Kuidas on vägivaldne konflikt mõjutab paradiplomaatiat? Uurimisuuring koos Põhja-Kaukaasia juhtumitega

Ülemaailmne suundumus kodusõdade rahvusvahelistumise suunas on toonud uut tähelepanu sisekonfliktide rahvusvahelisele mõõtmele. Kuberneride rolli nendes protsessides ei ole piisavalt uuritud. Millised on vägivaldsete konfliktide tagajärjed osariikide kuberneride rahvusvahelistele kohustustele? Võttes kasutusele paradiplomaatia raamistiku, tehakse selles lõputöös ettepanek vaadelda kubernere kui aktiivseid osalejaid rahvusvahelistes suhetes, kes on valmis kaasama välispartnereid vastuseks vägivaldsele konfliktile nende territooriumil. Selles mõttes on tegemist induktiivse uurimistööga, mis põhineb teoreetiliselt põhjendatud uurimisprobleemil ja püüab täita lünka meie teadmistes. Paradiplomaatia käsitleb üksikute osariikide (või "piirkondade") valitsuste erinevaid vorme, mõjusid ja tagajärgi, mis suhtlevad partneritega väljaspool oma riigi piire. Kuberneride rahvusvahelisi suhteid nimetatakse kirjanduses tavaliselt "paradiplomaatiaks", st diplomaatiaks, mis toimub paralleelselt keskvalitsuse diplomaatiaga. Lecours (2002), tuginedes institutsionaalsele teooriale, käsitas paradiplomaatiat, mis on raamitud võimaluste struktuuridega, mis on osariigi piirkonnale eksogeensed. Need struktuurid võivad olla rahvusvahelised (nt globaliseerumine) või siseriiklikud (nt keskvalitsuse poliitika) ning on sügavalt juurdunud piirkonna ajaloos ja geopoliitilistes oludes (Duran 2015). Jätkan siis arusaamisega, et vägivaldne konflikt mõjutab nii osariigi alamregioonide võimalusi osaleda paradiplomaatias kui ka nende regioonide kuberneride tegevuskavasid välismaal. Just neil põhjustel asusin uurima vägivaldse konflikti mõju paradiplomaatiale. See uuring hõlmab paradiplomaatia lühiajaliste muutuste süstemaatilist analüüsi, antud juhul vägivaldse konflikti ilmnemisel. Uurimisküsimusele vastamiseks ülalmainitud eelduste alusel olen valinud oma uurimisstrateegiaks sarnaste juhtumite ja kontrolljuhtumite ajalooliselt põhjendatud väikese ja võrdleva uuringu. Kuigi riikidel on oodatav hulk rahvusvahelisi institutsioone (nt saatkonnad, ÜRO asukohad, välisministeeriumid), ei ole osariikidest madalamad piirkonnad riigi domineeritud rahvusvahelises süsteemis seaduslikud osalejad (Bartmann 2006), seega on nende lähenemine rahvusvahelistele suhetele riigiti erinev (Criekemans 2010). See varieeruvus on nii üleminekumuutuste kui ka pikaajaliste suundumuste tulemus, mida tuleks mõista paradiplomaatia muutuste jälgimiseks (Duran 2015). Valides juhtumid ühest riigist ja samast ajavahemikust, võin eeldada sarnaseid põhiseaduslikke ja poliitilisi tingimusi välismaal tegutsevatele kuberneridele. Minu valitud juhtumid on kõik Vene Föderatsioonis. Need on Dagestan, Inguššia, Kabardi-Balkaria ja Põhja-Osseetia, kusjuures viimane toimib kontrolljuhtumina. Need kõik on naaberpiirkonnad, millel on sarnased Venemaaga jõulise integratsiooni ajalood. Need on ka kõik piirkonnad, kus mittevene vähemused moodustavad suurema osa elanikkonnast. Ja nad kõik jagavad seda, et nad asuvad perifeerses kohas, eemal Venemaa ja teiste riikide jõukeskustest ning neil on väike piirkondlik majandus. Ülioluline on see, et vägivaldsed konfliktid suurenesid neil kõigil, kuna Imrat Kavkazi juhitud Põhja-Kaukaasia mässud 2000. aastal ja 2010. aasta alguses võimutsesid. Nendes piirkondades saavutasid konfliktidega seotud ohvrid haripunkti 2010. aasta alguses, seega kasutan nelja aastat 2010–2013 hoolika analüüsi ajaraamina. Põhja-Osseetia toimib kontrolljuhtumina, kuna seal ei esinenud samal perioodil sarnast vägivalla kasvu. Nende nelja juhtumi paradiplomaatia muutuste tuvastamiseks keskendusin lühi- ja pikaajalistele suundumustele. Esiteks jälgisin piirkondade omariikluse ja rahvusvaheliste kohustuste pikaajalist arengut, eesmärgiga mõista nende püsivaid geopoliitilisi olusid. Teiseks jälgisin lühiajalisi suundumusi kõigi juhtude andmekogumiga, kus nende nelja piirkonna kubernerid ja kaks asjaomast ministeeriumi suhtlesid ametlikult ja avalikult välispartneritega ajavahemikus jaanuarist 2010 kuni detsembrini 2013. Andmekogum tuvastas kokku 178 Venemaa territooriumil ja välismaal peetud kohtumist. Igaüks neist oli kodeeritud välispartneri riigi ja kohtumise peamise eesmärgi järgi. Muutus registreeriti ajalooliste pikaajaliste suundumuste taustal, Vene Föderatsiooni paradiplomaatia laiemate suundumuste taustal, nagu on dokumenteerinud Stremoukhov (2021), andmestikus tuvastatud lühiajaliste suundumuste taustal. Lisaks võimaldas väikesemahuline uurimistöö ka empiiriliselt rikkalikult kirjeldada analüüsiperioodi jooksul toimunud juriidilisi, institutsionaalseid ja poliitilisi muutusi kõigil neil juhtudel. Tõepoolest, muutusi täheldati nii kvantitatiivses kui ka kvalitatiivses mõttes. Esiteks jäi koosolekute intensiivsus suure konfliktiga piirkondades samaks ja vähenes kontrollpiirkonnas. Teiseks toimusid kõikides kõrge konfliktiintensiivsusega piirkondades üht- või teist laadi institutsionaalsed muutused, näiteks moodustati uued ministeeriumid ja võeti kasutusele uued poliitilised programmid. Sarnaseid muutusi kontrollpiirkonnas ei täheldatud. Kolmandaks, kolm konfliktist mõjutatud piirkonda nägid oma paradiplomaatia ümbersuunamist selle rakendamisel, demonstreerides uusi territorialiseerumise mustreid (Dagestan), uusi rahvusvahelistumise strateegiaid (Inguššia) ja keskvalitsuse suuremat kontrolli (Kabardi-Balkaria). Kontrolljuhtum (Põhja-Osseetia) ei näidanud paradiplomaatia lähenemisviisi ümbersuunamist. Neljandaks oli rahvusvahelise üldsuse tähelepanu humanitaarkaalutlustel nähtav kõigil juhtudel, kuigi kontrolljuhtumi puhul vähem intensiivsusega. Lõpuks, kõigil juhtudel, välja arvatud kontrolljuhtum, oesines juhtumeid, kus vägivaldne konflikt segas nende rahvusvahelisi kohustusi, hoides potentsiaalseid välispartnereid nendega suhtlemast. Lõputöö lõpetuseks pakkudes välja vastus uurimisküsimusele, mis on mõeldud tulevasteks kinnitusuuringuteks. Vastus on, et vägivaldne konflikt asetab osariikide piirkondade paradiplomaatia viiele erinevale, kuigi mõnikord kattule trajektoorile. Need on nimelt tsentraalselt kehtestatud kohustused, tsentraalselt kehtestatud järelevalve, tsentraalselt kehtestatud piirangud ja vägivald kui partnereid eemale tõukav ja sisse tõmbav tegur. Need vastused viitavad tärkavale arusaamisele, et riik on isegi globaliseerumise, konfliktide ja paralleeldiplomaatia kontekstis võimeline manööverdama, säilitama oma tegevusvabaduse ja tegutsema neis tingimustes.The world-wide trend of internationalising civil wars has brought new attention to the international dimension of otherwise domestic conflicts. The role of governors in these processes has been under-scrutinised. What are the effects of violent conflict for the international engagements of sub-state governors? By adopting the paradiplomacy framework, this thesis proposes to look at governors as proactive participants in international relations with a disposition to engage foreign partners in response to violent conflict in their territories. In this sense, this is an inductive exploratory research proceeding on the basis of a theory-informed research problem trying to fill a gap in our knowledge. Paradiplomacy concerns itself with the various forms, effects and implications of sub-state governments (or ‘regions’) engaging with partners outside of the borders of their country. The international relations of governors are usually referred to by the literature as ‘paradiplomacy’, i.e. diplomacy happening in parallel to that of the central government. Lecours (2002), drawing from institutional theory, conceptualised paradiplomacy as framed by opportunity structures that are exogenous to the sub-state region. These structures may be international (e.g. globalisation) or domestic (e.g. central government policy), and are deeply rooted in the history and geopolitical circumstances of the region (Duran 2015). I proceed then with the understanding that violent conflict impacts both the opportunity structures of sub-state regions to engage in paradiplomacy and the agenda pursued abroad by the governors of said regions. It is on these grounds that I set out to explore the effects of violent conflict on paradiplomacy. This exploration implies a systematic analysis of short-term change in paradiplomacy, in this case, when violent conflict arises. To answer the research question under the assumptions mentioned above, I chose as a research strategy to make a historically-grounded, small-n comparative study of similar cases and a control case. Whilst countries have an expected set of international institutions (e.g. embassies, UN seats, foreign ministries), sub-state regions are not legitimate participants in the state-dominated international system (Bartmann 2006), so their approach to international relations varies from country to country (Criekemans 2010). This variation is the product of both junctural change and long-term trends, both of which must be understood to trace change in paradiplomacy (Duran 2015). By choosing cases from a single country and the same time period, I can assume similar constitutional and political conditions for governors acting abroad. The cases I chose are all in the Russian Federation. These are Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia, with this latter one functioning as the control case. These are all neighbouring regions with similar histories of forceful integration into Russia. They are also all regions where non-Russian minorities make up the majority of the population. And, they all share being in a peripheral location, away from Russia’s power centres and those of other countries, as well as having small regional economies. Crucially, they all experienced increases in violent conflict as the North Caucasus insurgency under Imrat Kavkaz took hold in the 2000 and early 2010 decades. For these regions, conflict-related casualties peaked in the early 2010 decade, so my timeframe for close analysis is the four years between 2010 to 2013. North Ossetia acts as the control case as it experienced no similar increase in violence during the same period. To identify changes in the paradiplomacy of these four cases, I focused on short- and long-term trends. First, I traced the long-term evolution of the regions’ statehood and international engagements, with the goal of understanding their enduring geopolitical circumstances. Second, I traced the short-term trends with a dataset of all instances where the governors and two relevant ministries of these four regions interacted with foreign partners in an official and overt capacity between January 2010 and December 2013. The dataset identified a total of 178 meetings held inside Russian territory and abroad. Each one of these was coded for the country of the foreign counterpart and the primary goal of the meeting. Change was registered against the background of historical long-term trends, the broader trends in paradiplomacy in the Russian Federation as documented by Stremoukhov (2021), the short-term trends identified in the dataset. In addition, the small-n research design allowed also for an empirically rich description of the legal, institutional and political changes in each one of these cases during the period of analysis. Indeed, change was observed in both quantitative and qualitative terms. First, the intensity of meetings remained the same in those regions with high conflict intensity and diminished in the control region. Second, all regions with high levels of conflict intensity experienced institutional change of one kind or another, such as new ministries formed and new political programmes introduced. No similar changes were observed in the control region. Three, the three conflict-affected regions saw their paradiplomacy redirect in its implementation exhibiting new patterns of territorialisation (Dagestan), new strategies for internationalisation (Ingushetia) and increased central government scrutiny (Kabardino-Balkaria). The control case (North Ossetia) exhibited no redirection of its paradiplomacy approach. Four, international attention on humanitarian grounds was visible in all cases, albeit with a diminishing intensity in the control case. Finally, in all cases except the control one saw instances where violent conflict spoiled their international engagements, deterring would-be foreign partners from engaging with them. The thesis concludes by proposing an answer to the research question, an answer meant for future confirmatory research. The answer is that violent conflict sets the paradiplomacy of sub-state regions on five different – although sometimes overlapping – trajectories. These are, namely, centrally-imposed engagements, centrally-imposed monitoring, centrally-imposed restrictions, and violence as a factor pushing partners away and as a factor pulling them in. Implicit in these answers is the emerging understanding that the state, even in conditions of globalisation, conflict and parallel diplomacy, is capable to manoeuvre, retain its agency and act through these conditions.https://www.ester.ee/record=b552074

Securitisation’s effects on military planning: the case of the Chechen wars

This dissertation is a case study of Russia’s securitisation of Chechnya, undertaken for identifying the effects of it on military planning. In particular, it aims to determine if securitising narratives in the military are a factor in the choices made by military commanders in the design of operations to be executed. The case of Chechnya is chosen because of the wealth of secondary literature that has been produced various decades after the wars ended, and also to build upon Julie Wilhelmsen’s inquiry (2017) on the same topic (Russia’s securitisation of Chechnya). The theoretical basis for this work is securitisation theory, particularly the Copenhagen school. This strand of international relations theory has its interest in speech, discourse and how they result in a country’s society threat-perception. Hence it enables a theory-first, qualitative inquiry that stands at the intersection of Security Studies, Strategic Studies and international relations theory. The narrow focus on Chechnya and the methods chosen make this an inquiry with an Area Studies component. Drawing from Wilhelmsen’s previous work on the topic, my interests are narrower. Even though our inquiries aim at seeing what securitisation does, mine does not look at how war becomes legitimate or tolerable, but at how securitisation affects decision-making among the military. Also, while her case study is the second Chechen war, mine addresses both the first and the second Chechen wars. I believe that the comparison helps to generalise the results of the inquiry. Furthermore, while we both share the methodology of discourse analysis, I bring content analysis to offer further evidence on the changes in narratives. Finally, her attention is on discourse in society as a whole, while mine is exclusively on how discourse evolved among the Russian military. Hence various aspects overlap, but overall both my theory-building aims and my empirical work are different. In theory building, my aim is to suggest a possible line of inquiry which regards a connection between society’s discourse about a conflict and the choices made by military commanders once said conflict results in war. As it can be said that many ’external’ conditions have an effect on military planning (ideology, historical legacies, among other tangible and intangible circumstances), my aim is not to suggest which has the highest weight; my aim is to suggest that the hegemonic narrative on the conflict among the military is a factor that must be taken into consideration when analysing its decision-making processes. Moreover, I suggest that this factor may be traceable from the strategic level of decision-making, to the mission design down to the chosen tactics for the operation. In its empirical component, my inquiry thoroughly analyses the different narratives present in the military’s main newspaper, the Krasnaya Zvezda, thus bringing evidence of how this segment of society articulated its views on Chechnya and those who would become their opponents in combat. The sample was gathered from the newspaper’s archive for the years 1993, 1994, and 1998, 1999, precisely one year each before each conflict began. Discourse analysis and deductive coding for identity representations (Self, Other, measures) was made to identify the characteristics of each narrative. For identifying which narrative became determinant in the military’s planning, hegemonic, content analysis was used on the sample, looking for keywords associated to each narrative. Finally, secondary literature on the wars in Chechnya was consulted to assess what assumptions the Russian military had before each war. I argue that the results of these methods under the securitisation framework suggest that discourse exerts a short-term influence over military planning by informing the assumptions held by the military commanders.https://www.ester.ee/record=b5171431*es

Doing-it-All with Bounded Work and Communication

We consider the Do-All problem, where $p$ cooperating processors need to complete $t$ similar and independent tasks in an adversarial setting. Here we deal with a synchronous message passing system with processors that are subject to crash failures. Efficiency of algorithms in this setting is measured in terms of work complexity (also known as total available processor steps) and communication complexity (total number of point-to-point messages). When work and communication are considered to be comparable resources, then the overall efficiency is meaningfully expressed in terms of effort defined as work + communication. We develop and analyze a constructive algorithm that has work $O( t + p \log p\, (\sqrt{p\log p}+\sqrt{t\log t}\, ) )$ and a nonconstructive algorithm that has work $O(t +p \log^2 p)$. The latter result is close to the lower bound $\Omega(t + p \log p/ \log \log p)$ on work. The effort of each of these algorithms is proportional to its work when the number of crashes is bounded above by $c\,p$, for some positive constant $c < 1$. We also present a nonconstructive algorithm that has effort $O(t + p ^{1.77})$

Application of novel Nanobodies to already existing LRRK2 biomarker assays

Η νόσος του Πάρκινσον (ΝΠ) είναι η δεύτερη πιο διαδεδομένη νευροεκφυλιστική διαταραχή που εκδηλώνει προοδευτική κινητική δυσλειτουργία αλλά και μη-κινητικά συμπτώματα. Η LRRK2 είναι ένα διπλό ένζυμο-κινάση/GTPάση η οποία υφίσταται ως μονομερής ή διμερής, με συμμετοχή τόσο στην ιδιοπαθή όσο και στην οικογενή ΝΠ. Η G2019S μετάλλαξη της πρωτεΐνης φαίνεται να είναι η πιο συχνή σημειακή μετάλλαξη και κυρίως συσχετίζεται με αυξημένη ενεργότητα κινάσης και προκαλεί την νέκρωση βασικών νευρώνων. Είναι γνωστό ότι η ενεργότητα της κινάσης είναι συγκεντρωμένη σε διμερείς μορφές και στην περίπτωση της μεταλλαγμένης LRRK2, το ομοδιμερές παρουσιάζει την μεγαλύτερη ενεργότητα. Κατά τη διάρκεια προηγούμενης έρευνας βιοδεικτών, αποδείξαμε ότι οι φορείς της μετάλλαξης G2019S έχουν αυξημένη ενεργότητα κινάσης σε μονοπύρηνα κύτταρα περιφερικού αίματος (PBMCs). Παρόλα αυτά, η ακριβής διαμόρφωση της LRRK2 που προκαλεί την εκδήλωση της ΝΠ και την εξέλιξή της δεν είναι ακόμη ξεκάθαρη. Προκειμένου να αντιμετωπίσουμε αυτό το ζήτημα, χρησιμοποιήσαμε τα καινοτόμα νανοσώματα (Nbs) - θραύσματα αντισωμάτων αποκλειστικά βαριάς αλυσίδας προερχόμενα από καμηλίδες, που εμφανίζουν διαφορετική συγγένεια ανάλογα με την διαμόρφωση του στόχου τους. Συνεπώς, χρησιμοποιώντας τα Nbs για ποικίλα είδη της LRRK2, ελέγξαμε για τη συγγένειά τους με διμερείς μορφές της και χρησιμοποιήσαμε επιλεγμένους κλώνους για μετρήσεις κλινικών δειγμάτων. Τα δείγματα που χρησιμοποιήσαμε προέρχονταν από την ίδια ομάδα με την προηγούμενη μελέτη βιοδεικτών, επιτρέποντάς μας να αποκτήσουμε περισσότερες πληροφορίες σχετικά με το προφίλ των ασθενών με ΝΠ και να εξερευνήσουμε τη χρήση των Nbs ως εργαλεία για μελέτη βιοδεικτών.Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, manifesting progressive motor dysfunction as well as non-motor symptoms. Leucinerich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a kinase/GTPase dual enzyme that exists as a monomer or a dimer, with implications in both idiopathic and familial PD. The G2019S mutation of the protein appears to be the most frequent point mutation and mainly correlates with increased kinase activity and causes the death of primary neurons. It is known that the kinase activity is concentrated in the dimeric species and in the case of mutant LRRK2, it is the homo-dimer which posseses the greatest activity. During a previous biomarker study, we showed that G2019S mutation carriers have hyperactive kinase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), however the specific LRRK2 conformation state for PD manifestation and during the disease progression is still unclear. In order to tackle this issue, we are now using the novel nanobodies (Nbs), camelid-derived, heavy-chain only antibody fragments that show differential affinity depending on their target’s conformation. Therefore, by using Nbs for various LRRK2 species, we screened for their affinity for LRRK2 dimers and applied selected clones for clinical sample measurements. The samples used were from the same cohort of our previous biomarker study, allowing us to gain further information about these groups’ PD profile and explore the use of Nbs as biomarker tools

A True AR Authoring Tool for Interactive Virtual Museums

In this work, a new and innovative way of spatial computing that appeared recently in the bibliography called True Augmented Reality (AR), is employed in cultural heritage preservation. This innovation could be adapted by the Virtual Museums of the future to enhance the quality of experience. It emphasises, the fact that a visitor will not be able to tell, at a first glance, if the artefact that he/she is looking at is real or not and it is expected to draw the visitors' interest. True AR is not limited to artefacts but extends even to buildings or life-sized character simulations of statues. It provides the best visual quality possible so that the users will not be able to tell the real objects from the augmented ones. Such applications can be beneficial for future museums, as with True AR, 3D models of various exhibits, monuments, statues, characters and buildings can be reconstructed and presented to the visitors in a realistic and innovative way. We also propose our Virtual Reality Sample application, a True AR playground featuring basic components and tools for generating interactive Virtual Museum applications, alongside a 3D reconstructed character (the priest of Asinou church) facilitating the storyteller of the augmented experience.Comment: This is a preprint of a chapter for a planned book that was initiated by "Visual Computing in Cultural Heritage" and that is expected to be published by Springer. The final book chapter will differ from this preprin

Solving the At-Most-Once Problem with Nearly Optimal Effectiveness

We present and analyze a wait-free deterministic algorithm for solving the at-most-once problem: how m shared-memory fail-prone processes perform asynchronously n jobs at most once. Our algorithmic strategy provides for the first time nearly optimal effectiveness, which is a measure that expresses the total number of jobs completed in the worst case. The effectiveness of our algorithm equals n-2m+2. This is up to an additive factor of m close to the known effectiveness upper bound n-m+1 over all possible algorithms and improves on the previously best known deterministic solutions that have effectiveness only n-log m o(n). We also present an iterative version of our algorithm that for any $m = O\left(\sqrt[3+\epsilon]{n/\log n}\right)$ is both effectiveness-optimal and work-optimal, for any constant $\epsilon > 0$. We then employ this algorithm to provide a new algorithmic solution for the Write-All problem which is work optimal for any $m=O\left(\sqrt[3+\epsilon]{n/\log n}\right)$.Comment: Updated Version. A Brief Announcement was published in PODC 2011. An Extended Abstract was published in the proceeding of ICDCN 2012. A full version was published in Theoretical Computer Science, Volume 496, 22 July 2013, Pages 69 - 8

MAGES 4.0: Accelerating the world's transition to medical VR training

In this work, we propose MAGES 4.0, a novel Software Development Kit (SDK) to accelerate the creation of collaborative medical training scenarios in VR/AR. Our solution offers a versatile authoring platform for developers to create medical simulations in a future-proof, low-code environment. MAGES breaks the boundaries between realities since students can collaborate using virtual and augmented reality devices at the same medical scene. With MAGES we provide a solution to the 150-year-old training model which is unable to meet the level of healthcare professionals needed. Our platform incorporates, among others, the following novel advancements: a) 5G edge-cloud remote rendering and physics dissection, b) realistic real-time simulation of organic tissues as soft-bodies, c) a highly realistic cutting and tearing algorithm, d) neural network assessment for user profiling and, e) a VR recorder to record and replay or resume the training simulation from any perspective

Doubly Constrained C-terminal of Roc (COR) Domain-Derived Peptides Inhibit Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) Dimerization

Missense mutations along the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) protein are a major contributor to Parkinson's Disease (PD), the second most commonly occurring neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. We recently reported the development of allosteric constrained peptide inhibitors that target and downregulate LRRK2 activity through disruption of LRRK2 dimerization. In this study, we designed doubly constrained peptides with the objective of inhibiting C-terminal of Roc (COR)-COR mediated dimerization at the LRRK2 dimer interface. We show that the doubly constrained peptides are cell-permeant, bind wild-type and pathogenic LRRK2, inhibit LRRK2 dimerization and kinase activity, and inhibit LRRK2-mediated neuronal apoptosis, and in contrast to ATP-competitive LRRK2 kinase inhibitors, they do not induce the mislocalization of LRRK2 to skein-like structures in cells. This work highlights the significance of COR-mediated dimerization in LRRK2 activity while also highlighting the use of doubly constrained peptides to stabilize discrete secondary structural folds within a peptide sequence.</p

Generation of a Synthetic Memory Trace

We investigated the effect of activating a competing, artificially generated, neural representation on encoding of contextual fear memory. We used a cfos based transgenic approach to introduce the hM3Dq DREADD receptor into neurons based on their natural activity patterns. Neural activity can then be specifically and inducibly increased in the hM3Dq expressing neurons by an exogenous ligand. When an ensemble of neurons for one context (ctxA) was artificially activated during conditioning in a distinct context (ctxB), animals formed a hybrid memory representation. Reactivation of the artificially stimulated network within the conditioning context was required for retrieval of the memory. The memory was specific for the spatial pattern of neurons artificially activated during learning while similar stimulation impaired recall when not part of the initial conditioning