Période critique

Une période critique ou période sensible est un moment pendant lequel un événement ou une stimulation aura plus d'impact sur un organisme animal qu'à un autre moment de son développement. La notion d’une période critique est développée dans les années 1970 et concerne un comportement très spécifique ; elle a une durée bien délimitée, dont le début et le terme sont prédictibles; elle constitue un créneau de développement au-delà duquel le comportement en question n’est plus acquis. La notion de période sensible lui est préférée par la suite, car elle indique que les organismes sont plus sensibles, ou plus réceptifs aux apprentissages très spécifiques pendant une période particulière de leur développement, mais que ces apprentissages restent possibles (bien que plus difficiles) par la suite. Les expériences, mettant en évidence la notion d’une période critique ou sensible, ont été effectuées sur de nombreuses espèces animales (oiseaux, mammifères, humains) et sur des systèmes sensoriels

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The students understand elementary concepts of statistical methods, including standard statistical tests, regression analysis and experimental design. They apply computational statistical methods to analyse larger data sets.

The course introduces non economists to the economic analysis of climate change: economic activity and climate change, estimation of climate impacts, optimal mitigation and adaptation, national and international climate policy, instruments for climate policy.

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LTP of inhibition at PV interneuron output synapses requires developmental BMP signaling

Christopher Clark, Denys Osypenko, Ralf Schneggenburger, Evan Dean Vickers

Parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons (PV-INs) mediate well-timed inhibition of cortical principal neurons, and plasticity of these interneurons is involved in map remodeling of primary sensory cortices during critical periods of development. To assess whether bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling contributes to the developmental acquisition of the synapse- and plasticity properties of PV-INs, we investigated conditional/conventional double KO mice of BMP-receptor 1a (BMPR1a; targeted to PV-INs) and 1b (BMPR1a/1b (c)DKO mice). We report that spike-timing dependent LTP at the synapse between PV-INs and principal neurons of layer 4 in the auditory cortex was absent, concomitant with a decreased paired-pulse ratio (PPR). On the other hand, baseline synaptic transmission at this connection, and action potential (AP) firing rates of PV-INs were unchanged. To explore possible gene expression targets of BMP signaling, we measured the mRNA levels of the BDNF receptor TrkB and of P/Q-type Ca2+ channel α-subunits, but did not detect expression changes of the corresponding genes in PV-INs of BMPR1a/1b (c)DKO mice. Our study suggests that BMP-signaling in PV-INs during and shortly after the critical period is necessary for the expression of LTP at PV-IN output synapses, involving gene expression programs that need to be addressed in future work.

2020

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Homeostatic regulation of axonal Kv1.1 channels accounts for both synaptic and intrinsic modifications in the hippocampal CA3 circuit

Mickael Maurice Zbili

Homeostatic plasticity of intrinsic excitability goes hand in hand with homeostatic plasticity of synaptic transmission. However, the mechanisms linking the two forms of homeostatic regulation have not been identified so far. Using electrophysiological, imaging, and immunohistochemical techniques, we show here that blockade of excitatory synaptic receptors for 2 to 3 d induces an up-regulation of both synaptic transmission at CA3-CA3 connections and intrinsic excitability of CA3 pyramidal neurons. Intrinsic plasticity was found to be mediated by a reduction of Kv1.1 channel density at the axon initial segment. In activity-deprived circuits, CA3-CA3 synapses were found to express a high release probability, an insensitivity to dendrotoxin, and a lack of depolarization-induced presynaptic facilitation, indicating a reduction in presynaptic Kv1.1 function. Further support for the down-regulation of axonal Kv1.1 channels in activity-deprived neurons was the broadening of action potentials measured in the axon. We conclude that regulation of the axonal Kv1.1 channel constitutes a major mechanism linking intrinsic excitability and synaptic strength that accounts for the functional synergy existing between homeostatic regulation of intrinsic excitability and synaptic transmission.

NATL ACAD SCIENCES2021

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Social deficits induced by peripubertal stress in rats are reversed by resveratrol

Guillaume Poirier, Maria del Carmen Sandi Perez, Olivia Zanoletti

Adolescence is increasingly recognized as a critical period for the development of the social system, through the maturation of social competences and of their underlying neural circuitries. The present study sought to test the utility of resveratrol, a dietary phenol recently reported to have mood lifting properties, in modulating social interaction that is deficient following early life adversity. The main aims were to 1) pharmacologically restore normative social investigation levels dampened by peripubertal stress in rats and 2) identify neural pathways engaged by this pharmacological approach. Following peripubertal (P28–42) stress consisting of unpredictable exposures to fearful experiences, at adulthood the subjects' propensity for social exploration was examined in the three-chamber apparatus, comparing time invested in social or non-social investigation. Administered intraperitoneally 30 min before testing, resveratrol (20 mg/kg) normalized the peripubertal stress-induced social investigation deficit seen in the vehicle group, selectively altering juvenile but not object exploration. Examination of prefrontal cortex subregion protein samples following acute resveratrol treatment in a separate cohort revealed that while monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) enzymatic activity remained unaltered, nuclear AKT activation was selectively increased in the infralimbic cortex, but not in the prelimbic or anterior cingulate cortex. In contrast, androgen receptor nuclear localization was increased in the prelimbic cortex, but not in the infralimbic or anterior cingulate cortex. This demonstration that social contact deficits are reversed by resveratrol administration emphasizes a prosocial role for this dietary phenol, and evokes the possibility of developing new treatments for social dysfunctions.

2014

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Psychologie du développement

vignette|Quatre générations d'une famille. vignette|Trois générations, la Havane, Cuba. La psychologie du développement est une branche de la psychologie. Son objet est de comprendre d'une part, comm

Plasticité neuronale

vignette|Effets schématiques de la neuroplasticité après entraînement Plasticité neuronale, neuroplasticité ou encore plasticité cérébrale sont des termes génériques qui décrivent les mécanismes par l

Acquisition du langage

L'acquisition du langage est un domaine de recherche pluridisciplinaire, relevant notamment de la recherche en psychologie et en sciences du langage, qui vise à décrire et comprendre comment l'enfant