In der Metakontrastmaskierung wird die Sichtbarkeit des ersten Stimulus (Target) durch das Auftreten eines zweiten Stimulus (Maske) reduziert. Zwei Maskierungsfunktionen (MF) treten hauptsächlich auf: Typ A, wenn die Sichtbarkeit mit ansteigender SOA zumimmt, und Typ-B, wenn die Sichtbarkeit in kurzer und langer SOA hoch ist und auf ein Minimum in mittlerer SOA abfällt. In fünf Studien wurde systematisch untersucht welchen Einfluss experimentelle Parameter auf das Auftreten der MF haben. Je länger die Maske im Verhältnis zum Target präsentiert wird, desto weiter verschiebt sich das Minimum der MF hin zu kürzerer SOA und desto mehr ähnelt sie einer Typ-A-MF (monoton ansteigend). Die Maskierung ist in kleinen Stimuli stärker als in großen Stimuli, sowohl im Zentrum als auch in der Peripherie. Bei beiden Stimulusgrößen findet bei der kürzesten SOA die stärkste Maskierung statt. MF unterscheiden sich nicht, wenn sich die Vorhersagbarkeit der Präsentationsorte der Stimuli unterscheidet. Scheinbewegungen werden in langen SOAs eher wahrgenommen als in kurzen SOAs. Darüber hinaus wurden inter-individuelle Unterschiede gefunden, die Einblicke in die Mechanismen erlauben, die in der Metakontrastmaskierung beteiligt sind. Einige Versuchspersonen zeigen eine Typ-A-MF und berichten Scheinbewegungen in der Abfolge der Stimuli wahrzunehmen, hauptsächlich in langen SOAs. Andere zeigen eine Typ-B-MF und berichten negative Nachbilder in Form des Tagets im Inneren der Maske wahrzunehmen, hauptsächlich in kurzen SOAs. Typ-A- und Typ-B-Versuchspersonen unterscheiden sich in ihrer Top-Down-Verarbeitung der Stimuli, nicht aber in ihrer Bottom-Up-Verarbeitung. Zwei Prozesse stellten sich heraus, die in der Verarbeitung der Metakontraststimuli beteiligt sein könnten. Nach der Integrations-Segregations-Theorie steht die getrennte (segregierte) Wahrnehmung zweier Stimuli, die Scheinbewegungen ermöglicht, mit dem Segregationsprozess in Zusammenhang. Dagegen steht die gleichzeitige (integrierte) Wahrnehmung zweier nacheinander folgender Stimuli mit dem Integrationsprozess in Zusammenhang. Da Prozess 1 stark mit einer Typ-A-MF verknüpft ist, einhergehend mit der Wahrnehmung von Scheinbewegungen, könnte dieser Prozess dem Segregationsprozess entsprechen. Da Prozess 2 stark mit einer Typ-B-MF verknüpft ist, einhergehend mit der Wahrnehmung negativer Nachbilder, könnte dieser Prozess dem Integrationsprozess entsprechen. Es wird angenommen, dass diese beiden Prozesse an der bewussten Wahrnehmung des Targets in der Metakontrastmaskierung beteiligt sind.

O mercúrio (Hg) é um metal tóxico extensamente estudado em todo mundo, distribuído no ambiente a partir de fontes naturais ou antropogênicas e que oferece risco a população por ser altamente biocumulativo e possuir efeitos nocivos à saúde. Até algum tempo atrás, acreditava-se que a principal fonte de exposição ao Hg na Região Amazônica, decorria do uso deste metal para amalgamação de ouro nos garimpos da região. No entanto, o Hg é encontrado naturalmente nos solos da Região Amazônica e ao atingir os sistemas aquáticos, favorecidos principalmente pela erosão e pelas chuvas, passa por um processo de metilação catalisada por microorganismos, dando origem à forma orgânica do metal, o metilmercúrio (MeHg). Esta forma do metal se acumula no sedimento dos rios e em peixes representando atualmente a principal fonte de exposição ao mercúrio em população ribeirinha. Os biomarcadores de exposição ao Hg são freqüentemente utilizados para identificar e estimar o risco em que um indivíduo ou uma população está exposta. No entanto, pouco se conhece a respeito das variações inter-individuais de cada um deles. Neste sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar as variações inter-individuais em biomarcadores de exposição ao Hg em uma população ribeirinha do rio Tapajós, Pará. Para tal, 410 ribeirinhos, residentes em 12 comunidades ao longo do rio Tapajós, no estado do Pará participaram do estudo. Foram determinadas as concentrações de mercúrio total (THg) em sangue total, plasma, eritrócito, urina e de IHg e MeHg em cabelo dos voluntários. As concentrações de THg no sangue total variaram de 1,7 a 288,9 µg/L e no plasma de 0,2 a 40,0 µg/L. A concentração de THg no plasma apresentou uma alta correlação com as concentrações de THg em sangue total (r=0,7529, p<0,0001). A fração plasmática de THg variou 0,5% a 61% e não apresentou qualquer correlação com as concentrações de THg em sangue total (r= 0,06284, p=0,2041), indicando que a mobilização de THg para o plasma não ocorre devido à saturação dos eritrócitos. A distribuição de THg entre eritrócitos e plasma observada nesta população, é diferente do que foi observado em outros estudos sobre exposição à MeHg. As concentrações de THg no cabelo variaram de 0,97 a 62,4 µg/g e apresentaram uma correlação muito forte com as concentraçoes no sangue (r=0,8718, p<0,0001) indicando que as concentrações de THg no cabelo refletem as concentrações de THg no sangue. Também foi observada uma forte correlação entre as concentrações de MeHg e de IHg no cabelo (r=0,8979, p<0,0001), confirmando as informações da literatura, que sugerem que a fração de IHg no cabelo se deve a demetilação no sangue, no folículo capilar ou no preparo da amostra e análise. Em relação a razão entre concentração de mercúrio entre cabelo e sangue, observamos uma elevada variação entre os indivíduos, de 1:13 a 1:13274. Entre as mulheres observamos que esta variação ocorre de acordo com a idade. Resultados preliminares apontam para uma considerável variação inter-individual nos biomarcadores de exposição na população em estudo, indicando a necessidade de se identificar os fatores que influenciam este achado. Considerando a cinética do mercúrio, podemos concluir que estas variações inter-individuais na fração plasmática, podem alterar a taxa de eliminação do Hg e também os efeitos tóxicos decorrentes da exposição. Palavras- Chave: biomarcadores de exposição, mercúrio, variações inter-individuais / Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal widely studied worldwide. In the atmosphere Hg may occur due to natural or anthropogenic sources. It offers risk to the population due to be highly bioaccumulated and to cause harmful effects to humans. Gold Mining activities were considered in the past the main sources of Hg contamination in the Amazon region. However, new findings indicated that Hg is naturally found in the soils of the Amazon area. When reaching the aquatic systems, facilitated mainly by the erosion and for the rains, the inorganic mercury is methylated, by microorganisms, forming the more toxic form methylmercury (MeHg). This form of the metal accumulates in the sediment of the rivers and in fish, meaning the main exposure source of mercury to riverine population. Biomarkers of exposure to Hg (levels of Hg in blood, plasma, urine, hair) are frequently used to identify and to esteem the risk of an individual or a population to harmful effects. However, little it is known regarding the inter-individual variations of these biomarkers. In this sense, this study evaluated inter-individual variations in the biomarkers of exposure to mercury (Hg in plasma, blood, urine and hair) in a riverside population (Tapajós river, Pará). Volunteers (n=410), residents in 12 communities along the Tapajós river, in the state of Pará participated in the study. Total mercury (THg) levels were determinated in whole blood, plasma, red blood cells and urine and of IHg and MeHg in hair. The concentration of mercury ranged from 1.7 to 288.9 µg/L and of plasma from 0.2 to 40.0 µg/L. The concentration of THg in the plasma presented a high correlation with concentrations of Hg in total blood (r=0.7529, p<0.0001). The plasmatic fraction of THg ranged from 0.5% to 61% and did not present any correlation with the concentrations of THg in the whole blood (r= 0.06284 p=0.2041), indicating that the mobilization of Hg to the plasma does not occur to the saturation of the red blood cells. The distribution of THg between red blood cells and plasma observed in this population is in disagreement when compared to other populations. The mercury concentrations in hair ranged from 0.97 to 62.4 µg/g and presented a very strong correlation with the whole blood (r=0.8718, p<0.0001), indicating that the concentrations of Hg in hair reflect the concentrations of THg in blood. Also a strong correlation was observed among the concentrations of MeHg and of IHg in hair (r=0.8979, p<0.0001), confirming the information in the literature, that suggest the fraction of IHg in hair is due to demethylation process or by sample preparation and analysis. Regarding the ratio between concentration of mercury between hair and blood, we observed a high variation between individuals, ranged from 1:13 to 1:13274. Among the women we observed this variation occurring according to age. In conclusion our results together demonstrated a considerable inter-individual variation in the biomarkers of exposure to mercury in the study population, demonstrating probably a different rate of biotransformation and elimination of Hg in this population. Then, future studies are necessary to elucidate factors are influencing this variation.

O mercúrio (Hg) é um metal tóxico extensamente estudado em todo mundo, distribuído no ambiente a partir de fontes naturais ou antropogênicas e que oferece risco a população por ser altamente biocumulativo e possuir efeitos nocivos à saúde. Até algum tempo atrás, acreditava-se que a principal fonte de exposição ao Hg na Região Amazônica, decorria do uso deste metal para amalgamação de ouro nos garimpos da região. No entanto, o Hg é encontrado naturalmente nos solos da Região Amazônica e ao atingir os sistemas aquáticos, favorecidos principalmente pela erosão e pelas chuvas, passa por um processo de metilação catalisada por microorganismos, dando origem à forma orgânica do metal, o metilmercúrio (MeHg). Esta forma do metal se acumula no sedimento dos rios e em peixes representando atualmente a principal fonte de exposição ao mercúrio em população ribeirinha. Os biomarcadores de exposição ao Hg são freqüentemente utilizados para identificar e estimar o risco em que um indivíduo ou uma população está exposta. No entanto, pouco se conhece a respeito das variações inter-individuais de cada um deles. Neste sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar as variações inter-individuais em biomarcadores de exposição ao Hg em uma população ribeirinha do rio Tapajós, Pará. Para tal, 410 ribeirinhos, residentes em 12 comunidades ao longo do rio Tapajós, no estado do Pará participaram do estudo. Foram determinadas as concentrações de mercúrio total (THg) em sangue total, plasma, eritrócito, urina e de IHg e MeHg em cabelo dos voluntários. As concentrações de THg no sangue total variaram de 1,7 a 288,9 µg/L e no plasma de 0,2 a 40,0 µg/L. A concentração de THg no plasma apresentou uma alta correlação com as concentrações de THg em sangue total (r=0,7529, p<0,0001). A fração plasmática de THg variou 0,5% a 61% e não apresentou qualquer correlação com as concentrações de THg em sangue total (r= 0,06284, p=0,2041), indicando que a mobilização de THg para o plasma não ocorre devido à saturação dos eritrócitos. A distribuição de THg entre eritrócitos e plasma observada nesta população, é diferente do que foi observado em outros estudos sobre exposição à MeHg. As concentrações de THg no cabelo variaram de 0,97 a 62,4 µg/g e apresentaram uma correlação muito forte com as concentraçoes no sangue (r=0,8718, p<0,0001) indicando que as concentrações de THg no cabelo refletem as concentrações de THg no sangue. Também foi observada uma forte correlação entre as concentrações de MeHg e de IHg no cabelo (r=0,8979, p<0,0001), confirmando as informações da literatura, que sugerem que a fração de IHg no cabelo se deve a demetilação no sangue, no folículo capilar ou no preparo da amostra e análise. Em relação a razão entre concentração de mercúrio entre cabelo e sangue, observamos uma elevada variação entre os indivíduos, de 1:13 a 1:13274. Entre as mulheres observamos que esta variação ocorre de acordo com a idade. Resultados preliminares apontam para uma considerável variação inter-individual nos biomarcadores de exposição na população em estudo, indicando a necessidade de se identificar os fatores que influenciam este achado. Considerando a cinética do mercúrio, podemos concluir que estas variações inter-individuais na fração plasmática, podem alterar a taxa de eliminação do Hg e também os efeitos tóxicos decorrentes da exposição. Palavras- Chave: biomarcadores de exposição, mercúrio, variações inter-individuais / Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal widely studied worldwide. In the atmosphere Hg may occur due to natural or anthropogenic sources. It offers risk to the population due to be highly bioaccumulated and to cause harmful effects to humans. Gold Mining activities were considered in the past the main sources of Hg contamination in the Amazon region. However, new findings indicated that Hg is naturally found in the soils of the Amazon area. When reaching the aquatic systems, facilitated mainly by the erosion and for the rains, the inorganic mercury is methylated, by microorganisms, forming the more toxic form methylmercury (MeHg). This form of the metal accumulates in the sediment of the rivers and in fish, meaning the main exposure source of mercury to riverine population. Biomarkers of exposure to Hg (levels of Hg in blood, plasma, urine, hair) are frequently used to identify and to esteem the risk of an individual or a population to harmful effects. However, little it is known regarding the inter-individual variations of these biomarkers. In this sense, this study evaluated inter-individual variations in the biomarkers of exposure to mercury (Hg in plasma, blood, urine and hair) in a riverside population (Tapajós river, Pará). Volunteers (n=410), residents in 12 communities along the Tapajós river, in the state of Pará participated in the study. Total mercury (THg) levels were determinated in whole blood, plasma, red blood cells and urine and of IHg and MeHg in hair. The concentration of mercury ranged from 1.7 to 288.9 µg/L and of plasma from 0.2 to 40.0 µg/L. The concentration of THg in the plasma presented a high correlation with concentrations of Hg in total blood (r=0.7529, p<0.0001). The plasmatic fraction of THg ranged from 0.5% to 61% and did not present any correlation with the concentrations of THg in the whole blood (r= 0.06284 p=0.2041), indicating that the mobilization of Hg to the plasma does not occur to the saturation of the red blood cells. The distribution of THg between red blood cells and plasma observed in this population is in disagreement when compared to other populations. The mercury concentrations in hair ranged from 0.97 to 62.4 µg/g and presented a very strong correlation with the whole blood (r=0.8718, p<0.0001), indicating that the concentrations of Hg in hair reflect the concentrations of THg in blood. Also a strong correlation was observed among the concentrations of MeHg and of IHg in hair (r=0.8979, p<0.0001), confirming the information in the literature, that suggest the fraction of IHg in hair is due to demethylation process or by sample preparation and analysis. Regarding the ratio between concentration of mercury between hair and blood, we observed a high variation between individuals, ranged from 1:13 to 1:13274. Among the women we observed this variation occurring according to age. In conclusion our results together demonstrated a considerable inter-individual variation in the biomarkers of exposure to mercury in the study population, demonstrating probably a different rate of biotransformation and elimination of Hg in this population. Then, future studies are necessary to elucidate factors are influencing this variation.

No description available.

Dans l’hémisphère Nord, les populations de grands herbivores ont connu ces dernières décennies des modifications environnementales majeures, liées d’une part à l’augmentation importante de leur densité, et d’autre part aux changements globaux qui affectent leur habitat (notamment réchauffement climatique, modification des activités humaines, et fragmentation de l’habitat). Mieux comprendre comment ces espèces vont adapter leurs stratégies d’histoire de vie pour répondre à ces modifications est une question majeure de l’écologie des populations, et une étape nécessaire pour pouvoir adapter leur gestion aux enjeux environnementaux et sociétaux actuels. C’est dans ce contexte que nous avons étudié quelles étaient les sources de variation des tactiques de survie et de reproduction chez trois espèces de grands herbivores de montagne (l’isard Rupicapra pyreneica, le chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, et le mouflon méditerranéen Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp.). A partir de suivis longitudinaux par capture-marquage-recapture (CMR) nous nous sommes plus particulièrement focalisés sur le rôle de l’hétérogénéité individuelle latente, de la variabilité climatique et de la structuration spatiale sur les paramètres démographiques.Ce travail s’est appuyé sur l’utilisation de modèles de mélange et d’une combinaison innovante du robust-design et des modèles multi-événements pour analyser des données démographiques collectées à différentes échelles spatio-temporelles. L’hétérogénéité individuelle s’est avérée être une composante majeure de la démographie des 3 espèces étudiées, avec l’identification chez le mouflon et l’isard de femelles aux performances reproductives contrastées, et l’existence chez le chamois de différences de survie entre individus liées à la qualité de l‘habitat occupé. Ces modèles ont aussi permis de révéler une augmentation de l’investissement reproducteur en fin de vie chez les femelles de mouflon au détriment de leur survie et d’étudier chez les femelles d’isard les différentes phases de l’effort reproducteur, de la gestation au sevrage, pour mettre en évidence que seule la lactation a un coût sur la reproduction suivante. Nos résultats ont également mis en exergue le rôle prépondérant du climat hivernal et printanier sur les paramètres démographiques des 3 espèces, tout en confirmant que ces effets sont souvent spécifiques à la population et au site étudiés. Cette étude montre également que l’isard et le mouflon, bien que relativement comparables en termes de taille, de traits écologiques, et de position phylogénétique, adoptent des stratégies d’histoire de vie contrastées.Au final, nos résultats soulignent donc l’importance des études démographiques comparatives à plusieurs niveaux d’organisation (inter-espèces, inter-population, intra-population), pour mieux comprendre le devenir des espèces de grands herbivores face aux perturbations environnementales. / In Northern hemisphere, populations of large herbivores have to cope with major environmental modifications linked to the increase of their density and to global change which strongly impacts their habitat (climate change, modification of human activities and habitat fragmentation). Understanding how these species adjust their life history strategies in response to such modifications is central for population ecology and for management issues. In this context, this work aimed to identify the sources of variation of survival and reproductive tactics in 3 species of mountain ungulate (Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra pyreneica, Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, and Mediterranean mouflon Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp.). Using capture-mark-recapture monitoring we specifically investigated the role of individual heterogeneity, climate change, and spatial heterogeneity in shaping vital rates.This work relied on mixture models and an innovative combination of robust-design into a multi-events framework to explore demographic data collected at different spatio-temporal scales. Fixed heterogeneity appeared as a major demographic component in the 3 studied species by highlighting in mouflon and Pyrenean chamois two groups of females with contrasted reproductive performance, and by providing evidence in chamois of among-females differences in survival rates linked to the quality of their habitat. These models allowed us to provide evidence for the terminal investment hypothesis in female mouflon and to decompose reproductive effort in females of Pyrenean chamois from gestation to weaning, to unveil that lactation only led to cost on subsequent reproduction. Our results also highlighted the major influence of winter and spring climatic conditions on demographic parameters in the 3 studied species, and confirmed the general trend that climate effects are often species- and site-specific. Our findings provided evidence that Pyrenean chamois and mouflon evolved contrasted life history strategies, although both species share strong similarities in terms of body mass, ecological traits and phylogenetic position.Finally, our work stresses the importance of conducting comparative demographic studies, based on longitudinal monitoring of marked individuals, at inter-specific, inter-population and within population levels, to better understand and predict the future of large herbivores populations in the current context of global changes.

Ces travaux de thèse s’inscrivent dans le contexte de la prédiction de la toxicité en radiothérapie du cancer de la prostate. Dans l'objectif d'analyser les corrélations spatiales entre la dose et les effets secondaires cette problématique est abordée dans un cadre d'analyse de population. La mise en correspondance inter-individus de l'anatomie et de la distribution de dose planifiée soulève des difficultés liées aux fortes variabilités anatomiques et au faible contraste des images CT considérées. Nous avons envisagé différentes stratégies de recalage non-rigide exploitant les informations relatives aux structures anatomiques, aux combinaisons intensité-structure, ou aux relations inter-structures. Les méthodes proposées s'appuient notamment sur l’utilisation de descripteurs structurels des organes tels que les cartes de distances euclidiennes ou du champ scalaire solution de l’équation de Laplace. Ces méthodes ont permis d'améliorer significativement la précision de la mise en correspondance, tant au niveau anatomique que dosimétrique. Les plus performantes ont été utilisées pour analyser une population de 118 individus. Les comparaisons statistiques des distributions de dose entre les patients souffrant ou non de saignements rectaux ont permis d’identifier une sous-région du rectum où la dose semble corrélée à la toxicité. La sous-région rectale identifiée apparaît potentiellement impliquée et hautement prédictive du risque de saignement. L'approche proposée permet d’améliorer les performances des modèles mathématiques de prédiction de la toxicité. / This thesis deals with the issue of predicting the toxicity within the context of prostate cancer radiotherapy. With the aim of analyzing the spatial correlations between dose and side effects, this problem is addressed in a population analysis framework. Inter-individual matching of both the anatomy and planned dose distribution raises difficulties related to high anatomical variability and low contrast in the CT images. We considered different strategies for non-rigid registration involving the use of information on anatomical structures, intensity-structure combinations, or inter-structures relations. The proposed methods are primarily based on the use of structural descriptors of organs such as Euclidean distance maps or scalar field solution of the Laplace equation. These methods allowed us to significantly improve the accuracy of the matching, at both the dosimetric and the anatomical level. The most accurate matching strategy has been used for analyzing a population of. Statistical comparisons of dose distributions between patients with or without rectal bleeding have been used to identify a rectal sub-region likely correlated with toxicity. The identified rectal sub-region appears potentially involved in side effects and highly predictive of the risk of bleeding. The proposed approach makes it possible to improve the performance of mathematical models for predicting the toxicity.

Number of studies report that even when experimental animals are subjected to the exact same conditions, they differ in their behaviour. If these differences were stable in time and across several experimental procedures, we could talk about personality. This diploma thesis studies inter-individual differences in behaviour of laboratory rats (Long Evans strain) in a series of experiments conducted in early ontogeny and in adult age. Apart from analysing inter-individual differences in behaviour and personality of experimental animals, this thesis has two main aims. The first aim is assessing stability of inter-individual differences in behaviour throughout ontogeny. The second aim is to explore possible link between inter-individual differences in behaviour and performance in cognitive tests. We confirmed the existence of inter-individual difference in behaviour in laboratory rats. In this thesis we were, however, not able to assess personality of experimental animals. The differences in behaviour were best described by behaviour in Open field test and Elevated plus maze test. Our results also show marked differences between successive trials of these experiments. We also report that performance in Active allothetic place avoidance is not linked to performance in Morris water maze, even though both...

The work in this thesis deals with the ecology and evolution of adaptive individual variation. Ecologists have long used niche theory to describe the ecology of a species as a whole, treating conspecific individuals as ecological equivalent. During recent years, research about individual variation in diet and morphology has gained interest in adaptive radiations and ecological speciation. Such variation among individual niche use may have important conservation implications as well as ecological and evolutionary implications. However, up to date we know very little about the extension of this phenomenon in natural populations and the mechanisms behind it. The results in this thesis show that the extension of individual diet specialization is widely spread throughout the animal kingdom. The variation in diet is mainly correlated to morphological variation but not always. Furthermore, this variation in diet and morphology among individuals could be both genetically determined and environmentally induced and it mainly comes from trade-offs in foraging efficiency between different prey types. The results from a number of studies of perch also show that individual perch differ in morphology and diet depending on habitat, where littoral perch has a deeper body compared to pelagic perch. This difference in morphology corresponds to functional expectations and is related to foraging efficiency trade-offs between foraging in the littoral and pelagic zone of a lake. The variation in morphology in perch is mainly due to phenotypic plasticity but there are also small genetic differences between the littoral and pelagic perch. Two separate studies show that both predation and competition may be important mechanism for the variation in morphology and diet in perch. In conclusion, the results in this thesis show that individual variation in diet and habitat choice is a common phenomenon with lots of ecological and evolutionary implications. However, there are many mechanisms involved in this phenomenon on which we are just about to start learning more about, and only further research in this area will give us the full insight.

L’objectif de cette thèse était de caractériser les relations entre tempérament et performances cognitives chez le cheval et leur modulation par le stress. Le tempérament était évalué selon cinq dimensions: la peur, la réactivité à l’Homme, la grégarité, la sensibilité tactile et l’activité locomotrice. Les relations entre ces dimensions et les performances lors de tâches instrumentales et de mémoire de travail ont été recherchées. La dimension de peur semble particulièrement essentielle et son influence dépend du stress : elle aurait un effet positif sur les performances cognitives en cas de stress intrinsèque, c’est-à-dire lorsque la tâche est elle-même source de stress, et un effet négatif en cas de stress extrinsèque. En l’absence de facteur de stress, ces relations sont plus contrastées. Dans une moindre mesure, des relations entre performances cognitives et les autres dimensions de tempérament ont été observées. L’activité locomotrice a une influence positive sur les performances qui ne ressort qu’en présence de facteurs de stress, qu’ils soient extrinsèques ou intrinsèques. Ce travail de thèse permet de contribuer à la caractérisation des liens entre tempérament et cognition, qui est un champ d’étude en pleine expansion, et met en évidence l’importance du stress dans la compréhension ces relations. / The aim of the current thesis was to characterize the relationships between temperament and cognitive performances in horses and their modulation when influenced by stress. The temperament was evaluated considering five dimensions: fearfulness, reactivity to humans, gregariousness, tactile sensitivity and locomotor activity. The relationships between these dimensions and performances during instrumental learning tasks as well as working memory tests have been investigated. The dimension of fearfulness seems particularly important and its influence depends on the presence or absence of stressor. Fearfulness has a positive effect on performances in case of intrinsic stress, i.e. the cognitive task is the source of stress; and a negative effect in case of extrinsic stress. Without any stressor, these relationships are more contrasted. To a lesser extent, relationships between cognitive performances and the other dimensions of temperament have been found. Especially, the dimension of locomotor activity has a positive effect on performances that stands out only in presence of stressors, whether they are intrinsic or extrinsic. This thesis contributes to the characterization of links between temperament and cognition, which is a field of study in a wide expansion, and shows the importance of stress in order to understand these relations.

The underlying causes of variability in the electrical activity of hearts from individuals of the same species are not well understood. Understanding this variability is important to enable prediction of the response of individual hearts to diseases and therapies. Current experimental and computational methods for investigating the behaviour of the heart do not incorporate biological variation between individuals. In experimental studies, experimental results are averaged together to control errors and determine the average behaviour of the studied organism. In computational studies, averaged experimental data is usually used to develop models, and these models therefore represent a 'typical' organism, with all information on variability within the species having been lost. In this thesis we develop a methodology for modelling variability between individuals of the same species in cardiac cellular electrophysiology, motivated by the inability of traditional computational modelling approaches to capture experimental variability. A first study is conducted using traditional modelling approaches to investigate potentially pro-arrhythmic abnormalities in rabbit Purkinje fibres. A comparison with experimental recordings highlights their wide variability and the inability of existing computer modelling approaches to capture it. This leads to the development of a novel methodology that integrates the variability observed in experimental data with computational modelling and simulation, by building experimentally-calibrated populations of computational models, that collectively span the variability seen in experimental data. We apply this methodology to construct a population of rabbit Purkinje cell models. We show that our population of models can quantitatively predict the range of responses, not just the average response, to application of the potassium channel blocking drug dofetilide. This demonstrates an important potential application of our methodology, for predicting pro-arrhythmic drug effects in safety pharmacology. We then analyse a data set of experimental recordings from human ventricular tissue preparations, and use this data to develop a population of human ventricular cell models. We apply this population to study how variability between individuals alters the susceptibility of cardiac cells to developing drug-induced repolarisation abnormalities. These abnormalities can increase the chance of fatal arrhythmias, but the mechanisms that determine individual susceptibility are not well-understood.