Front news

Some odorants act as rewards on our brain

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An article of Maëllie Midroit* and Laura Chalençon* under the direction of Nathalie Mandairon, NEUROPOP CRNL, in Current Biology.

Why are we so attracted to some odorants? A study published in the journal Current Biology shows that pleasant odorants can act as rewards on our brains. This specific property of odorants seems to be due to a special connection between two brain regions, the olfactory bulb, which deals with odor pleasantness, and the olfactory tubercle, a key structure of the reward system. The activation of this network allows dopamine release, as do natural beneficial stimuli such as food or artificial stimuli such as drugs. These results obtained in mice have been confirmed in humans, showing that this process is conserved between species.

© Nathalie Mandairon & Marc Thevenet

En finir avec les neuromythes

CSalerie_YRossetti

"We only use 10% of our brain's capacities", "To each his own learning style", "Everything is decided before the age of 3"... We think we know a lot about how our brain works. What if these preconceived ideas don't make sense?

Cortex mag, February 9, 2021, Benoit de la Fonchais, Clara Saleri (IMPACT CRNL) et Yves Rossetti (TRAJECTOIRE CRNL)

Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size

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Body size exaggeration is common in the animal kingdom, with many species having evolved adaptations to look or sound BIG in order to threaten competitors or attract mates. But to what extent does such deception actually fool listeners?
To answer this age-old question, researchers Kasia Pisanski and David Reby (ENES CRNL) examined the perception of deceptive vocal signals of body size in humans. “By studying deception in our own species”, explains Prof. Reby, “we can answer many important questions about deceptive signalling that are difficult to tackle in studies with non-human animals”.

Prix du public pour Siloé Corvin

poster

Le prix a été décerné à Siloé Corvin (NEUROPAIN CRNL) pour son poster lors du congrès de la SFETD.

"Réorganisations allodyniques corticales dans la douleur neuropathique"

With Covid-19, we finally put the nose on the loss of the sense of smell

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The olfactory deficit, one of the effects of Covid-19, generates real difficulties in social life, which can result in a tendency to isolation or depressive symptoms. In this post published with Libération, three specialists (Moustafa Bensafi, Catherine Rouby, Camille Ferdenzi, NEUROPOP CRNL) give their analysis and call for better medical care.

"Les Inédits du CNRS", original scientific analyses published in partnership with Libération.

Podcast CNRS « How does Covid-19 disturb our sense of smell? »

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While a large proportion of people suffering from Covid-19 have problems with their sense of smell, neuroscientist Camille Ferdenzi (NEUROPOP CRNL) explains in this podcast the various ways in which the virus can alter this sense, but also how it can be regained through olfactory rehabilitation.

A new artistic residency at the CRNL!

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Within the framework of « Nez à Nez » project (Nathalie Buonviso, Alexandra Veyrac, CMO CRNL), an artistic residency took place on January 21 and 22, 2021, supported by our tutors (CNRS, Inserm, UCBL, UJM).

Why do some people remember their dreams better than others?

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An article in CortexMag about the work of Raphaël VALLAT, Alain NICOLAS and Perrine RUBY (PAM CRNL). "Postulating that the moment of awakening was crucial to memorize dreams, these researchers proposed to big and small dreamers to take a nap in a scanner and observed what was happening in their brain when they woke them up."

Why is music good for us?

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In the program of Ali Ribeihi of France Inter, "Great good to you!" Barbara Tillmann (CAP CRNL) and Emmanuel Bigand (Univ Bourgogne, Lab apprentissage et développement) discussed, on Monday January 4th, the benefits of music on our cognitive development, our emotional intelligence, our psychological and physical health.

Creation of the LabCom Neuroimaging for Drug Discovery (NI2D)

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BIORAN has created a joint public/private laboratory financed by the ANR (LabCom) and the Region (Pack Ambition Research). The 'laboratory' entitled Neuroimaging for Drug Discovery (NI2D) associates the CRNL, the pharmaceutical company Theranexus and the CERMEP. Its objective is to contribute to the development of gliopharmacology using preclinical imaging tools (PET/MRI/brain ultrasound). The recruitment of two PhD students and a research engineer will strengthen this collaborative axis.

Read the press release