A novel research program on traumatic memories
How will the traumatic events of the terrorist attacks of 13 November 2015 evolve in people's memories, whether collective or individual? How does individual memory feed on collective memory and vice versa? Is it possible, by studying cerebral markers, to predict which victims will develop post-traumatic stress disorder and which will recover more quickly? These are a few of the questions addressed in the ambitious 13-Novembre program, coordinated by the CNRS, Inserm and héSam Université, with the collaboration of numerous partners. This transdisciplinary research program, codirected by the historian Denis Peschanski and neuropsychologist Francis Eustache, is based on the collection and analysis of the accounts of 1000 volunteers, ed four times over ten years. Involving several hundred people, this study is a worldwide first in terms of size, number of disciplines encompassed and protocol used. Results are expected to benefit the socio-historical and biomedical fields, but also have implications for public policy and public health. Following the appeal launched last November1 by Alain Fuchs, president of the CNRS, the research community is seeking to elucidate the issues facing society in the wake of the terrorist attacks that hit France in the course of last year. This call for projects gave rise to 13-Novembre , an interdisciplinary program that will run for 12 years. Coordinated by the CNRS and Inserm, in collaboration with héSam Université, it aims to study the construction and evolution of memory after the attacks of November 13th 2015, and also the relationship between individual and collective memory.
