Our group aims at understanding the mechanisms underlying stability of intrinsic excitability in different types of neurones. Our approach is based on simultaneous analysis of multiple intrinsic conductances in the same neurone to build a multidimensional space of biophysical parameters of the neurone. This kind of analysis reveals correlations in the levels of expression (or in the levels of current) between different conductances.
Identifying these correlations allows us distinguishing between types of neurons and suggests that these correlations might be critical for defining specific patterns of activity. Therefore this type of analysis seems particularly well suited for determining the precise quantitative changes in biophysical parameters occuring during excitability disorders such as epilepsy.
We use various electrophysiological techniques (current clamp, voltage clamp, dynamic clamp) to assess firing properties, biophysical properties of intrinsic conductances and synaptic integration properties. Our work addresses these questions essentially on hippocampal slices, and more specifically on CA1 pyramidal cells.
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GROUP MEMBERS
. Jean-Marc Goaillard : group leader.
- Former Lab (post-doc) : Marder Lab
- Former Lab (PhD) : Cellular Integration of Neuromodulatory Processes
. Adele Woodhouse : post-doctoral fellow.
- Former Lab (PhD) : Neurorepair Group
. Julien Amendola : post-doctoral fellow.
- Former Lab (post-doc) : Institut des Sciences du Mouvement
- Former Lab (PhD) : Plasticité et Physio-Pathologie de la Motricité
. Armand Tasmadjian : technician.
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COLLABORATIONS
. Stéphanie Baulac (INSERM U679, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris) : "role of a secreted protein in a form of dominant autosomal temporal lobe epilepsy".
. Alice Guyon (CNRS UMR 6097, IPMC, Nice-Sophia Antipolis) : "correlations between intrinsic conductances and activity pattern in dopaminergic neurons".
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FUNDING
. INSERM Avenir program
. Conseil Général des Bouches du Rhône
. Fédération pour la Recherche sur le Cerveau (in collaboration with S. Baulac)
. Fondation FYSSEN
