faurelab.bsky.social

New paper in Nature, @nature.com (go.nature.com/4c4OjCj) : how do social roles emerge in groups of near-identical individuals ? we find that they are neither predetermined nor fixed.

See also @cnrs.fr press release www.cnrs.fr/fr/presse/le..., (thanks to Aurélie Meilhon). It would not have been possible without the work of the whole team at @espciparispsl.bsky.social, @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social , @cnrs.fr

New paper in Nature, @nature.com (go.nature.com/4c4OjCj) : how do social roles emerge in groups of near-identical individuals ? we find that they are neither predetermined nor fixed.

Striking sex-dependence. Male triads develop worker-scrounger specialisation driven by competition. Female triads remain homogeneous with almost all individuals adopting storer profiles. Introduce one male into a female group and specialisation emerges, including in the females.

New paper in Nature, @nature.com (go.nature.com/4c4OjCj) : how do social roles emerge in groups of near-identical individuals ? we find that they are neither predetermined nor fixed.

These roles emerge from the interplay between individual predispositions – tendency to explore versus exploit – and the contingency of early social interactions. The same individual, in a different group, will adopt a different role. Social context is not a backdrop; it is a cause.

New paper in Nature, @nature.com (go.nature.com/4c4OjCj) : how do social roles emerge in groups of near-identical individuals ? we find that they are neither predetermined nor fixed.

1/4 When rules change, dopamine (DA) changes what it calls an “action”. New bioRxiv version: “Dopamine tracks adaptive learning of action representations”. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... This project brought together Maxime Come’s PhD work and Arnaud Lespart’s postdoctoral work in our lab.

3/4 Instead, DA signals are best captured by different RPE-like variables computed over the currently learned action representation, not one fixed RPE. In short: the “error” DA reports changes with how the animal is currently defining the action.

1/4 When rules change, dopamine (DA) changes what it calls an “action”. New bioRxiv version: “Dopamine tracks adaptive learning of action representations”. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... This project brought together Maxime Come’s PhD work and Arnaud Lespart’s postdoctoral work in our lab.

Nicotine doesn’t just “turn on” the brain’s reward circuits — it reshapes them. Our new paper in Nature Communications shows that activating reward-linked dopamine neurons also sets off a feedback loop that drives negative emotional states. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nicotine and alcohol seem very different, but they converge on the same circuit. Both activate NAc-projecting dopamine neurons and inhibit those projecting to the amygdala. We show that this shared loop shapes reward and emotion, helping explain their high co-use.

Nicotine doesn’t just “turn on” the brain’s reward circuits — it reshapes them. Our new paper in Nature Communications shows that activating reward-linked dopamine neurons also sets off a feedback loop that drives negative emotional states. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) dampens nicotine reward via β4* nAChRs and IPN→LDTg projections. Blocking this pathway enhances VTA responses and CPP: A nicotine-specific brake embedded in the mesolimbic system. New paper from the lab out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...

Congrat J. Jehl, M. Ciscato, E. Vicq & @nicolasguyon.bsky.social . Thanks to our amazing team, and collaborators! @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social , @inserm.fr , @sorbonne-universite.fr , @espciparispsl.bsky.social , @institutpasteur.bsky.social, @frm-officiel.bsky.social

The interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) dampens nicotine reward via β4* nAChRs and IPN→LDTg projections. Blocking this pathway enhances VTA responses and CPP: A nicotine-specific brake embedded in the mesolimbic system. New paper from the lab out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...

New preprint from the lab and @clementsolie.bsky.social on social organization & neuromodulation! Read the full preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @espciparispsl.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social

A reinforcement learning model reveals how competition for ressources drives behavioral specialization, with varying degrees of exploitation shaping social roles development and driving sex differences.

New preprint from the lab and @clementsolie.bsky.social on social organization & neuromodulation! Read the full preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @espciparispsl.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social

Males exhibit clear divisions of labor, where worker-scrounger equilibria emerge from competitive dynamics. In contrast, females adopt more uniform & cooperative behaviors. These sex-specific differences arise only in group contexts—when tested alone, males and females show only subtle differences!

New preprint from the lab and @clementsolie.bsky.social on social organization & neuromodulation! Read the full preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @espciparispsl.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social

Superb study from Thomas Preat's team here @espciparispsl.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social , showing that astrocytes use redox H₂O₂ signaling to support memory in Drosophila. Amyloid-β disrupts this process, linking it to cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s. www.nature.com/articles/s42...