GABAergic inhibition shapes interictal dynamics in awake epileptic mice

International audienceEpilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures and brief, synchronous bursts called interictal spikes that are present in-between seizures and observed as transient events in EEG signals. While GABAergic transmission is known to play an important role in shaping healthy brain activity, the role of inhibition in these pathological epileptic dynamics remains unclear. Examining the microcircuits that participate in interictal spikes is thus an important first step towards addressing this issue, as the function of these transient synchronizations in either promoting or prohibiting seizures is currently under debate. To identify the microcircuits recruited in spontaneous interictal spikes in the absence of any proconvulsive drug or anaesthetic agent, we combine a chronic model of epilepsy with in vivo two-photon calcium imaging and multiunit extracellular recordings to map cellular recruitment within large populations of CA1 neurons in mice free to run on a self-paced treadmill. We show that GABAergic neurons, as opposed to their glutamatergic counterparts, are preferentially recruited during spontaneous interictal activity in the CA1 region of the epileptic mouse hippocampus. Although the specific cellular dynamics of interictal spikes are found to be highly variable, they are consistently associated with the activation of GABAergic neurons, resulting in a perisomatic inhibitory restraint that reduces neuronal spiking in the principal cell layer. Given the role of GABAergic neurons in shaping brain activity during normal cognitive function, their aberrant unbalanced recruitment during these transient events could have important downstream effects with clinical implications

Light Curves and Colors of the Ejecta from Dimorphos after the DART Impact

On 26 September 2022 the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft impacted Dimorphos, a satellite of the asteroid 65803 Didymos. Because it is a binary system, it is possible to determine how much the orbit of the satellite changed, as part of a test of what is necessary to deflect an asteroid that might threaten Earth with an impact. In nominal cases, pre-impact predictions of the orbital period reduction ranged from ~8.8 - 17.2 minutes. Here we report optical observations of Dimorphos before, during and after the impact, from a network of citizen science telescopes across the world. We find a maximum brightening of 2.29 $\pm$ 0.14 mag upon impact. Didymos fades back to its pre-impact brightness over the course of 23.7 $\pm$ 0.7 days. We estimate lower limits on the mass contained in the ejecta, which was 0.3 - 0.5% Dimorphos' mass depending on the dust size. We also observe a reddening of the ejecta upon impact.Comment: Accepted by Natur

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Optique non-linéaire à haute intensité : Compression d'impulsions laser Interaction laser-plasma

This mainly theoretical PhD thesis has been done in the framework of high-order harmonics generation on solid targets using 1mJ ultrashort laser pulses (2 optical cycles) at high repetition rate (1kHz), CEP-stabilized. On the one hand, in order to fully use the laser source, I developed a simulation code of hollow-core fiber propagation. The results of this code, associated with an experimental study, allowed to push the energy limitation of this compression technique. On the other hand, I used PIC simulation and I developed a simulation model of CWE in order to quantify its dependence to the laser and plasma parameters. This work first helped to explain the CWE spectrum changes with pulse CEP. Second, by comparing theoretical results with an experimental parametric study, it provided information about the plasma conditions such as density gradient and electronic temperature.Cette thèse principalement théorique se situe dans le cadre de l'utilisation du laser de la Salle Noire du LOA, qui fournit des impulsions ultracourtes (2 cycles optiques) et énergétiques (1mJ) à 1kHz, stabilisées en CEP, pour générer des harmoniques sur cible solide. D'une part, pour profiter pleinement des ressources du laser, j'ai développé un code de simulation de propagation dans une fibre creuse qui, associé à une analyse expérimentale, a permis de repousser la limite en énergie de cette technique de compression. J'ai d'autre part utilisé des simulations PIC et j'ai développé un modèle de simulation de l'émission CWE pour quantifier sa dépendance aux conditions laser et plasma. Ce travail a servi premièrement à expliquer la variation expérimentale du spectre CWE à la CEP de l'impulsion laser. Deuxièmement, à partir d'une étude paramétrique expérimentale des spectres CWE, de remonter à des informations sur le plasma tels que le gradient de densité et la température électronique

Optique non-linéaire à haute intensité (Compression d'impulsions laser Interaction laser-plasma)

Cette thèse principalement théorique se situe dans le cadre de l'utilisation du laser de la Salle Noire du LOA, qui fournit des impulsions ultracourtes (2 cycles optiques) et énergétiques (1mJ) à 1kHz, stabilisées en CEP, pour générer des harmoniques sur cible solide. D'une part, pour profiter pleinement des ressources du laser, j'ai développé un code de simulation de propagation dans une fibre creuse qui, associé à une analyse expérimentale, a permis de repousser la limite en énergie de cette technique de compression. J'ai d'autre part utilisé des simulations PIC et j'ai développé un modèle de simulation de l'émission CWE pour quantifier sa dépendance aux conditions laser et plasma. Ce travail a servi premièrement à expliquer la variation expérimentale du spectre CWE à la CEP de l'impulsion laser. Deuxièmement, à partir d'une étude paramétrique expérimentale des spectres CWE, de remonter à des informations sur le plasma tels que le gradient de densité et la température électroniqueThis mainly theoretical PhD thesis has been done in the framework of high-order harmonics generation on solid targets using 1mJ ultrashort laser pulses (2 optical cycles) at high repetition rate (1kHz), CEP-stabilized. On the one hand, in order to fully use the laser source, I developed a simulation code of hollow-core fiber propagation. The results of this code, associated with an experimental study, allowed to push the energy limitation of this compression technique. On the other hand, I used PIC simulation and I developed a simulation model of CWE in order to quantify its dependence to the laser and plasma parameters. This work first helped to explain the CWE spectrum changes with pulse CEP. Second, by comparing theoretical results with an experimental parametric study, it provided information about the plasma conditions such as density gradient and electronic temperature.PALAISEAU-Polytechnique (914772301) / SudocSudocFranceF

Internally Recurring Hippocampal Sequences as a Population Template of Spatiotemporal Information

International audienceThe hippocampus is essential for spatiotemporal cognition. Sequences of neuronal activation provide a substrate for this fundamental function. At the behavioral timescale, these sequences have been shown to occur either in the presence of successive external landmarks or through internal mechanisms within an episodic memory task. In both cases, activity is externally constrained by the organization of the task and by the size of the environment explored. Therefore, it remains unknown whether hippocampal activity can self-organize into a default mode in the absence of any external memory demand or spatiotemporal boundary. Here we show that, in the presence of self-motion cues, a population code integrating distance naturally emerges in the hippocampus in the form of recurring sequences. These internal dynamics clamp spontaneous travel since run distance distributes into integer multiples of the span of these sequences. These sequences may thus guide navigation when external landmarks are reduced

Awake hippocampal reactivations project onto orthogonal neuronal assemblies

International audienceThe chained activation of neuronal assemblies is thought to support major cognitive processes,including memory. In the hippocampus, this is observed during population bursts oftenassociated with sharp-wave ripples, in the form of an ordered reactivation of neurons. However,the organization and lifetime of these assemblies remain unknown.We used calcium imagingto map patterns of synchronous neuronal activation in the CA1 region of awakemice during runson a treadmill.The patterns were composed of the recurring activation of anatomicallyintermingled, but functionally orthogonal, assemblies.These assemblies reactivated discretetemporal segments of neuronal sequences observed during runs and could be stable acrossconsecutive days. A binding of these assemblies into longer chains revealed temporallyordered replay

Spatial Embryonic Origin Delineates GABAergic Hub Neurons Driving Network Dynamics in the Developing Entorhinal Cortex

International audienceCoordinated neuronal activity is essential for the development of cortical circuits. GABAergic hub neurons that function in orchestrating early neuronal activity through a widespread net of postsynaptic partners are therefore critical players in the establishment of functional networks. Evidence for hub neurons was previously found in the hippocampus, but their presence in other cortical regions remains unknown. We examined this issue in the entorhinal cortex, an initiation site for coordinated activity in the neocortex and for the activity-dependent maturation of the entire entorhinal-hippocampal network. Using an unbiased approach that identifies "driver hub neurons" displaying a high number of functional links in living slices, we show that while almost half of the GABAergic cells single-handedly influence network dynamics, only a subpopulation of cells born in the MGE and composed of somatostatin-expressing neurons located in infragranular layers, spontaneously operate as "driver" hubs. This indicates that despite differences in the origin of interneuron diversity, the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex share similar developmental mechanisms for the establishment of functional circuits

Internal representation of hippocampal neuronal population spans a time-distance continuum

International audienceThe hippocampus plays a critical role in episodic memory: the sequential representation of visited places and experienced events. This function is mirrored by hippocampal activity that self organizes into sequences of neuronal activation that integrate spatio-temporal information. What are the underlying mechanisms of such integration is still unknown. Single cell activity was recently shown to combine time and distance information; however, it remains unknown whether a degree of tuning between space and time can be defined at the network level. Here, combining daily calcium imaging of CA1 sequence dynamics in running head-fixed mice and network modeling, we show that CA1 network activity tends to represent a specific combination of space and time at any given moment, and that the degree of tuning can shift within a continuum from one day to the next. Our computational model shows that this shift in tuning can happen under the control of the external drive power. We propose that extrinsic global inputs shape the nature of spatio-temporal integration in the hippocampus at the population level depending on the task at hand, a hypothesis which may guide future experimental studies

Lightwave control of attosecond pulse emission from plasma mirrors

We demonstrate attosecond control of collective electron motion in plasmas driven by near-relativistic intensity laser fields of controlled waveform in both space and time. We were able to generate spatially isolated attosecond pulses from a plasma mirrors for the first time