Zytnicki Daniel

Biography

Daniel Zytnicki is an expert in the electrophysiological study of motoneurons in vivo. He was the first to use the dynamic clamp technique in vivo (Brizzi et al. 2004). He has been collaborating for more than ten years with C. Meunier, a theoretical physicist. They published together a series of interdisciplinary studies where they progressively unravel the mechanisms underlying the functional properties of spinal motoneurons. He recently developped with Marin Manuel a new preparation allowing for the first time ever to make stable in vivo intracellular recordings of spinal motoneurons in mice. He is now studying the mechanisms of motoneuron degeneration in mutant mice exhibiting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. D. Zytnicki trained several students (Boris Lamotte d’Incamps, Jean-François Perrier, Marin Manuel) and post-docs (Lena Ting, Caroline Iglesias) who have become recognized experts. He obtained the Foulon prize of the french Academy of Sciences for his contributions to our understanding of proprioception.

Research Interest

Neurology