Web site: www.biomedicale.parisdescartes.fr
Research: www.biomedicale.univparis5.fr/physcerv/Presentation_en.html



Biomedical studies  at the University Paris Descartes

Research

Among the numerous research labs of the Biomedical faculty of Paris Descartes are:

Laboratory of Brain Physiology (Alain Marty, Director)

Understanding the human brain appears as a huge challenge for science. Although major advances have been obtained in recent years, it is likely that key aspects of cellular communication in the mammalian brain remain to be discovered. The unit develops its activity in this vast domain, analyzing how neuronal information is generated and processed. One present project focuses on the influence of axonic ionotropic receptors to the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate on information processing in the axonal domain of brain neurons. Another project aims at characterizing the electrical activity of cerebellar interneurons in vivo. The laboratory develops new methods for the study of neuronal activity, in particular for the localized photostimulation of neuronal structures with light (caged compounds').

·       Electrophysiological techniques for electrical signal recording

·       Calcium imaging for the analysis of neural processes

·       Stimulation of exocytosis in single varicosities with calcium uncaging

·     Activation of postsynaptic receptors in single synapses with caged neurotransmitters

Laboratory of Neurophysiology & New Microscopies (Serge Charpak, Director)

The laboratory is structured in 5 teams with complementary expertise in physics and neuroscience. Neurobiologists study neurovascular coupling and network activity in the olfactory system (Charpak team), interactions between neurons, astrocytes and microglia (Audinat team) in physiological and pathological contexts, interactions between neurons and NG2 cells (Angulo team) and mechanisms governing gliotransmitter release by astrocytes (Oheim/Ropert team). The physicists (Emiliani team) focus on the development of advanced optical methods for wave-front engineering and their application in neuroscience.

 

Electrophysiological techniques in vitro (acute brain slices and cell cultures) and in vivo (anesthetized animals)two-photon imaging In vivo and in vitro of neuronal and glial networks and of blood flowMolecular biology and histochemical techniques for phenotyping single cells and cell populations in the brainTotal internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to study single-organelle dynamics and sub-cellular ion concentration microdomains Spatiotemporal control of neuronal activity by holographic photoactivation patterns based on one-photon holography and two-photon fluorescence microscopy using ultrashort pulse shapingSuper resolution microscopy (STED) beyond diffraction limit, and non-scanning microscopy techniques such as Structure Illumination Microscopy, or  Temporal Focusing..Microendoscopy for awake animal imaging and for deep imaging

Teaching

·     Spectroscopies :NMR, ESR, Molecular spectroscopy, Circular dichroism, Fluorescence, UV, IR, Raman

·     Light-Matter Interactions

·     Physical Chemistry of tissue interface, biocompatibility

·     Cellular Signaling and gene regulation

·     Imaging and cellular electrophysiology

·     From neuron to neuronal networks

·     Neuron-glia interactions

·     Neurovascular coupling