Laboratory for Computational Neuroscience
Unité de Neurosciences, Information & Complexité
(UNIC)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
(CNRS)
91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
The research conducted in Alain Destexhe's laboratory stands at the interface between several disciplines, such as biophysics, physics, computer science and neuroscience. The themes investigated (see Research below) range from the microscopic (single neurons) to the macroscopic (networks or populations of neurons) aspects of the central nervous system function. At the single cell level, we use theoretical methods and computer-based simulation techniques to explore the complex behavior of cortical and thalamic neurons and understand their integrative properties. At the network level, we try to understand the collective behavior of neuronal populations, and how information in processed and represented. We also study the genesis of sleep rhythms, their physiological role and their perversion into pathological rhythms such as absence epileptic seizures. Finally, we use theoretical frameworks (such as stochastic dynamical systems) to conceive methods to deduce hidden information in experimentally-recorded signals. This research is only possible through a very tight collaboration with experimentalists recording single cells (intracellular measurements) and network behavior (EEG, LFP and optical imaging). We actively collaborate with experimental groups in Europe, in USA as well as within the UNIC (see Publications). We encourage students to follow mixed projects combining both experimental and theoretical/computational components.
CLICK HERE FOR RECENTLY PUBLISHED REVIEW PAPERS
Postdoc and other positions available
Lab Members
List of lab members, permanent, postdocs and students
Research
Description of the current research themes and projects, plus references
and links to more detailed information.
Publications
Database of publications from the laboratory.
Downloadable information about published work or papers in press.
Both abstracts and complete copies of the articles can be accessed.
Animations Database of computer-generated animations of models
developed in the laboratory. These animations are a good complement
to the articles above, and in many cases, they illustrate the
dynamics of the system much better than any of the published figures!
Demos
Database of source code of the programs that generated
some of the figures of the published articles. These demos are
running on publically-available
NEURON simulator or PYTHON. They can be used as tutorials to
learn how to use NEURON, or for teaching or didactic purposes.
Morphologies
Database of cellular morphologies of thalamic and
cortical neurons, to be used with the NEURON simulator. The
original papers in which these cells were used are also included.
Neuronal music Music created from recordings of cortical neurons. The activity is
compared to Poisson stochastic processes.
Links...
Various links to useful web pages in Computational Neuroscience and
Neuroinformatics
JCNS/SSCN The Journal of Computational
Neuroscience
(Editors-in-Chief: Alain Destexhe and Jonathan
Victor)
and
Springer Series in Computational
Neuroscience
(Editors: Alain Destexhe and Romain
Brette)
Research supported by the CNRS (Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique), the ANR (Agence Nationale de la
Recherche), the EC (European
Commission), the NIH (National
Institutes of Health) and the HFSP
(Human Frontier Science Program); click here
for details about these projets.
For more information, please contact:
Unité de Neurosciences, Information & Complexité
(UNIC)
CNRS
UPR-3293, Bat 33,
1 Avenue de la Terrasse,
91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Tel: 33-1-69-82-34-35
Fax: 33-1-69-82-34-27
URL:
http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr
Database:
http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr/database.html