Project acronym Predispike
Project Spike-based predictive coding: Closing the loop between neural dynamics and computation
Researcher (PI) Sophie Deneve
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary Progress in understanding brain functions rely in great part on filling the conceptual and experimental gaps between different levels of analysis, from single neurons to behaviour. Thus, “rate models”, units of representations are the mean activity of large neural populations, while function and behaviour emerge from the responses of very large networks. While experimental investigations have focused on predicting (describing) spiking neural responses from their (sensory or synaptic) inputs, functional models instead concentrate on understanding how neural populations represent properties of (i.e. predict) the world.
This proposal aims at developing an alternative approach, spike-based predictive coding. It combines two basic hypotheses: Neural networks reliably estimate the state of the environment based on their inputs and prior experience. And their dynamics insures that these estimates can be decoded from their spike trains by postsynaptic integration . By monitoring and decoding its own outputs, the neural structure itself closes the loop between computation and dynamics.
Membrane potentials of model neurons compute a difference between the state estimates constructed from their inputs and the estimate encoded in their outputs. Interestingly, this purely functional approach converges towards powerful descriptive models of spiking neurons, e.g. adaptive integrate and fire neurons, chaotic attractors in balanced spiking networks and generalized linear models (GLMs).
We will use this approach to explore the dynamics of single spiking neurons, suggest new ways of interpreting and exploring sensory and motor spiking neural representations, re-explore the role of top-down attention in sensory processing, and show that previous rate-based interpretations severely under-estimated the precision of the neural code.
Summary
Progress in understanding brain functions rely in great part on filling the conceptual and experimental gaps between different levels of analysis, from single neurons to behaviour. Thus, “rate models”, units of representations are the mean activity of large neural populations, while function and behaviour emerge from the responses of very large networks. While experimental investigations have focused on predicting (describing) spiking neural responses from their (sensory or synaptic) inputs, functional models instead concentrate on understanding how neural populations represent properties of (i.e. predict) the world.
This proposal aims at developing an alternative approach, spike-based predictive coding. It combines two basic hypotheses: Neural networks reliably estimate the state of the environment based on their inputs and prior experience. And their dynamics insures that these estimates can be decoded from their spike trains by postsynaptic integration . By monitoring and decoding its own outputs, the neural structure itself closes the loop between computation and dynamics.
Membrane potentials of model neurons compute a difference between the state estimates constructed from their inputs and the estimate encoded in their outputs. Interestingly, this purely functional approach converges towards powerful descriptive models of spiking neurons, e.g. adaptive integrate and fire neurons, chaotic attractors in balanced spiking networks and generalized linear models (GLMs).
We will use this approach to explore the dynamics of single spiking neurons, suggest new ways of interpreting and exploring sensory and motor spiking neural representations, re-explore the role of top-down attention in sensory processing, and show that previous rate-based interpretations severely under-estimated the precision of the neural code.
Max ERC Funding
1 276 800 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2017-12-31
Project acronym PROCON
Project PROduction and CONsumption: Textile Economy and Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE
Researcher (PI) Margarita Gleba
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2012-StG_20111124
Summary A textile is not simply a system of spun, twisted, or spliced fibres, but first and foremost a result of complex interactions between resources, technology, and society. Textile production and consumption is both ubiquitous and multi-faceted since, after food and shelter, textiles constitute the next most important necessity for people in all societies. Far from being a minor material, the production and consumption of textiles is at the heart of fundamental shifts in economy, trade and social relationships. In the ancient past, textile production was an economic necessity which has confronted all societies and carried particular importance in the growth of urbanism and state formation. The aim of the project PROCON is to investigate the role of textiles in the urbanisation and state formation of Mediterranean Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain) from 1000 to 500 BC and to demonstrate that textile production and consumption were a significant driving force of the economy and in the creation and perception of wealth. The focus is on the importance of the production and consumption of textiles for the development of city-states (as clothing, elite regalia, trade and exchange items, utilitarian textiles such as sails) and the implications of this for other aspects of the economy, such as the use of farm land, labour resources and the development of urban lifestyles. This interdisciplinary project is unique in that it takes developments in a relatively specialist research field (textile archaeology) and applies them towards modelling the dynamics behind a broader question of urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe. Using established and novel approaches, the project results will transform the landscape of Early Iron Age European research by providing new data sets, demonstrating textile production and consumption as major economic and social factors behind urbanism. In historical context, the PROCON project continues the European excellence in the field of textile research.
Summary
A textile is not simply a system of spun, twisted, or spliced fibres, but first and foremost a result of complex interactions between resources, technology, and society. Textile production and consumption is both ubiquitous and multi-faceted since, after food and shelter, textiles constitute the next most important necessity for people in all societies. Far from being a minor material, the production and consumption of textiles is at the heart of fundamental shifts in economy, trade and social relationships. In the ancient past, textile production was an economic necessity which has confronted all societies and carried particular importance in the growth of urbanism and state formation. The aim of the project PROCON is to investigate the role of textiles in the urbanisation and state formation of Mediterranean Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain) from 1000 to 500 BC and to demonstrate that textile production and consumption were a significant driving force of the economy and in the creation and perception of wealth. The focus is on the importance of the production and consumption of textiles for the development of city-states (as clothing, elite regalia, trade and exchange items, utilitarian textiles such as sails) and the implications of this for other aspects of the economy, such as the use of farm land, labour resources and the development of urban lifestyles. This interdisciplinary project is unique in that it takes developments in a relatively specialist research field (textile archaeology) and applies them towards modelling the dynamics behind a broader question of urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe. Using established and novel approaches, the project results will transform the landscape of Early Iron Age European research by providing new data sets, demonstrating textile production and consumption as major economic and social factors behind urbanism. In historical context, the PROCON project continues the European excellence in the field of textile research.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 877 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-09-30
Project acronym StrokeTherapy
Project Improving arm and hand function after stroke with clinically-relevant delivery of neurotrophin-3 to elderly disabled muscles: from rats to humans
Researcher (PI) Lawrence David Falcon Moon
Host Institution (HI) KING'S COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary Stroke disables millions worldwide and costs the EU €38 billion each year. Excitingly, my team has identified a clinically-feasible therapy for stroke which reverses disability in rats when given in a clinically-relevant time frame. Specifically, we have shown that the human growth factor neurotrophin 3 (NT3) promotes locomotor recovery and reverses sensory neglect in adult rats when infused into disabled arm muscles, starting 24 hours after stroke. Importantly, Phase II clinical trials have shown that systemic, repeated high doses of neurotrophin-3 are safe and well-tolerated in humans with other conditions. This paves the way for a Phase II trial in humans after stroke.
We now wish to maximise arm and hand (paw) recovery in elderly rats with larger strokes by optimising dose, timing and route. We will then submit for approval a Clinical Trial Application for a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase II human clinical trial to treat stroke using NT3.
We also propose multidisciplinary, cutting-edge studies to understand how NT3 promotes plasticity in the brain and spinal cord. 1) We will use wireless neural recording in awake rats and functional brain imaging to study plasticity after stroke and NT3 treatment. 2) Our innovative “RatBot” will automatically train, rehabilitate and assess grasping of pellet food. 3) To reveal where NT3 is transported we will track a novel tagged version of NT3 in vivo. 4) In an ambitious final study we will maximise recovery of arm and hand function in elderly rats when treatments are delayed by 1 month after larger strokes.
In summary, we propose a high-risk, high-yield, transdisciplinary, innovative programme of work to maximise sensory and motor recovery after stroke in elderly rats. Treatment will be initiated in a clinically-relevant time frame (after 24 hours or 1 month) using a clinically-relevant dose and duration of treatment via a clinically-straightforward route, ready for a Phase II clinical trial.
Summary
Stroke disables millions worldwide and costs the EU €38 billion each year. Excitingly, my team has identified a clinically-feasible therapy for stroke which reverses disability in rats when given in a clinically-relevant time frame. Specifically, we have shown that the human growth factor neurotrophin 3 (NT3) promotes locomotor recovery and reverses sensory neglect in adult rats when infused into disabled arm muscles, starting 24 hours after stroke. Importantly, Phase II clinical trials have shown that systemic, repeated high doses of neurotrophin-3 are safe and well-tolerated in humans with other conditions. This paves the way for a Phase II trial in humans after stroke.
We now wish to maximise arm and hand (paw) recovery in elderly rats with larger strokes by optimising dose, timing and route. We will then submit for approval a Clinical Trial Application for a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase II human clinical trial to treat stroke using NT3.
We also propose multidisciplinary, cutting-edge studies to understand how NT3 promotes plasticity in the brain and spinal cord. 1) We will use wireless neural recording in awake rats and functional brain imaging to study plasticity after stroke and NT3 treatment. 2) Our innovative “RatBot” will automatically train, rehabilitate and assess grasping of pellet food. 3) To reveal where NT3 is transported we will track a novel tagged version of NT3 in vivo. 4) In an ambitious final study we will maximise recovery of arm and hand function in elderly rats when treatments are delayed by 1 month after larger strokes.
In summary, we propose a high-risk, high-yield, transdisciplinary, innovative programme of work to maximise sensory and motor recovery after stroke in elderly rats. Treatment will be initiated in a clinically-relevant time frame (after 24 hours or 1 month) using a clinically-relevant dose and duration of treatment via a clinically-straightforward route, ready for a Phase II clinical trial.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 909 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-11-01, End date: 2017-10-31
Project acronym SWAB
Project Shadows of Slavery in West Africa and Beyond. A Historical Anthropology
Researcher (PI) Alice Bellagamba
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO-BICOCCA
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2012-StG_20111124
Summary Though the colonial abolition of West African slavery and slave trade is well researched, the aftermath of slavery still deserves attention. What does it mean to be of slave descent today? How does the legacy of slavery and the slave trade overlap with harsh contemporary forms of marginality and exploitation? Moreover, what do we see when these questions are raised in a much broader comparative perspective? This project looks at the follow up of the abolition of slavery and the slave trade, a global process that invested the world at different times with a rich and complex variety of outcomes. Most historical research has stopped at the early colonial period, a very well documented phase of world history. Here, the analysis expands up to the present, and beyond the boundaries West African studies. Four regions of the world, which are under scrutiny for trafficking and contemporary slavery, will be studied comparatively. These are Eastern Senegal (West-Africa), Libya (North Africa), Coastal Madagascar (Indian Ocean), and North Afghanistan (Central Asia). The ambition is to link the micro-study of lived experience, cultural meanings and practices with the analysis of linkages and broader historical processes. To get results, there is need of a dialogue with human rights, legal theory, studies of gender and racial discrimination as well as scholarly insights on globalization and neo-liberalism. The ultimate objective of the project is an analytically integrated study of the aftermath of slavery that captures both the variety of concrete case-studies and the larger history of linkages between different parts of Africa and the world, Europe included. Innovation stands at the crossroad of chronological, geographical and disciplinary boundaries.
Summary
Though the colonial abolition of West African slavery and slave trade is well researched, the aftermath of slavery still deserves attention. What does it mean to be of slave descent today? How does the legacy of slavery and the slave trade overlap with harsh contemporary forms of marginality and exploitation? Moreover, what do we see when these questions are raised in a much broader comparative perspective? This project looks at the follow up of the abolition of slavery and the slave trade, a global process that invested the world at different times with a rich and complex variety of outcomes. Most historical research has stopped at the early colonial period, a very well documented phase of world history. Here, the analysis expands up to the present, and beyond the boundaries West African studies. Four regions of the world, which are under scrutiny for trafficking and contemporary slavery, will be studied comparatively. These are Eastern Senegal (West-Africa), Libya (North Africa), Coastal Madagascar (Indian Ocean), and North Afghanistan (Central Asia). The ambition is to link the micro-study of lived experience, cultural meanings and practices with the analysis of linkages and broader historical processes. To get results, there is need of a dialogue with human rights, legal theory, studies of gender and racial discrimination as well as scholarly insights on globalization and neo-liberalism. The ultimate objective of the project is an analytically integrated study of the aftermath of slavery that captures both the variety of concrete case-studies and the larger history of linkages between different parts of Africa and the world, Europe included. Innovation stands at the crossroad of chronological, geographical and disciplinary boundaries.
Max ERC Funding
935 100 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-05-01, End date: 2018-04-30
Project acronym SYNAPDOMAIN
Project Molecular Mechanisms of GABAergic synapse formation: spatial segregation in cortical inhibitory inputs
Researcher (PI) Beatriz Rico Gozalo
Host Institution (HI) KING'S COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary Neuronal circuitries underlying the function of the mammalian cerebral cortex collectively constitute one of the most complex biological systems. As such, unraveling the mechanisms that control their development represents one of the most challenging questions in Science. Understanding this process is also an imperative need in biomedicine, because abnormal wiring is thought to cause severe neuropsychiatric disorders.
During development, the astonishing specificity of neuronal wiring is achieved by the coordination of multiple cues, which first guide axons to the right target area, then to the proper cellular partner and, finally, to the precise subcellular compartment onto which synapses will be formed. Subcellular segregation of synapses occurs for all types of inputs, but it reaches its highest diversity for inhibitory GABAergic terminals. Much is known about the general machinery controlling axon guidance in the developing brain; in contrast, the mechanisms of synapse segregation remain largely unknown.
The goal of this proposal is to identify molecules involved in subcellular domain-restricted GABAergic synapse targeting. To this aim, we will carry out a candidate approach strategy and an unbiased genomic screening comparing neurons obtained from specific populations of interneurons that make synapses into different subcellular compartments. Promising candidates will then be tested by gain and loss of function experiments using confocal and two-photon microscopy in vivo and cell biology analyses in vitro. To confirm the functional relevance of candidate molecules, we will combine optogenetics tools with gain and loss of function approaches in slices cultures. Unraveling the mechanisms that control the precise spatial organization of synapse formation during development may have a major impact in our knowledge, from understanding plasticity in the healthy brain to identifying wiring abnormalities in disease.
Summary
Neuronal circuitries underlying the function of the mammalian cerebral cortex collectively constitute one of the most complex biological systems. As such, unraveling the mechanisms that control their development represents one of the most challenging questions in Science. Understanding this process is also an imperative need in biomedicine, because abnormal wiring is thought to cause severe neuropsychiatric disorders.
During development, the astonishing specificity of neuronal wiring is achieved by the coordination of multiple cues, which first guide axons to the right target area, then to the proper cellular partner and, finally, to the precise subcellular compartment onto which synapses will be formed. Subcellular segregation of synapses occurs for all types of inputs, but it reaches its highest diversity for inhibitory GABAergic terminals. Much is known about the general machinery controlling axon guidance in the developing brain; in contrast, the mechanisms of synapse segregation remain largely unknown.
The goal of this proposal is to identify molecules involved in subcellular domain-restricted GABAergic synapse targeting. To this aim, we will carry out a candidate approach strategy and an unbiased genomic screening comparing neurons obtained from specific populations of interneurons that make synapses into different subcellular compartments. Promising candidates will then be tested by gain and loss of function experiments using confocal and two-photon microscopy in vivo and cell biology analyses in vitro. To confirm the functional relevance of candidate molecules, we will combine optogenetics tools with gain and loss of function approaches in slices cultures. Unraveling the mechanisms that control the precise spatial organization of synapse formation during development may have a major impact in our knowledge, from understanding plasticity in the healthy brain to identifying wiring abnormalities in disease.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 999 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2018-06-30
Project acronym SynapseCode
Project Uncovering the role of new synaptic adhesion molecules in encoding synaptic connectivity in the brain
Researcher (PI) Joris De Wit
Host Institution (HI) VIB
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary Synapses connect neurons into a network that encodes our thoughts, memories and personalities. Loss of synaptic connectivity is thought to underlie a variety of cognitive disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, but little is known about the molecules and mechanisms that establish and maintain the precise patterns of synaptic connectivity in the brain. Neither is it understood how perturbed synaptic connectivity affects cognitive function. The synaptic adhesion molecules that connect pre- and postsynaptic partners across the synaptic cleft provide the key to understand these processes.
I hypothesize that the proper formation and function of synaptic connections depends on synapse-specific complexes of adhesion molecules. Together, these complexes form a synaptic adhesion code that specifies synaptic connectivity and contributes to the functional and structural diversity of synapses in the brain. In my preliminary studies, I have identified a large complex of novel synaptic adhesion molecules that is required for normal synapse function, and is ideally suited to confer precise synaptic connectivity. Using in vivo manipulation of these novel synaptic adhesion molecules, I will uncover how the diversity in synaptic adhesion complexes contributes to the specification of synaptic connectivity and the diversity of synapses. Furthermore, I will determine how loss of these novel adhesion molecules affects cognitive function. This will yield new insights in the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the establishment of precise synaptic connectivity in the brain. Ultimately, this insight will guide the development of new strategies for the treatment of cognitive disorders.
Summary
Synapses connect neurons into a network that encodes our thoughts, memories and personalities. Loss of synaptic connectivity is thought to underlie a variety of cognitive disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, but little is known about the molecules and mechanisms that establish and maintain the precise patterns of synaptic connectivity in the brain. Neither is it understood how perturbed synaptic connectivity affects cognitive function. The synaptic adhesion molecules that connect pre- and postsynaptic partners across the synaptic cleft provide the key to understand these processes.
I hypothesize that the proper formation and function of synaptic connections depends on synapse-specific complexes of adhesion molecules. Together, these complexes form a synaptic adhesion code that specifies synaptic connectivity and contributes to the functional and structural diversity of synapses in the brain. In my preliminary studies, I have identified a large complex of novel synaptic adhesion molecules that is required for normal synapse function, and is ideally suited to confer precise synaptic connectivity. Using in vivo manipulation of these novel synaptic adhesion molecules, I will uncover how the diversity in synaptic adhesion complexes contributes to the specification of synaptic connectivity and the diversity of synapses. Furthermore, I will determine how loss of these novel adhesion molecules affects cognitive function. This will yield new insights in the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the establishment of precise synaptic connectivity in the brain. Ultimately, this insight will guide the development of new strategies for the treatment of cognitive disorders.
Max ERC Funding
1 718 070 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2018-01-31
Project acronym The Fusion Machine
Project The nanomechanical mechanism of exocytotic fusion pore formation
Researcher (PI) Manfred Lindau
Host Institution (HI) MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS5, ERC-2012-ADG_20120314
Summary Cells release neurotransmitters, hormones and other compounds stored in secretory vesicles by a process called exocytosis. In this process, the molecules are released upon stimulation by a nanomachine forming a fusion pore that connects the vesicular lumen to the extracellular space. Similar fusion events are also essential for intracellular transport mechanisms and virus-induced fusion.
Here I propose a multidisciplinary approach using highly innovative techniques to determine the nanomechanical mechanism of fusion pore formation. The proposal is based on the hypothesis that the vesicle fusion nanomachine is formed by the mechanical interactions of the SNARE proteins synaptobrevin, syntaxin, and SNAP-25 and that the fusion pore is opened by intra-membrane movement of the transmembrane domains. I will combine fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy with detection of individual fusion events using microfabricated electrochemical detector arrays to demonstrate that fusion pore formation is produced directly by a conformational change in the SNARE complex. I will estimate the energies that are needed to pull the synaptobrevin C terminus into the hydrophobic membrane core and the forces that are generated by the SNARE complex for wild type and a set of specific mutations using molecular dynamics simulations. I will determine how these energies and forces relate to inhibition and facilitation of experimentally observed fusion, performing patch clamp capacitance measurements of vesicle fusion in chromaffin cells expressing wild type and mutated SNARE proteins. Based on these results I will develop a detailed picture of the molecular steps, the energies, and the forces exerted by the molecular nanomachine of fusion pore formation and will ultimately generate a molecular movie of this fundamental biological process. Understanding cellular and viral fusion events will likely lead to novel treatments from spasms and neurodegeneration to cancer and infectious disease
Summary
Cells release neurotransmitters, hormones and other compounds stored in secretory vesicles by a process called exocytosis. In this process, the molecules are released upon stimulation by a nanomachine forming a fusion pore that connects the vesicular lumen to the extracellular space. Similar fusion events are also essential for intracellular transport mechanisms and virus-induced fusion.
Here I propose a multidisciplinary approach using highly innovative techniques to determine the nanomechanical mechanism of fusion pore formation. The proposal is based on the hypothesis that the vesicle fusion nanomachine is formed by the mechanical interactions of the SNARE proteins synaptobrevin, syntaxin, and SNAP-25 and that the fusion pore is opened by intra-membrane movement of the transmembrane domains. I will combine fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy with detection of individual fusion events using microfabricated electrochemical detector arrays to demonstrate that fusion pore formation is produced directly by a conformational change in the SNARE complex. I will estimate the energies that are needed to pull the synaptobrevin C terminus into the hydrophobic membrane core and the forces that are generated by the SNARE complex for wild type and a set of specific mutations using molecular dynamics simulations. I will determine how these energies and forces relate to inhibition and facilitation of experimentally observed fusion, performing patch clamp capacitance measurements of vesicle fusion in chromaffin cells expressing wild type and mutated SNARE proteins. Based on these results I will develop a detailed picture of the molecular steps, the energies, and the forces exerted by the molecular nanomachine of fusion pore formation and will ultimately generate a molecular movie of this fundamental biological process. Understanding cellular and viral fusion events will likely lead to novel treatments from spasms and neurodegeneration to cancer and infectious disease
Max ERC Funding
2 165 200 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31
Project acronym THESIS
Project Theology, Education, Scholastic Institution and Scholars-network: dialogues between the University of Paris and the new Universities from Central and Eastern Europe during the Late
Researcher (PI) Monica Brinzei
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2012-StG_20111124
Summary The THESIS project proposes a pioneering study of a coherent corpus of medieval manuscripts consisting of all the commentaries on the Sentences composed in Paris and in the new universities from Central Europe between 1350-1450. A Sentences commentary is a core component of the medieval academic curriculum, a collection of theses that scholars had to defend in the universities in order to obtain the title of master or doctor of theology; it is actually the unique equivalent of our modern PhD thesis.
This investigation aims to provide new information concerning the intellectual atmosphere inside the European universities in an attempt to respond to various historical questions: How do the Sentences commentaries of this period lead to the formation of a European university identity? Who are the masters of the time? What is the importance of a Sentences commentary (the modern PhD) in the development of a individual intellectual career during the late Middle Ages? What are the relations and exchanges between the University of Paris and the new universities of Central Europe? Which are the commentaries acquired (by purchase and thus at the request of the readers) in the university libraries of this epoch and in this area of Europe? What are the cultural exchanges between secular masters, monks and friars? How do the religious orders constitute an important factor in the formation of a network for the transfer of knowledge in the universities?
Research in the archives (mainly little known ones from Eastern Europe), the study of the manuscripts, the digital edition of the texts and the development of new IT tools for our field will be key components of our project, contributing to a better understanding of a hidden part of European intellectual history. Our project is built upon a strategy promoting erudition (codicology, palaeography, textual criticism), an interdisciplinary scientific approach, and exchange and dialogue between scholars from Western and Eastern Europe.
Summary
The THESIS project proposes a pioneering study of a coherent corpus of medieval manuscripts consisting of all the commentaries on the Sentences composed in Paris and in the new universities from Central Europe between 1350-1450. A Sentences commentary is a core component of the medieval academic curriculum, a collection of theses that scholars had to defend in the universities in order to obtain the title of master or doctor of theology; it is actually the unique equivalent of our modern PhD thesis.
This investigation aims to provide new information concerning the intellectual atmosphere inside the European universities in an attempt to respond to various historical questions: How do the Sentences commentaries of this period lead to the formation of a European university identity? Who are the masters of the time? What is the importance of a Sentences commentary (the modern PhD) in the development of a individual intellectual career during the late Middle Ages? What are the relations and exchanges between the University of Paris and the new universities of Central Europe? Which are the commentaries acquired (by purchase and thus at the request of the readers) in the university libraries of this epoch and in this area of Europe? What are the cultural exchanges between secular masters, monks and friars? How do the religious orders constitute an important factor in the formation of a network for the transfer of knowledge in the universities?
Research in the archives (mainly little known ones from Eastern Europe), the study of the manuscripts, the digital edition of the texts and the development of new IT tools for our field will be key components of our project, contributing to a better understanding of a hidden part of European intellectual history. Our project is built upon a strategy promoting erudition (codicology, palaeography, textual criticism), an interdisciplinary scientific approach, and exchange and dialogue between scholars from Western and Eastern Europe.
Max ERC Funding
1 494 784 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2018-07-31
Project acronym WMOSPOTWU
Project What makes our subjective perception of the world unique?
Researcher (PI) Dietrich Schwarzkopf
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary We commonly assume that our perception of the world is constant and seamless. This intuition belies the dramatic differences in the perceived quality of a stimulus even within the same individual when it is shown at different spatial locations or different times. Conventional studies of perception treat such unique patterns of perceptual variability as noise and seek to eliminate them by averaging across individuals; however, studying individual heterogeneity in perceptual function can reveal insights into how the brain makes our subjective view of the world unique and personal. All perception must arise in the brain. Despite that, the neural substrates underlying this perceptual heterogeneity remain unknown.
Here, I therefore propose a project to investigate cortical and perceptual heterogeneity in human volunteers using a combination of behavioural psychophysics, functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation. I will explore the heritability of these maps to better understand the factors underlying perceptual heterogeneity. Together, these experiments will provide convergent evidence about how the functional architecture of human sensory cortex gives rise to an individual's unique perception of the world. This will make it possible to reconstruct how an individual perceives the environment, thus giving an insight into their “mind's eye,” and has implications for patients with pathological sensory discontinuities (such as scotomas) or hallucinations, as it will enable us to reveal how they perceive their environment.
Summary
We commonly assume that our perception of the world is constant and seamless. This intuition belies the dramatic differences in the perceived quality of a stimulus even within the same individual when it is shown at different spatial locations or different times. Conventional studies of perception treat such unique patterns of perceptual variability as noise and seek to eliminate them by averaging across individuals; however, studying individual heterogeneity in perceptual function can reveal insights into how the brain makes our subjective view of the world unique and personal. All perception must arise in the brain. Despite that, the neural substrates underlying this perceptual heterogeneity remain unknown.
Here, I therefore propose a project to investigate cortical and perceptual heterogeneity in human volunteers using a combination of behavioural psychophysics, functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation. I will explore the heritability of these maps to better understand the factors underlying perceptual heterogeneity. Together, these experiments will provide convergent evidence about how the functional architecture of human sensory cortex gives rise to an individual's unique perception of the world. This will make it possible to reconstruct how an individual perceives the environment, thus giving an insight into their “mind's eye,” and has implications for patients with pathological sensory discontinuities (such as scotomas) or hallucinations, as it will enable us to reveal how they perceive their environment.
Max ERC Funding
1 294 840 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2018-01-31
Project acronym ZEBRATECTUM
Project Anatomical and Functional Dissection of Neural Circuits in the Zebrafish Optic Tectum
Researcher (PI) Filippo Del Bene
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUT CURIE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary The optic tectum has emerged as a tractable visuomotor transformer, in which anatomical and functional studies can allow a better understanding of how behavior is controlled by neuronal circuits. We plan to examine the formation and function of the visual system in zebrafish larvae using in vivo time-lapse microscopy and state-of-the-art “connectomic” and “optogenetic” approaches to monitor and perturb neuronal activity. We will apply complementary cellular and molecular analyses to dissect this circuit and identify the neuronal substrate of visual behaviors. We will start by analyzing the function, development and connectivity of a newly characterized class of inhibitory interneurons located in the superficial part of the tectal neuropil named SINs (superficial inhibitory interneurons) that I have previously identified. Our work based on functional imaging has placed SINs at the center of a tectal micro-circuit for size tuning of visual stimuli. We will dissect this working model by analyzing the physiological properties of SINs. We also will investigate their development and connectivity at the level of single synapses by imaging these cells in vivo using fluorescent reporters in transgenic animals. We will then study how SINs migrate to their final position in the superficial tectum away from the zone where they are initially generated and how their processes direct tectal synaptic lamina formation. SINs are the only tectal cells expressing Reelin and we will analyze the role of this pathway in tectal development and proper synaptic lamination in the tectal neuropil. Our multidisciplinary approach aims to describe in great detail the formation and function of a neuronal circuit crucial for visual function, establishing this model for neural circuits studies in vertebrates.
Summary
The optic tectum has emerged as a tractable visuomotor transformer, in which anatomical and functional studies can allow a better understanding of how behavior is controlled by neuronal circuits. We plan to examine the formation and function of the visual system in zebrafish larvae using in vivo time-lapse microscopy and state-of-the-art “connectomic” and “optogenetic” approaches to monitor and perturb neuronal activity. We will apply complementary cellular and molecular analyses to dissect this circuit and identify the neuronal substrate of visual behaviors. We will start by analyzing the function, development and connectivity of a newly characterized class of inhibitory interneurons located in the superficial part of the tectal neuropil named SINs (superficial inhibitory interneurons) that I have previously identified. Our work based on functional imaging has placed SINs at the center of a tectal micro-circuit for size tuning of visual stimuli. We will dissect this working model by analyzing the physiological properties of SINs. We also will investigate their development and connectivity at the level of single synapses by imaging these cells in vivo using fluorescent reporters in transgenic animals. We will then study how SINs migrate to their final position in the superficial tectum away from the zone where they are initially generated and how their processes direct tectal synaptic lamina formation. SINs are the only tectal cells expressing Reelin and we will analyze the role of this pathway in tectal development and proper synaptic lamination in the tectal neuropil. Our multidisciplinary approach aims to describe in great detail the formation and function of a neuronal circuit crucial for visual function, establishing this model for neural circuits studies in vertebrates.
Max ERC Funding
1 920 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2018-06-30
