Serge Ahmed

Biography

 The rhythmic motor behaviors are elaborated by networks of neurons of the central nervous system. However, it is essential to adapt these centrally programmed activities to the behavioral needs and environmental constraints encountered by the organization. Initially, using motor-clock generator circuits belonging to "simple" nervous systems (in crustaceans), he was interested in the cellular and synaptic mechanisms by which these activities can be modified in the short or medium term, in particular by proprioceptive returns and neuromodulatory afferents, in order to adapt to the needs encountered by the animal. More recently, he has discussed the mechanisms underlying the " In addition to growth, which is inherent in all living organisms, this organization can undergo profound transformations (accident, for example) which require greater functional reorganization by the nervous system. In order to determine the mechanisms underlying these long-term plasticity capacities, we chose to study the locomotor apparatus of the amphibian Xenopus laevis at the time of its transformation from the larval form (wave swimming) to the adult form (appendicular swimming) during metamorphosis. Indeed, the animal undergoes dramatic changes continuously (pushes limbs, It is the neural mechanisms of this dynamic developmental reorganization of the nervous system and sensory-motor functions that he study in this new research axis.  

Research Interest

 Neurology