Les publications successives de recherches neuroscientifiques relatives au sens moral ont relancé le débat sur l'existence de valeurs morales communes et naturelles.En effet, s'esquisse l'hypothèse de l'existence de zones cérébrales dédiées à un sens moral, qui serait, d'une part, une capacité au jugement moral, et d'autre part, constitué de valeurs protosystématiques.Par suite la thèse d'une distinction entre sens moral et mœurs connait une recrudescence et des théories naturalistes qui apparaissaient dépassées par le triomphe du relativisme culturel semblent ravivées.La thèse tente de montrer comment ces travaux, qui revisitent les fondements de la morale et tendent à en réviser la définition, pourraient déstabiliser l'assise actuelle de l'analyse des rapports entre droit et morale. Par exemple, s'il existait bien un phénomène d'édification sélective de mœurs diversifiées à partir d'une base commune, quel pourrait-être le rôle du droit dans cette dynamique ? En outre, ces travaux pourraient avoir des incidences en droit tant conceptuelles que pratiques autour de la question de la responsabilité juridique. / Successive publications of neuroscientific research on moral sense have revived the debate about the existence of common natural and moral values.Indeed, the hypothesis of the existence of brain areas dedicated to a moral sense is sketched. This moral sense would be, first, a capacity to moral judgment, and secondly would consists of protosystematics values. This is why the thesis of a distinction between morality and moral sense is experiencing a resurgence, and naturalistic theories that appeared overwhelmed by the triumph of cultural relativism seem revived.The thesis attempts to show how these works, which revisit the foundations of morality and tend to revise the definition, could destabilize the current base of the analysis of the relationship between law and morality. For example, if a phenomenon of selective edification of diverse mores from a common basis exists, what might be the role of law in this dynamic? In addition, this work could have conceptual and practical implications in law, around the question of legal liability.

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The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays an important role in reward-based decision-making, linking higher-order thinking and emotions. Because of this area's dense connectivity it is important to study the properties of the excitatory and inhibitory network that governs ACC output. The aim of this study was to characterize the morphology of dendritic excitatory postsynaptic sites and inhibitory inputs on layer 2 and layer 3 ACC pyramidal neurons, the principal intracortical projection neurons of the cortex. Using biocytin-filling and high-resolution confocal imaging, we quantified the distribution of dendritic spines, the major sites of excitatory input, on pyramidal cells. We visualized inhibitory inputs apposed to specific pyramidal cell compartments, including the axon initial segment, soma, dendrites, and dendritic spines, through immunohistochemical labeling of vesicular γ-aminobutyric acid transporter. Layer 2 and layer 3 cells had similar spine densities on their apical and basal dendritic compartments, with a maximum spine density occurring in their middle apical and middle basal compartments. Axon initial segments of layer 3 cells had a higher density of inhibitory input compared to the layer 2 cells (0.84 vs 0.66 apps/μm). The apical dendritic shaft had a higher apposition density than the basal dendritic shaft in an individual layer (layer 2, 0.50 vs 0.32; layer 3, 0.50 vs 0.28 apps/μm) with the majority of the innervation occurring on the proximal compartments of both apical and basal segments. Although located in different laminae, these cells showed similar inhibitory input distributions, with higher amounts of inhibition proximally. Finally, these inhibitory inputs also occurred on dendritic spines, with the highest density on thin spines. However, proportionally, mushroom spines had the highest level of innervation, with up to 44% of these spines receiving inhibitory input. These findings add to the understanding of how inhibition at the cellular level can affect the output of the ACC and begin to uncover important relationships between cellular structure and function in this brain region.

<p> ABSTRACT The nervous system comprises more diverse and intricately specialized cell types than any other tissue in the body. Understanding the developmental mechanisms that generate cellular diversity in the nervous system is a major challenge in neuroscience. The nematode <i>C. elegans</i> offers the opportunity to study neuronal development at the molecular level with extraordinary resolution.</p><p> My dissertation focuses on the elucidation of genetic mechanisms required for the proper development of the chemosensory BAG neurons, which are specialized for detecting the respiratory gas carbon dioxide (CO₂). Analogs of these neurons play diverse roles in animals from different phyla. CO₂-sensing neurons in the mammalian brainstem are critical regulators of the respiratory motor program, and their dysfunction has been linked to fatal apneas such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In nematodes, CO₂-sensing neurons mediate an avoidance behavior, but their ethological function was not known.</p><p> In my initial studies of BAG neuron development, I demonstrated that a conserved ETS-family transcription factor directly regulates genes required for CO₂-sensing, including the receptor-type guanylate cyclase, GCY-9, which likely functions as a CO₂ receptor. To uncover other genes that function together with <i>ets-5,</i> I carried out a large-scale chemical mutagenesis screen for mutants with improper BAG neuron differentiation. From this screen I identified two new genes required for BAG neuron development: the Pax6 homolog <i>vab-3</i> and the p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein (MAP) kinase <i>pmk-3</i>.</p><p> VAB-3 likely acts during embryonic development to pattern the expression of ETS-5 in head neurons of <i>C. elegans</i>. In loss of function <i> vab-3</i> mutants, ETS-5 protein is misexpressed in hypodermal cells and a motor neuron, in addition to its expression in BAG. VAB-3 likely represses transcription of ETS-5 in some lineages, such as those that give rise to hypodermal cells.</p><p> I next demonstrated that the p38 MAPK PMK-3 functions in a Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway. This discovery revealed an unexpected role for TLR signaling in neuronal differentiation. Because TLR signaling was known to be required for behavioral responses to microbes, I tested whether BAG neurons were required for pathogen avoidance. I found that this was the case and propose that TLR signaling functions in pathogen avoidance by promoting the development and function of chemosensory neurons that surveil the metabolic activity of environmental microbes.</p><p> Because ETS-5, VAB-3 and TOL-1 are members of gene families that are conserved between nematodes and vertebrates, a similar mechanism might act in the specification and differentiation of CO₂-sensing neurons in other phyla.</p>

<p> The purpose of this paper will be to discuss current research in color preference and personality types and add new value to the literature by evaluating the relationship between personality type and color preference for color combinations from a consumer behavior perspective. In order to accomplish the aims of this work, a quantitative color preference survey was created and administered to 97 participants to determine individual color preference for analogous, complimentary, identical, and random color combinations. In addition, participants completed the 16 PF personality assessment to determine the personality factor scores of Extraversion and Independence. The results of this study suggest relationships between the personality types of Extroversion and Independence and color preference for random color combinations. These findings add value to color and personality research and can be strategically applied in a business organization&rsquo;s branding, product design, marketing, or sales training efforts to positively influence consumer-purchasing decisions. </p>

<p>In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), social and emotional dysfunction has been interpreted as a secondary consequence of the broad impact of amygdala and fear circuitry dysregulation. However, research in social neuroscience has uncovered a number of neural systems involved in attachment and emotional regulation that may be impacted by trauma. One example is the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is implicated in human beings&rsquo; sense of self and ability to connect with others. </p><p> This qualitative study explored the impact of physical and emotional traumata on the structures and functions of the DMN. The goal was to determine if dysregulation of the DMN could account for aspects of the psychological and social dysfunction found in PTSD. This study explored the following two questions: 1. What does the research literature tell us about the role of the DMN? 2. How does trauma impact DMN functioning? </p><p> The DMN has been associated primarily with autobiographical recall, self-referential processing, social cognition, prospection, and moral sensitivity. The DMN appears to support internal reflective capacity, further maintaining and connecting self-functions and social cognition. Trauma results in internetwork rigidity, as well as overall reductions in DMN activity, volume, and connectivity. These objective changes result in a Traumatized Resting State (TRS), characterized by increased Salience Network connectivity and reductions in Central Executive functioning. Studies suggest that a TRS develops in reaction to acute trauma, even before the development of PTSD, and may continue despite the stabilization of other networks. Overall, DMN incoherence significantly disrupts core psychosocial processes. </p>

<p> This interdisciplinary study examines episodic memory and instrumental timbre as structural analogs, and explores the potential of their relationships within a compositional framework. The paper begins by framing contemporary models of memory and timbre within the notion of topology&mdash;the ways in which patterns of components are interrelated within an abstract space, and how those patterns remain consistent or degrade over time. I proceed to probe the ways in which both memorial and timbral processes are constructed upon spectra of stability and coherence, and examine the role of &ldquo;place&rdquo; in the establishment of these spectra. My analysis occurs at one possible intersection of neurology, psychoacoustics, spectral composition, and the poetics of memoir. The second half of the paper is concerned with how these theories are applied in practice within my composition fragments in autumn for cello trio and electronics. A personal history, structural analysis, and close reading of the piece demonstrates the possibilities of memory as a compositional/timbral process, as well as the difficulties and instabilities that are inherent in such an endeavor. Through both creative and scholarly modes of inquiry, I pose to myself and the reader: How can music function as an act of translation in regard to something as opaque and personal as memory? How can the resonant properties of an instrument be treated with the same complexities and nuances of a remembering mind? How might these processes of memory move away from modes of &ldquo;story-telling&rdquo; and toward a more abstract exploration of topological contours? How do these models of timbre and memory function as prescriptive frameworks for composing, and where do they break down?</p>

<p> The observation that the hippocampus is required for memory and spatial navigation has led to extensive study of the hippocampal neural circuit. Past research has focused on established patterns of hippocampal neural activity, such as the classic place cell code and the theta network pattern. However, we still have only a preliminary understanding of how the hippocampus performs cognitive functions. This may be the case because there still remain unknown yet fundamental patterns of hippocampal neural activity. </p><p> To investigate this possibility, we recorded neural activity in the hippocampus of rats engaged in a spatial memory task. In this thesis I describe four previously unidentified patterns of hippocampal neural activity: (1) spatially specific neural firing that is more active when animals are at rest, (2) a &sim;200 ms network pattern that is associated with spatial firing at rest, (3) spatially specific, transient neural firing at the time of behavioral transitions between movement and rest, and (4) a high frequency (65-140 Hz) network pattern that entrains neural firing throughout the hippocampus. I postulate that these patterns of activity have essential roles in complex hippocampal functions. </p>

<p>Phenomenologically, humans effectively label and report feeling distinct emotions, yet the extent to which emotions are represented categorically in nervous system activity is controversial. Theoretical accounts differ in this regard, some positing distinct emotional experiences emerge from a dimensional representation (e.g., along axes of valence and arousal) whereas others propose emotions are natural categories, with dedicated neural bases and associated response profiles. This dissertation aims to empirically assess these theoretical accounts by examining how emotions are represented (either as disjoint categories or as points along continuous dimensions) in autonomic and central nervous system activity by integrating psychophysiological recording and functional neuroimaging with machine-learning based analytical methods. Results demonstrate that experientially, emotional events are well-characterized both along dimensional and categorical frameworks. Measures of central and peripheral responding discriminate among emotion categories, but are largely independent of valence and arousal. These findings suggest dimensional and categorical aspects of emotional experience are driven by separable neural substrates and demonstrate that emotional states can be objectively quantified on the basis of nervous system activity.</p> / Dissertation