La voix est un stimulus auditif omniprésent dans notre environnement sonore. Elle permet non seulement la parole, mais serait aussi l’équivalent d’un visage auditif transmettant notamment des informations identitaires et affectives importantes. Notre capacité à discriminer et reconnaître des voix est socialement et biologiquement importante et elle figure parmi les fonctions les plus importantes du système auditif humain. La présente thèse s’intéressait à l’ontogénèse et à la spécificité de la réponse corticale à la voix humaine et avait pour but trois objectifs : (1) mettre sur pied un protocole électrophysiologique permettant de mesurer objectivement le traitement de la familiarité de la voix chez le sujet adulte; (2) déterminer si ce même protocole pouvait aussi objectiver chez le nouveau-né de 24 heures un traitement préférentiel d’une voix familière, notamment la voix de la mère; et (3) mettre à l’épreuve la robustesse d’une mesure électrophysiologique, notamment la Fronto-Temporal Positivity to Voices, s’intéressant à la discrimination pré-attentionnelle entre des stimuli vocaux et non-vocaux. Les résultats découlant des trois études expérimentales qui composent cette thèse ont permis (1) d’identifier des composantes électrophysiologiques (Mismatch Negativity et P3a) sensibles au traitement de la familiarité d’une voix; (2) de mettre en lumière un patron d’activation corticale singulier à la voix de la mère chez le nouveau-né, fournissant le premier indice neurophysiologique de l’acquisition du langage, processus particulièrement lié à l’interaction mère-enfant; et (3) de confirmer l’aspect pré-attentionnel de la distinction entre une voix et un stimulus non-vocal tout en accentuant la sélectivité et la sensibilité de la réponse corticale réservée au traitement de la voix. / Voice is a very prominent auditory stimulus in our acoustic environment. It is not only the carrier of speech, but would also be an auditory face that conveys important affective and identity information. Our ability to discriminate and recognize voices is socially and biologically important as it is amongst the most important functions of the human auditory system. This thesis was interested in the ontogenesis and specificity of the cortical response to human voice and had three objectives: (1) to develop an electrophysiological protocol to objectively measure the processing of voice familiarity in adult subjects; (2) to assess whether the same electrophysiological protocol could also objectify preferential processing of a familiar voice in 24-hour-old newborns, in particular the mother’s voice; and (3) to test the robustness of an electrophysiological measure, more specifically the Fronto-Temporal Positivity to Voices, interested in pre-attentional discrimination between vocal and non-vocal stimuli. Results from these three experimental designs have enabled (1) to identify electrophysiological components (Mismatch Negativity and P3a) sensitive to the processing of voice familiarity; (2) to highlight a singular pattern of cortical activation to the mother’s voice in newborns, providing the first neurophysiological evidence of language acquisition, a process especially related to the mother-child interaction; and (3) to confirm that vocal/non-vocal discrimination is a pre-attentional process, while enhancing the selectivity and the specificity of voice processing cortical response.

La voix est un stimulus auditif omniprésent dans notre environnement sonore. Elle permet non seulement la parole, mais serait aussi l’équivalent d’un visage auditif transmettant notamment des informations identitaires et affectives importantes. Notre capacité à discriminer et reconnaître des voix est socialement et biologiquement importante et elle figure parmi les fonctions les plus importantes du système auditif humain. La présente thèse s’intéressait à l’ontogénèse et à la spécificité de la réponse corticale à la voix humaine et avait pour but trois objectifs : (1) mettre sur pied un protocole électrophysiologique permettant de mesurer objectivement le traitement de la familiarité de la voix chez le sujet adulte; (2) déterminer si ce même protocole pouvait aussi objectiver chez le nouveau-né de 24 heures un traitement préférentiel d’une voix familière, notamment la voix de la mère; et (3) mettre à l’épreuve la robustesse d’une mesure électrophysiologique, notamment la Fronto-Temporal Positivity to Voices, s’intéressant à la discrimination pré-attentionnelle entre des stimuli vocaux et non-vocaux. Les résultats découlant des trois études expérimentales qui composent cette thèse ont permis (1) d’identifier des composantes électrophysiologiques (Mismatch Negativity et P3a) sensibles au traitement de la familiarité d’une voix; (2) de mettre en lumière un patron d’activation corticale singulier à la voix de la mère chez le nouveau-né, fournissant le premier indice neurophysiologique de l’acquisition du langage, processus particulièrement lié à l’interaction mère-enfant; et (3) de confirmer l’aspect pré-attentionnel de la distinction entre une voix et un stimulus non-vocal tout en accentuant la sélectivité et la sensibilité de la réponse corticale réservée au traitement de la voix. / Voice is a very prominent auditory stimulus in our acoustic environment. It is not only the carrier of speech, but would also be an auditory face that conveys important affective and identity information. Our ability to discriminate and recognize voices is socially and biologically important as it is amongst the most important functions of the human auditory system. This thesis was interested in the ontogenesis and specificity of the cortical response to human voice and had three objectives: (1) to develop an electrophysiological protocol to objectively measure the processing of voice familiarity in adult subjects; (2) to assess whether the same electrophysiological protocol could also objectify preferential processing of a familiar voice in 24-hour-old newborns, in particular the mother’s voice; and (3) to test the robustness of an electrophysiological measure, more specifically the Fronto-Temporal Positivity to Voices, interested in pre-attentional discrimination between vocal and non-vocal stimuli. Results from these three experimental designs have enabled (1) to identify electrophysiological components (Mismatch Negativity and P3a) sensitive to the processing of voice familiarity; (2) to highlight a singular pattern of cortical activation to the mother’s voice in newborns, providing the first neurophysiological evidence of language acquisition, a process especially related to the mother-child interaction; and (3) to confirm that vocal/non-vocal discrimination is a pre-attentional process, while enhancing the selectivity and the specificity of voice processing cortical response.

The present paper examines the N1 by N1 construction using corpus linguistic methodology.The distribution of types of the construction that occur more than once either unhyphenated or hyphenated in any subcorpus of the British National Corpus accessed through the BrighamYoung University interface is examined. Written and spoken language as well as variousgenres are compared. Hyphenation is also investigated. A collocation analysis of some typesof the construction is further carried out and it is concluded that the N1 by N1 construction canbe part of the on a N1 by N1 basis construction. Results from the quantitative analysis as wellas the qualitative discussion suggest that the N P N construction may be undergoinglexicalisation starting as an adverbial and moving to functioning as a premodifier. Thissuggestion is indicated through complementary diachronic searches in the Oxford EnglishDictionary. It is also indicated that the construction may follow a development pattern similarto that of N1 to N1. The notion of construction is discussed in relation to the N1 by N1 construction, and a hierarchical view of constructions is proposed as a solution to some of theproblems with the term.

Résumé : Il semble que le cerveau atténuerait les stimuli provenant de nos actions par rapport aux stimuli d’origine externe, ceci afin d’augmenter la pertinence des informations environnementales. Lors de la production d’un mouvement, la copie de la commande motrice serait utilisée pour anticiper les conséquences sensorielles. Les conséquences sensorielles prédites permettraient ainsi d’atténuer les réafférences réelles du mouvement. Plusieurs évidences montrent que l’activité corticale liée aux réafférences somatosensorielles et auditives est atténuée lorsque celles-ci résultent de nos propres mouvements par rapport à lorsqu’elles proviennent d’une cause externe. L’étude présentée dans ce mémoire a investigué l’existence d’une atténuation des réafférences visuelles lors d’un mouvement d’atteinte du bras vers une cible. L’expérience consistait en une tâche de pointage de la main vers une cible visuelle, pendant laquelle l’activité EEG des sujets était enregistrée. L’intervalle de temps entre la position réelle de la main et le curseur visuel associé à celle-ci était manipulé. De fait, le retour visuel était fourni soit en temps réel soit avec un retard de 150 ms. Le délai créait ainsi un décalage entre les conséquences visuelles prédites et réelles du mouvement. Les résultats montrent que l’amplitude de la composante N1 du Potentiel Évoqué Visuel (PEV) associé au retour visuel de la main était réduite dans le cortex pariétal lorsque le retour visuel était fourni en temps réel par rapport à lorsqu’il était présenté en retard. Conséquemment, ces données suggèrent que les réafférences visuelles du membre en mouvement sont atténuées au niveau cortical lorsqu’elles correspondent aux prédictions. L’association des résultats comportementaux et électrophysiologiques supportent également d’autres études qui montrent que les processus sensorimoteurs sont plus fins que la perception consciente. À la lumière de la littérature, la modulation de la composante N1 enregistrée aux électrodes pariéto-occipitales suggère l’implication des régions pariétales dans l’intégration des retours sensoriels et des prédictions motrices. En discussion, nous proposons que les retours visuels liés au contrôle en ligne du membre soient modulés au niveau pariétal en raison des prédictions motrices cérébelleuses, à l’instar des retours tactiles. / Abstract : It is well established that the cortical processing of somatosensory and auditory signals is attenuated when they result from self-generated actions as compared to external events. This phenomenon is thought to result from an efference copy of motor commands used to predict the sensory consequences of an action through a forward model. The present work examined whether attenuation also takes place for visual reafferent signals from the moving limb during voluntary reaching movements. To address this issue, EEG activity was recorded in a condition in which visual feedback of the hand was provided in real time and compared to a condition in which it was presented with a 150 ms delay, thus creating a mismatch between the predicted and actual visual consequences of the movement. Results revealed that the amplitude of the N1 component of the visual ERP evoked by hand visual feedback over the parietal cortex was significantly smaller when presented in real time as compared to when it was delayed. These data suggest that the cortical processing of visual reafferent signals is attenuated when they are correctly predicted, likely as a result of a forward model.

The ability to correct balance disturbances is essential for maintaining upright stability. Recent literature highlights a potentially important role for the cerebral cortex in controlling compensatory balance reactions. The objective of this research was to provide a more detailed understanding of the specific neurophysiologic events occurring at the cortex following balance disturbances. More specifically, the focus was to determine whether the N1, a cortical potential evoked during balance control, and the error-related negativity (ERN), a cortical potential measured in response to errors during cognitive tasks, have similar cortical representation, revealing a similar link to an error detection mechanism. It was hypothesized that the N1 and ERN would have the same generator located in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Fourteen healthy young adults participated in a balance task (evoked N1) and a flanker task (evoked ERN). Temporally unpredictable perturbations to standing balance were achieved using a lean and release cable system. Electromyography and centre of pressure were measured during the balance task. Reaction times and error rates were measured during the flanker task. Electroencephalography was recorded during both tasks. Source localization was performed in CURRY 6 using a single fixed coherent dipole model to determine the neural generator of the N1 and ERN. The results revealed that the locations of the N1 and ERN dipoles were different. The mean (n=9) distance between N1 and ERN dipoles was 25.46 ± 8.88 mm. The mean Talairach coordinates for the ERN dipole were (6.47 ± 3.08, -4.41 ± 13.15, 41.17 ± 11.63) mm, corresponding to the cingulate gyrus (Brodmann area 24). This represents the ACC, supporting results from previous literature. The mean Talairach coordinates for the N1 dipole were (5.74 ± 3.77, -11.81 ± 10.84, 53.73 ± 7.30) mm, corresponding to the medial frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 6). This is the first work to localize the source of the N1. It is speculated that the generator of the N1 is the supplementary motor area and that it represents the generation of a contingency motor plan to shape the later phases of the compensatory balance response based on sensory feedback from the perturbation.

The ability to correct balance disturbances is essential for maintaining upright stability. Recent literature highlights a potentially important role for the cerebral cortex in controlling compensatory balance reactions. The objective of this research was to provide a more detailed understanding of the specific neurophysiologic events occurring at the cortex following balance disturbances. More specifically, the focus was to determine whether the N1, a cortical potential evoked during balance control, and the error-related negativity (ERN), a cortical potential measured in response to errors during cognitive tasks, have similar cortical representation, revealing a similar link to an error detection mechanism. It was hypothesized that the N1 and ERN would have the same generator located in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Fourteen healthy young adults participated in a balance task (evoked N1) and a flanker task (evoked ERN). Temporally unpredictable perturbations to standing balance were achieved using a lean and release cable system. Electromyography and centre of pressure were measured during the balance task. Reaction times and error rates were measured during the flanker task. Electroencephalography was recorded during both tasks. Source localization was performed in CURRY 6 using a single fixed coherent dipole model to determine the neural generator of the N1 and ERN. The results revealed that the locations of the N1 and ERN dipoles were different. The mean (n=9) distance between N1 and ERN dipoles was 25.46 ± 8.88 mm. The mean Talairach coordinates for the ERN dipole were (6.47 ± 3.08, -4.41 ± 13.15, 41.17 ± 11.63) mm, corresponding to the cingulate gyrus (Brodmann area 24). This represents the ACC, supporting results from previous literature. The mean Talairach coordinates for the N1 dipole were (5.74 ± 3.77, -11.81 ± 10.84, 53.73 ± 7.30) mm, corresponding to the medial frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 6). This is the first work to localize the source of the N1. It is speculated that the generator of the N1 is the supplementary motor area and that it represents the generation of a contingency motor plan to shape the later phases of the compensatory balance response based on sensory feedback from the perturbation.

No description available.

Behavioral perceptions and cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) from native English (N=10) and Spanish speakers (N=10) were recorded for speech stimuli that constitute phonetically relevant categories of voicing. The stimuli were synthesized bilabial stop consonant-vowel syllables in a continuum ranging from/ba/to/pa/that varied in voice onset time (VOT) from 0 to 60ms. Different behavioral perceptions were evidenced by significantly different categorical phonetic boundaries between the two groups (p.05). Peak P1, N1, and P2 response latencies and P1–N1 and N1–P2 amplitudes increased significantly with increasing VOTs (p

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Estudios Latinoamericanos / Este trabajo de investigación pretende realizar un estudio de las políticas públicas ligadas a la extensión de las artes visuales de Chile y Brasil en las décadas de los cuarenta y los cincuenta, enfocándose en dos eventos fundamentales para la modernización de la institucionalidad artística. El primero, la fundación del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de la Universidad de Chile en 1947. Y, el segundo, la fundación del Museo de arte Moderno de Sao Paulo en 1948 y la posterior realización de la Bienal de Arte de la misma ciudad en 1951. Dicho estudio refiere a los modelos de financiamiento que se entregaron para la fundación de dichas instituciones, el primero de carácter estatal llevado a cabo por la Universidad de Chile y el segundo, de carácter privado, llevado a cabo por la élite metalúrgica paulista, analizando las programáticas y marcos ideológicos que delimitaron las inauguraciones de las institucionalidades y el cómo estas se insertan en las redes de intercambio mundial del arte.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous and their adverse impact on nature, wildlife and humans is extensively researched. We are constantly exposed to EDCs, such as the widespread and extensively researched Bisphenol A, as well as its substitute Bisphenol F, which is coming into wider use, even though it is much less is researched and limited information is available about its endocrine effects. Realistically, we are exposed to mixtures rather than single substances. In the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and Child, Asthma and allergy (SELMA) study, the co-exposure of EDCs was assessed. Based on the SELMA cohort data, a study identified a mixture of EDCs, Mixture N1, which is associated with delayed language development. In recent years, it has been hypothesized that epigenetic alterations are one of the underlying mechanisms for the effect of EDC exposures. For example, EDC induced changes in DNA Methylation of the promoter region of a gene might lead to altered gene expression, which can result in adverse health effects. Several studies already indicate an impact of the formerly introduced chemicals/mixtures on the DNA methylation on genes such as NR3C1 and GRIN2B in animals. However, limited research is available on the impact on NR3C1 and GRIN2B in the early human brain, which is of interest since both genes are crucial for the development of the brain and altered gene expression often leads to adverse effects. This study aimed to investigate the impact of BPA, BPF and Mixture N1 on NR3C1 and GRIN2B in the developing human brain as well as establish a protocol for differentiation of human stem cells into neuroprogenitor cells that express GRIN2B and NR3C1. In the end stem cells were differentiated in vitro into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) using the protocol of Hosseini et al. (2020). During the differentiation, the cells were exposed to different concentrations of the former mentioned chemicals. Afterwards, RNA and DNA were extracted, followed by a qPCR and bisulfite-pyrosequencing to investigate the changes in gene expression and DNA methylation of NR3C1 and GRIN2B. This study established the differentiation protocol but revealed no significant results regarding the chemical exposure. However, some chemical exposures showed a clear tendency towards an impact of the chemicals on the gene expression and the DNA methylation. Furthermore, a negative correlation between DNA methylation at 2 CpG sites and gene expression in NR3C1 could be observed. In conclusion, the DNA methylation at promoter region in NR3C1 is important for the gene expression.