Nicolas Escoffier (PhD)

Lead Researcher in Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental health
Scientific Board Member
     
Nicolas Escoffier, PhD, researches the mind. His work has focused on the relationship between our minds and our sensory and social environments, using techniques from experimental psychology and brain imaging. He also studies the mind from the “inside” and guides others in meditation and inner work. He integrates evidence-based therapeutic models with the contemplative practices that he has studied and practiced in Southeast Asia for over a decade.

Publications

Conference paper/poster
  1. Gąsior, W., Olszewska-Guizzo, A., Escoffier, N., Zaborowska, A., Giedych, R., Gawryszewska, B. J., Cole, H., & Triguero Mas, M. Green Care for Mental Health: Equity & its main players. Analysis of stakeholders & insights from the GreenME Project, Poster presented at International Conference of Urban Health - Healthier Horizons, November 2024, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2024. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35529.66406
Journal articles
  1. Olszewska-Guizzo, A.; Sia, A.; Escoffier, N.. "Revised Contemplative Landscape Model (CLM): A reliable and valid evaluation tool for mental health-promoting urban green spaces," Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 86 (2023): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85164290088&partnerID=MN8TOARS, 10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128016.
  2. Olszewska-Guizzo, A., Fogel, A., Escoffier, N., Sia, A., Nakazawa, K., Kumagai, A., … Ho, R. (2022). Therapeutic garden with contemplative features induces desirable changes in mood and brain activity in depressed adults. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 757056.
  3. Olszewska-Guizzo, Agnieszka, Anna Fogel, Nicolas Escoffier, and Roger Ho. "Effects of COVID-19-Related Stay-at-Home Order on Neuropsychophysiological Response to Urban Spaces: Beneficial Role of Exposure to Nature?" Journal of Environmental Psychology, March 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101590.
  4. Schirmer, Annett, Rafael Romero-García, Nicolas Escoffier, Man Hey Chiu, and Lei Feng. "Rhythmic Timing in Aging Adults: On the Role of Cognitive Functioning and Structural Brain Integrity." Psychology and Aging 35, no. 8 (September 2020). https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000575.
  5. Cho, Philip, Nicolas Escoffier, Yinan Mao, and Richard C. Davis. "Beyond Physical Entrainment: Competitive and Cooperative Mental Stances During Identical Joint-Action Tasks Differently Affect Inter-Subjective Neural Synchrony and Judgements of Agency." Social Neuroscience 15, no. 3 (February 2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2020.1727949.
  6. Olszewska-Guizzo, Agnieszka, Nicolas Escoffier, Jane Chan, and Tan Puay Yok. "Window View and the Brain: Effects of Floor Level and Green Cover on the Alpha and Beta Rhythms in a Passive Exposure EEG Experiment." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (October 2018).
  7. Cho, P., Escoffier, N., Mao, Y., Ching, A., Green, C., Jong, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Groups and Emotional Arousal Mediate Neural Synchrony and Perceived Ritual Efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology.
  8. Sze, Wei Ping, Wai Lam Yoon, Nicolas Escoffier, and Susan Rickard Liow. "Evaluating the Training Effects of Two Swallowing Rehabilitation Therapies Using Surface Electromyography – Chin Tuck Against Resistance (CTAR) Exercise and the Shaker Exercise." Dysphagia 31, no. 2 (March 2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-015-9678-2.
  9. Schirmer, Annett, Nicolas Escoffier, Tabitha Ng, and Trevor B. Penney. "Emotional Voices Distort Time: Behavioral and Neural Correlates." Timing & Time Perception 4, no. 1 (February 2016). https://doi.org/10.1163/22134468-00002058.
  10. Schirmer, A., Ng, T., Escoffier, N., & Penney, T. B. (2016). Emotional voices distort time: Behavioral and neural correlates. Timing & Time Perception, 4(1), 79–98.
  11. Schirmer, Annett, Keng Soon Teh, Shuo Wang, and Adrian Cheok. "Squeeze Me, but Don't Tease Me: Human and Mechanical Touch Enhance Visual Attention and Emotion Discrimination." Social Neuroscience 6, no. 3 (May 2011): 219–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2010.507958.
  12. Schirmer, A., Escoffier, N., Cheng, X., Feng, Y., & Penney, T. B. (2016). Detecting temporal change in dynamic sounds: on the role of stimulus duration, speed, and emotion. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 2055.
  13. Escoffier, N., Herrmann, C. S., & Schirmer, A. (2015). Auditory rhythms entrain visual processes in the human brain: evidence from evoked oscillations and event-related potentials. NeuroImage, 111, 267–276.
  14. Escoffier, Nicolas, Darren J. Yeo, and Annett Schirmer. "Unattended Musical Beats Enhance Visual Processing." Acta Psychologica 135, no. 1 (April 2010): 12–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.04.005.
  15. Schirmer, A., & Escoffier, N. (2010). Emotional MMN: Anxiety and heart rate correlate with the ERP signature for auditory change detection. Clinical Neurophysiology, 121(1), 53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2009.09.029.
  16. Schirmer, Annett, and Nicolas Escoffier. "Emotional MMN: Anxiety and Heart Rate Correlate with the ERP Signature for Auditory Change Detection." Clinical Neurophysiology 121, no. 1 (October 2009): 53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2009.09.029.
  17. Escoffier, Nicolas, and Barbara Tillmann. "The Tonal Function of a Task-Irrelevant Chord Modulates Speed of Visual Processing." Cognition 107, no. 3 (June 2008): 1070–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2007.10.007.
  18. Schirmer, A., Escoffier, N., Zysset, S., Koester, D., Striano, T., & Friederici, A. D. (2008). When vocal processing gets emotional: on the role of social orientation in relevance detection by the human amygdala. Neuroimage, 40(3), 1402–1410.
  19. Schirmer, Annett, Elizabeth A. Simpson, and Nicolas Escoffier. "Listen Up! Processing of Intensity Change Differs for Vocal and Nonvocal Sounds." Brain Research 1176, no. 1 (October 2007): 103–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2007.08.008.
  20. Tillmann, Barbara, Stefan Koelsch, Nicolas Escoffier, and D. Y. von Cramon. "Cognitive Priming in Sung and Instrumental Music: Activation of Inferior Frontal Cortex." NeuroImage 31, no. 4 (July 2006): 1771–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.02.028.
  21. Schirmer, Annett, Ming Ann Lui, Burkhard Maess, and Trevor B. Penney. "Task and Sex Modulate the Brain Response to Emotional Incongruity in Asian Listeners." Emotion 6, no. 3 (July 2006): 406–17. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.3.406.
  22. Tillmann, Barbara, Emmanuel Bigand, Nicolas Escoffier, and Lyon I Bernard. "The Influence of Musical Relatedness on Timbre Discrimination." European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 18, no. 3 (April 2006). https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440500269548.