25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

25th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting: CNS-2016

Abstracts of the 25th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting: CNS-2016 Seogwipo City, Jeju-do, South Korea. 2–7 July 201

The Danish Welfare State and Transnational Solidarity in Times of Crisis

This chapter investigates transnational solidarity action across the fields of unemployment, disability and immigration in Denmark. It discusses how solidarity is manifested and organised by civil society, focusing on 30 qualitative interviews conducted with the so-called transnational solidarity organisations (TSOs). The chapter explores solidarity challenges that Danish TSOs were facing in the context of the welfare retrenchment and the structural reform in 2007, as well as the 2008 financial crisis and the migration crisis of 2015. Our interviews confirm that the effects of the financial crisis, austerity measures and the migration crisis were not easy to separate from the welfare retrenchment in the Danish system. These recent changes to the welfare state have been experienced as dramatic as they have loosened the traditionally close ties between the Danish civil society and municipalities in providing welfare services. The voluntary sector has, in response, become more political, not only providing services to affected groups but also increasingly seeking to defend their social rights, as well as entering into conflict with the government

Multimodal interactions

RevueInternational audienceIntroduction A central sensory characteristic of food is its flavor, which, most of the time, confers to a given food product its identity and typicality, and thus contribute to its liking (Prescott, 2015). Flavor has been defined as a sensory percept induced by food or beverage tasting. This holistic perception is constructed through the functional integration of information transmitted by the chemical senses: olfaction, gustation, and oral and nasal somatosensory inputs (Thomas-Danguin, 2009). Flavor may be influenced by other nonchemical sensory inputs such as texture, sound, or color (Spence, 2013). The functional integration of information transmitted by anatomically distinct senses relies on a multimodal processing, which is fundamental for our interaction with and behavioral adaptation to our environment. In the case of food flavor, the multimodal integration of chemosensory cues induces crossmodal perceptual interactions in which the perception of a tastant may affect the perceived intensity of an odorant, and vice versa (Delwiche, 2004). Nevertheless, although crossmodal interactions can result from perceptual processes, other factors may also contribute to the overall construction of the food flavor percept. In this chapter, we propose a review of multimodal interactions in the context of food flavor construction and modulation. In the first part, we focus on interactions within the chemical senses. We report evidences for the integration of olfactory and gustatory information at sub- and suprathreshold levels, and then review the mechanisms underpinning aroma–taste interactions, as well as the neurophysiological bases of perceptual flavor integration. Afterward, we provide more details on the impact of olfactory, gustatory and trigeminal interactions on food flavor perception. In the second part, we present interactions between aroma, taste, and texture while summarizing the possible mechanisms, and we consider the influence of texture on aroma and taste and the reverse. Along this chapter, several terms are used with a specific meaning that is not necessarily consensual, depending on the scientific area. The terms taste, odor, and aroma refer to the perceptions induced by chemicals which are respectively tastants or odorants, perceived through the ortho- or retronasal route, respectively. We also use the term of flavoring agent for a mixture of odorants formulated to produce a specific aroma. Finally, we use the term texture to define the perception of textural properties (eg, hardness, thickness, etc.), while the term structure refers to the physical organization of the food matrix