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En 1810, Gall et Spurzheim posent le diagnostic suivant : la piètre connaissance du substrat cérébral des facultés mentales doit être imputée à la longue inféodation de l’anatomie par la métaphysique. Dans le présent article, nous interrogeons un tel jugement historique à partir du Discours sur l’anatomie du cerveau de Niels Steensen. La présentation des « systèmes » de localisation cérébrale que Steensen critique (celui des « Anciens », celui de Thomas Willis et celui de Descartes) nous permettra d’abord de brosser un tableau des différentes conceptions possibles du « siège de l’âme » au XVIIe siècle. Nous montrerons ensuite comment, dans ces trois cas de figure, la mise en correspondance d’une anatomie neurocérébrale lacunaire et d’une topique des grandes facultés mentales conduit à postuler que telle ou telle partie cérébrale est le siège de la mémoire, celui de l’imagination ou encore celui du sens commun. Enfin, nous montrerons que c’est au nom de la science anatomique, restreinte à ce qui peut être attesté par des témoins oculaires, que Steensen a écarté le principe même des localisations cérébrales. In 1810, Gall and Spurzheim proposed the following diagnosis: the scant of knowledge of the cerebral substratum responsible for mental faculties must be attributed to the excessive subservience of anatomy to metaphysics. In this article, we examine this historic judgement with reference to Niels Steensen’s Discourse on the Anatomy of the Brain. By presenting the cerebral localisation “systems” of which Steensen is critical (those proposed by the “ancients”, by Thomas Willis and Descartes), we will firstly provide an overview of the different conceptions of the “seat of the soul” in the seventeenth century. We will then show how, in these three cases, the correlation between a lacunar brain mapping and a spatial representation of mental faculties leads to the postulation that a particular part of the brain is the seat of memory, imagination or common sense. Finally, we will show that it was in the name of anatomical science, limited to what can be evidenced by eyewitnesses, that Steensen rejected the very principle of cerebral localisation. International audience

Over the past decade, the artificial neural networks domain has seen a considerable embracement of deep neural networks among many applications. However, deep neural networks are typically computationally complex and consume high power, hindering their applicability for resource-constrained applications, such as self-driving vehicles, drones, and robotics. Spiking neural networks, often employed to bridge the gap between machine learning and neuroscience fields, are considered a promising solution for resource-constrained applications. Since deploying spiking neural networks on traditional von-Newman architectures requires significant processing time and high power, typically, neuromorphic hardware is created to execute spiking neural networks. The objective of neuromorphic devices is to mimic the distinctive functionalities of the human brain in terms of energy efficiency, computational power, and robust learning. Furthermore, natural language processing, a machine learning technique, has been widely utilized to aid machines in comprehending human language. However, natural language processing techniques cannot also be deployed efficiently on traditional computing platforms. In this research work, we strive to enhance the natural language processing traits/abilities by harnessing and integrating the SNNs traits, as well as deploying the integrated solution on neuromorphic hardware, efficiently and effectively. To facilitate this endeavor, we propose a novel, unique, and efficient sentiment analysis model created using a large-scale SNN model on SpiNNaker neuromorphic hardware that responds to user inputs. SpiNNaker neuromorphic hardware typically can simulate large spiking neural networks in real time and consumes low power. We initially create an artificial neural networks model, and then train the model using an Internet Movie Database (IMDB) dataset. Next, the pre-trained artificial neural networks model is converted into our proposed spiking neural networks model, called a spiking sentiment analysis (SSA) model. Our SSA model using SpiNNaker, called SSA-SpiNNaker, is created in such a way to respond to user inputs with a positive or negative response. Our proposed SSA-SpiNNaker model achieves 100% accuracy and only consumes 3970 Joules of energy, while processing around 10,000 words and predicting a positive/negative review. Our experimental results and analysis demonstrate that by leveraging the parallel and distributed capabilities of SpiNNaker, our proposed SSA-SpiNNaker model achieves better performance compared to artificial neural networks models. Our investigation into existing works revealed that no similar models exist in the published literature, demonstrating the uniqueness of our proposed model. Our proposed work would offer a synergy between SNNs and NLP within the neuromorphic computing domain, in order to address many challenges in this domain, including computational complexity and power consumption. Our proposed model would not only enhance the capabilities of sentiment analysis but also contribute to the advancement of brain-inspired computing. Our proposed model could be utilized in other resource-constrained and low-power applications, such as robotics, autonomous, and smart systems.

We describe the most recent energy density functional derived within the quark meson coupling model. Although fit to the binding energies and charge radii of just seventy magic nuclei, the accuracy with which it reproduces nuclear properties across the entire periodic table is outstanding. As well as outlining a number of those results, we present an argument explaining why having a physically motivated model with a small number of parameters is especially desirable as one seeks to make predictions in new regions of N and Z. As an example we show the predictions for known super-heavy nuclei that were not included in the fit. Contribution to INPC2022

International audience; La Guirlande de Célimène est une chronique à six mains, publiée du 19 juin au 15 août 1898 dans La Presse. Jean de Tinan, Emile Métrot et Henri Vernot y incarnent respectivement Célimène, Philinte et Alceste, personnages principaux du Misanthrope. Les « fantaisies épistolaires », auxquelles se rattache La Guirlande de Célimène, font partie des rubriques expérimentales proposées par La Presse, dans le cadre du renouveau du quotidien au tournant des années 1890.À vocation humoristique, La Guirlande de Célimène s’appuie sur un décalage constant entre son hypotexte prestigieux et son propos, chevillé tant à l’actualité politique qu’aux faits-divers du moment.Tout en dessinant un horizon d’attente propre au lectorat de La Presse à la fin du XIXe siècle, son jeu de références dessine les contours de l’influence de Molière au-delà de la sphère théâtrale, et dans l’espace très codifié de la chronique de journal.En cela, La Guirlande de Célimène interroge les transformations d’une culture classique et scolaire – Le Misanthrope est une des pièces privilégiées dans l’enseignement secondaire sous la IIIe République – dans les nouveaux espaces d’écriture offerts par les journaux.Après avoir analysé les stratégies choisies par les trois auteurs par rapport aux personnages-source qui leur ont été attribués, je m’attarderai sur les éléments-clé de cette réécriture burlesque du Misanthrope, notamment dans l’actualisation des différents types de comiques utilisés dans la pièce. J’ouvrirai cette communication en m’interrogeant sur la réactivation dans la presse XIXe du jeu littéraire et mondain tel qu’il était pratiqué à l’âge classique, évoqué par le titre même de La Guirlande de Célimène.

According to contemporary computational neuroscience the mental is associated with computations implemented in the brain. We analyze in physical terms based on recent results in the foundations of statistical mechanics two well-known (independent) problems that arise for this approach: the problem of multiple-computations and the problem of multiple-realization. We show that within the computational theory of the mind the two problems are insoluble by the physics of the brain. We further show that attempts to solve the problems by the interactions of the systems implementing the computations with an environment (in or outside the brain) must introduce non-physical factors, and therefore fail on physical grounds. We also show that the problems are endemic and pertain to other forms of functional theories of the mind, most notably, causal functionalism. Finally, we propose a physicalist reductive identity theory, which is a generalization of statistical mechanics for all the special sciences, and show that only a theory of this kind can provide physical solutions to the above two problems in computational neuroscience. We conclude that functionalism in the theory of mind must be replaced with a reductive identity theory. This result has far-reaching implications with respect to the research programs in brain science.

Les hommages à l'énigmatique dea Dard(…) manifestent une volonté typiquementromaine de signaler son respect d’une divinité locale, dans le cadre du contrôle dezones isolées mais stratégiques au cœur de la région illyrienne et de la province deMésie supérieure. Ces actes de piété traduisent une volonté des autorités romaines deconduire une action diplomatique auprès des populations locales, particulièrement auxabords des stationes parfois fort éloignées des légions et des officia dont ellesconstituaient un détachement. Ces dédicaces ne sauraient en tous les cas êtreconsidérées comme les preuves irréfutables de la résistance d’une identitédardanienne face à l’ordre romain. Elles laissent entendre bien-entendu que le culte deces divinités locales dont le nom nous échappe, avait survécu au cœur de la provincede Mésie supérieure. Le paradoxe tient au fait que nous connaissons mieux l’existencede ces divinités locales grâce aux hommages de militaires romains The tributes to the enigmatic dea Dard(...) show a typically Roman desire to signal one's respectfor a local deity, within the framework of the control of isolated but strategic areas in the heartof the Illyrian region and the province of Moesia superioris. These acts of piety reflect the desireon the part of the Roman authorities to carry out diplomatic action with the local population,particularly in the vicinity of the stationes, often away from the legions and officia of whichthey were a detachment. In any case, these dedications cannot be considered as irrefutable proofof the resistance of a Dardanian identity to the Roman order. They do, of course, suggest thatthe cult of these local and enigmatic deities had survived in the heart of the province of Moesiasuperioris. The paradox lies in the fact that we know more about the existence of these localdeities thanks to the tributes of Roman soldiers, even if their names remain unknown.

Obesity is a major public health problem that requires new approaches. Despite all interventions, the behavioural and therapeutic interventions developed have demonstrated limited effectiveness in curbing the obesity epidemic. Findings from imaging studies of the brain suggest the existence of neural vulnerabilities and structural changes that are associated with the development of obesity and eating disorders. This review highlights the clinical relevance of brain neuroimaging research in obese individuals to prevent risky behaviour, early diagnosis, and the development of new safer and more effective treatments.

AbstractFrank Sherwood Taylor was director of the Science Museum London for just over five years from October 1950. He was the only historian of science ever to have been director of this institution, which has always ridden a tightrope between advocacy of science and advocacy of its history, balancing differently at different points in its history. He was also president of the BSHS from 1951 to 1953. So what happened when a historian got his hands on the nation's pre-eminent public museum of science? To what extent did his historian's training and instincts affect his policies whilst director, and with what effect in the longer term? Taking this exceptional case, I suggest, enables us to consider how museum accounts of the past of science relate to historiographies of science otherwise available in the culture. In this discussion, drawing on new archival research, I consider the role of history within a key policy paper he wrote in 1951. I analyse and contextualize its main themes before considering, by way of conclusion, his legacy.