a stimulation of the peripheral nerves responsible for tactile sensations in the human chest. We will also investigate the need to improve the breast sensation using a questionnaire.