The Neuroscience teaching and research network of the North-West, referred to under the acronym "LARC-Neuroscience network", is a federation of 34 neurobiology laboratories at the Universities of Nijmegen (Netherlands), Leuven (Belgium), Lille, Amiens, Rouen, Caen, Brest, Rennes and Ile-de-France. All the neurobiology laboratories of the Norman Centre of Excellence, i.e. FRE 2735, U413, U614 and EA 1780 in Rouen, and UMR 6095, UMR 6551, EMI-0218, AVENIR Team, IFREMER EA 962, EA 2126, EA 2609 and EA 3211 in Caen are federated with the network.

In terms of teaching, the LARC-Neuroscience network constitutes the backbone of the Masters Degree in Cellular Biology of Rouen-Caen Le Havre, as well as Norman Chemistry-Biology PhD School (ED 096). Training courses abroad are provided for students as part of ERASMUS/SOCRATES agreements.

In terms of research, the teams of the LARC-Neuroscience network work closely together on two major themes at the socio-economic level (neuroendocrinology / new neuropeptides and ageing / neurodegenerative diseases / ischaemia / neuronal death) resulting in 160 articles over the 4 last years published jointly by at least 2 teams of the network, some of which appeared in world-class periodicals (P.N.A.S., Endocrinology, J. Neurochem., J. Neurosci. Res., Neurosciences, Mol. Cell. Endocrinology, J. Comp. Neurol. etc.). Each year in October, one of the teams of the network organises the scientific workshop of the LARC-Neuroscience network. The 9th Scientific workshop of the LARC-Neuroscience network was held on October 14, 2005 in Amiens.

The LARC-Neuroscience network has two complementary imagery research platforms, approved by the Inter-Organisational Assembly (RIO): the regional research platform for cellular imagery of the IFRMP 23 in Haute-Normandie and the in vivo imagery research platform of the Cyceron Center in Basse-Normandie. The federation of these two platforms, which is currently under way, will result in the creation of an imagery centre of European scope and scale within the Norman Centre of Excellence.

Under the 2000-2006 State-regional contract plan (CPER), the Norman teams of the LARC-Neuroscience network have been allocated EUR 450,000 for Rouen University and EUR 300,000 for Caen University. These endowments have been used to subsidise 3 PhD grants co-supervised by the teams in Rouen and Caen and to acquire various pooled items of equipment within common departments.

The foreign teams of the LARC-Neuroscience network are associated with the French teams by INSERM-NWO agreements (Netherlands) and INSERM-MVG agreements (Belgium).

The teams of the network have obtained several joint contracts from the public authorities and private companies. The teams of the LARC-Neuroscience network have also registered 2 joint patents (98-14914 and 99-00588). They have been entrusted with the organisation of the Conference of the Neuroscience Society twice: in 2003 in Rouen, and in 2005 in Lille.