Massimo Vergassola

Decaying and expanding Erk gradients process memory of skeletal size during zebrafish fin regeneration

The paper quantifies Erk signaling gradients in zebrafish fin regeneration and shows they scale with tissue amputation size to control skeletal regeneration.

Rapid transcriptional response to a dynamic morphogen by time integration

The paper shows that cells interpret dynamic morphogen signals through temporal integration and spatial competence, using Drosophila BMP gradients to demonstrate this mechanism.

Manifold learning for olfactory habituation to strongly fluctuating backgrounds

The paper shows that manifold learning, implemented via inhibitory interneurons with IBCM plasticity, enables olfactory habituation to fluctuating backgrounds better than mean subtraction methods.

Mice navigate scent trails using predictive policies

This study shows mice use predictive policies to navigate scent trails by integrating bilateral olfactory input and short-term memory.

Uncovering multiscale structure in the variability of larval zebrafish navigation

The paper develops a method to analyze behavioral variability in larval zebrafish by identifying motor strategies and their transitions across different environmental cues.

Scale-independent topological interactions drive the first fate decision in the Drosophila embryo

The paper shows that topological spindle-spindle interactions, not internuclear distance, control spindle orientation and nuclear fate in Drosophila embryos.

Antagonistic odor interactions in olfactory sensory neurons are widespread in freely breathing mice

The paper shows that antagonistic interactions between odors are common in olfactory sensory neurons of freely breathing mice, helping to normalize activity and reduce saturation in complex odor mixtures.

Progressive recruitment of distal MEC-4 channels determines touch response strength in C. elegans

The paper shows that stronger touch stimuli recruit more distant mechano-electrical transduction channels in C. elegans, increasing touch response amplitude and kinetics.

Odorant receptor inhibition is fundamental to odor encoding

The paper investigates how odorant receptor inhibition shapes neuronal responses to complex odors and finds that OR antagonism, inverse agonism, and partial agonism are common and combinatorial in olfactory sensory neurons.

Antagonism in olfactory receptor neurons and its implications for the perception of odor mixtures

The paper models how mammalian olfactory receptor neurons process odor mixtures, showing antagonistic interactions lead to normalization of glomerular responses and improve odor discrimination.

Complete coverage of space favors modularity of the grid system in the brain

The paper uses statistical physics to show that grid cell modularity optimizes spatial coverage in the brain.