Venue: Centre Broca
Prof James Poulet
Max Delbrück Center, Berlin, Germany
Invited by Olga Barba Vila (IINS)
Title
Neuronal circuits of thermal perception
Abstract
The thermosensory system plays a fundamental role in shaping somatosensory perception, regulating core body physiology and protecting organisms from environmental harm. Compared with other sensory systems, the neural circuits underlying thermal perception are less understood. However, recent advances have provided insights into the wiring of the thermosensory pathways, cellular principles of thermal encoding, and their relationship to perception. Traditionally regarded as a relatively slow and modulatory sense, it is now recognized as a fast, highly sensitive sensory system capable of complex computations including multisensory integration and the generation of sensory illusions. Here I discuss recent progress in the understanding of the neural mechanisms of innocuous thermal processing and perception. Intriguingly, although warm and cool reflect opposite changes along the same physical dimension, they differ markedly in both their perception and encoding in the nervous system. I argue that the thermal system is an excellent model to advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms of sensory perception and sensory guided behaviours.
Selected publications:
- Bokiniec P., Whitmire C., Poulet J.F.A. (Neuron, in press) Population encoding of cool and warm by thermoreceptors, bioRxiv DOI: 10.1101/2024.11.28.625856
- Carta M., Vestergaard M., Poulet JFA (2026). The neuronal circuits and cellular encoding of thermosensation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 27,219-235. DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-01001-5
- Leva T., Whitmire C., Sauve I., Bokiniec P., Memler C., Horn B., Vestergaard M., Carta M., Poulet J.F.A. (2024) The cellular representation of temperature across the somatosensory thalamus. bioRxiv, DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.13.580167.
- Vestergaard, M., Carta, M., Güney, G., and Poulet, J.F.A. (2023). The cellular coding of temperature in the mammalian cortex. Nature, 614, 725–731. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05705-5
- Milenkovic N., Zhao W.-J., Walcher J., Albert T., Siemens J-E, Lewin G. Poulet J.F.A. (2014) A somatosensory circuit for cooling perception in mice. Nature Neuroscience, 17: 1560-1566. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3828
Meet the speaker!
You are a research staff ? Write to Julia Goncalves who will organize the schedule.
You are a PhD student? You can register to share some pizza after the talk.
PhD seminars are organized by the NBA, Bordeaux Neurocampus, and the Bordeaux Neurocampus Graduate Program.
