One-Back Perceptual Memory Task: Psychophysics, Computational Model, and EEG Correlates

To yield generalizable insights, models of cognitive function must explain behavioral and brain data across diverse experimental paradigms. In the domain of sensory-perceptual memory, however, most models are tailored to specific tasks, raising the question: are perceptual memories governed by paradigm-specific mechanisms, or can broader, unified principles be identified? A general framework in which different forms of perceptual memory arise from the interaction of multiple memory buffers w...

A genome-wide microRNA screen uncovers modifiers of α-synuclein fibril internalization

Characterization of molecular mechanisms underlying VRAC activation

Multicellular organisms evolved mechanisms to accurately regulate cellular volume to counteract swelling or shrinkage which can in turn affect cell integrity. The Volume Regulated Anion Channel (VRAC) is ubiquitously found in all vertebrate cells and turned out to be a key player in the cell-intrinsic regulatory processes which tend to restore the original volume upon osmotic challenges. In combination with potassium export mechanisms, this is achieved by the swelling-induced increased VRAC ...

On Realizations of Hypergeometric Motives

In this thesis, we investigate some of the arithmetic and geometry underlying hypergeometric functions and their finite field analogues. Motivated by their appearance as periods of families of varieties and as traces of Frobenius in étale cohomology, we study the interplay between hypergeometric functions, and point-counting over finite fields. In Chapter 1, we prove that under mild assumptions, the complex hypergeometric local system coincides with the top weight variation of a family o...

Unraveling Molecular Complexity through Single Cell approaches: From Olfactory Bulb Architecture to Dorsal Root Ganglia Remodeling in Pancreatic Cancer

The accessory olfactory system and the role of the nervous system in pancreatic cancer represent two critical yet underexplored areas in neuroscience and cancer biology. This thesis employs transcriptomic and spatial profiling techniques to investigate the cellular and molecular diversity of the olfactory bulb (OB), and examine the molecular changes in sensory neurons innervating cancer pancreas. In the first part of this work, I analyzed single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and spati...

Time perception in vision: from sensory processing to network interactions

The ability to perceive and estimate time is a fundamental aspect of human cognition, enabling us to process, predict, and interact with the temporal dimensions of our surroundings. Recent advancements in the field of time perception posit that the perceived duration of sub-second intervals originates from sensory processing - as shown by the biases induced by non-temporal features and by the direct involvement of sensory areas during timing tasks. Beyond this sensory origin, the processing o...

Time-periodic solutions of completely resonant Hamiltonian PDEs related to negative cosmological constant spacetimes

INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE MOTOR OUTPUT

The present study focuses on the integrative properties of Central Nervous System (CNS), which coordinates the activity of multiple neural circuits in order to express the rhythmic motor output. The contribution of supraspinal structure to the integration of inputs arising from respiratory and locomotor neural networks, especially at birth, is still underestimated. To study the neurogenic drive responsible for tailoring rhythmic motor responses, we introduced the ex vivo central nervous syste...

Reflections on Distributions: Human, Machines, Languages

Humans create and continuously improve machines, while machines also influence human life. Language, one of the key differences between humans and animals, is also one of the main ways humans and machines communicate with each other. Many behaviors of machines are quite different from those of humans, and I aim to analyze them from the perspective of "distribution". Survey data is a central focus of my research. I tried to identify potentially more efficient combinations of variables for s...