Beyond the Sensonmotor Plasticity: Cognitive Expansion of Prism Adaptation in Healthy Individuals

International audienceSensorimotor plasticity allows us to maintain an efficient motor behavior in reaction to environmental changes. One of the classical models for the study of sensorimotor plasticity is prism adaptation. It consists of pointing to visual targets while wearing prismatic lenses that shift the visual field laterally. The conditions of the development of the plasticity and the sensorimotor after-effects have been extensively studied for more than a century. However, the interest taken in this phenomenon was considerably increased since the demonstration of neglect rehabilitation following prism adaptation by Rossetti et al. (1998). Mirror effects, i.e., simulation of neglect in healthy individuals, were observed for the first time by Colent et al. (2000). The present review focuses on the expansion of prism adaptation to cognitive functions in healthy individuals during the last 15 years. Cognitive after-effects have been shown in numerous tasks even in those that are not intrinsically spatial in nature. Altogether, these results suggest the existence of a strong link between low-level sensorimotor plasticity and high-level cognitive functions and raise important questions about the mechanisms involved in producing unexpected cognitive effects following prism adaptation. Implications for the functional mechanisms and neuroanatomical network of prism adaptation are discussed to explain how sensorimotor plasticity may affect cognitive processes

How to promote informal learning in the workplace? The need for incremental design methods

Informal Learning in the Workplace (ILW) is ensured by the everyday work activities in which workers are engaged. It accounts for over 75 per cent of learning in the workplace. Enterprise Social Media (ESM) are increasingly used as informal learning environments. According to the results of an implementation we have conducted in real context, we show that ESM are appropriate to promote ILW. Nevertheless, social aspects must be reconsidered to address users' needs regarding content and access, quality information indicators, moderation and control

The Saint-Georges-sur-Loire olistostrome, a key zone to understand the Gondwana-Armorica boundary in the Variscan belt (Southern Brittany, France).

In the southern part of the French Armorican massif, the Ligerian domain is located along the boundary between Gondwana and Armorica. Lithological, geochemical and structural data on the Saint-Georges-sur-Loire Unit, which is the northern part of the Ligerian domain, allow us to distinguish two sub-units. A southern sub-unit, formed by various blocks (chert, limestone, sandstone, rhyolite, mafic rocks) of Silurian to Middle Devonian age included as olistoliths in a Middle-Late Devonian terrigeneous matrix, overthrusts a sandstone-pelite northern sub-unit. Both units experienced two deformation events. The first one is a top-to-the-NW thrusting and the second one is a left-lateral wrenching. The Saint-Georges-sur-Loire Unit is an accretionary prism formed during the Late Devonian closure of the Layon rift, coeval with the main phase of the Variscan orogeny. The Layon rift, which according to the mafic olistoliths was partly floored by oceanic crust, appears as a buffer structural zone that accounts for the lack in Central Brittany of any tectonic or sedimentary echo of the closure of the Medio-European Ocean. The tectonic evolution of the Saint-Georges-sur-Loire Unit supports a polyorogenic model for this part of the Variscan Belt

Discussion on a new model for the Hercynian Orogen of Gondwana France and Iberia by D. Shelley & G. Bossière.

In spite of numerous studies, the geodynamic evolution of the Hercynian Orogeny of Western Europe is still controversial. In a recent paper, Shelley and Bossière (2000) propose that the Hercynian Orogeny in Iberia and France was a ‘collage' of distinct fault-bounded ‘terranes' developed during a major dextral wrenching of more than 2000 km. This interpretation is in line with that already proposed by Badham (1982) but is at variance with most other published models that emphazise tangential tectonics, that is to say thrusting and collision tectonics driven by oceanic and continental subduction (e.g. Matte; Ledru; Dias and Faure and references therein). The Shelley and Bossière model has been criticized for parts dealing with the Iberian branch of the orogen by Pereira and Silva (2001). In the following, we shall comment on the strike-slip model for the S. Armorican branch of the belt, on the basis of first-hand geological data aquired from the SE part of the Armorican Massif ( Cartier and Cartier) and general considerations on the Hercynian Belt

Combined use of seismic, isotopic and piezometrics data to reduce uncertainty in models

International audienceTo improve modelling of complex multi-aquifer systems, a better understanding of To improve modelling of complex multi-aquifer systems, a better understanding of reservoirs’s geometry and an improvement of calibration are required. Combining seismic data, isotopic analysis and piezometrics measurements is a way to improve flow simulation.In Gironde (France), many hydrodynamics models have been developed to guide choices in groundwaters exploitation. They put into evidence a lack of knowledge on the Villagrains-Landiras structure corresponding to a potential recharge area for the aquifers of the region. To correct these shortcomings, a detailed study of this area was undertaken to measure its potential for exploitation.Three exploratory wells reaching depths ranging from 200 to 350 m have been drilled to refine the structural vision of the region and to delimitate the various erosional gaps.To improve significantly the knowledge of the reservoirs’s geometry, seismic reflection has been used to obtain a high-resolution image of the subsoil. A total of 15 seismic lines have been used, representing a total length of 248 km. At first, 13 old lines, coming from oil prospecting, have been reprocessed to maximize the definition of hydrostratigraphic units in the first 300 meters. Then, two news high-resolution seismic lines have been achieved in September 2007 on a total length of 17.5 km. This geological survey has helped us to constrain the pattern of the various aquifers of the structure. It has also enabled us to adjust the elevation of the tops and bottoms used in the hydrodynamic model.The aim of the hydrogeological study was to characterize the hydrodynamic mechanisms affecting the Villagrains-Landiras structure. The design of water level maps allowed us to study the distribution of hydraulic heads in comparison to the structure and to measure its potential influence on the recharge of groundwaters. The analysis of the piezometrics fluctuations underlined many similar variations which characterize locals behaviour. Isotopic analysis (18O, 2H, 3H, 13C, 14C), allow us to study the recharge, to confirm the influence of the structure in this process and to constrain residence time in the model. This important part of the study involves the interpretation of analysis coming from 4 different aquifers, sampled in 21 wells located on the structure and its near vicinity.This multidisciplinary approach, based on the interpretation of seismic, isotopic and piezometric data, helped us to improve the knowledge of the structural arrangement of the aquifers and the understanding of the hydrodynamic processes to simulate more efficiently flows in the model

Results of a whole genome scan targeting QTL for growth and carcass traits in a Piétrain × Large White intercross

We herein report the results of a whole genome scan performed in a Piétrain × Large White intercross counting 525 offspring to map QTL influencing economically important growth and carcass traits. We report experiment-wide significant lod scores (> 4.6 for meatiness and fat deposition on chromosome SSC2, and for average daily gain and carcass length on chromosome SSC7. Additional suggestive lod scores (> 3.3) for fat deposition are reported on chromosomes SSC1, SSC7 and SSC13. A significant dominance deviation was found for the QTL on SSC1, while the hypothesis of an additive QTL could not be rejected for the QTL on SSC7 and SSC13. No evidence for imprinted QTL could be found for QTL other than the one previously reported on SSC2