BBC : Brain-body cross-talks during adaptive processes

We study the links between genetic diversity (allelic variations and gene expression) and plasticity (morphological, metabolic, behavioral or cognitive) to elucidate adaptive processes and evolution in response to environmental constraints. Our research has implications for increasing societal threats such as metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases.

Our work is articulated around three main axes:

• Central control of metabolism
• Cognition, neurogenesis and aging
• Development and life history

In this context, the main research thematics developed within the BBC team are:

• Influence of key gene expression on cognition and central control of metabolism: consequences for adaptation to the environment, aging and neurological pathologies.
• Interactions between thyroid hormone levels, metabolic defects, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration: adaptation of transcriptional responses in normal and pathological aging contexts.
• Involvement of thyroid signaling in neural stem cell fate choice: molecular, cellular and behavioral responses under normal and pathological conditions at all ages.
• Interactions between genetic background, oxidative stress, metabolism and environmental conditions in young and adult individuals: consequences for life history and reproductive success.
• Study of the genetic and cellular developmental processes that regulate the formation of an integrated and functional musculoskeletal system: evolution of the morphological innovations implicated in the water-to-land transition of vertebrates.

CNRS, MNHN, ANR, European programs, Sorbonne University, Institut de France

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