Biology subjects

Kollamkulam, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Kollamkulam, M..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Shaping the developing homunculus: the roles of deprivation and compensatory behaviour in sensory remapping

Some of the most dramatic examples of neuroplasticity in the human brain follow congenital sensory deprivation, though we have limited understanding of the plasticity mechanisms driving such large-scale remapping. Hand loss due to congenital limb differences (CLD) offers a unique temporal dissociation of developmental neuroplasticity mechanisms: While sensory deprivation is congenital, compensatory motor behaviours develop progressively across childhood. Using paediatric neuroimaging and semi-ecological behavioural analysis in children (5-7 years old) and adults (>25 years old) with unilateral upper-limb CLD, we studied deprivation- and use-dependent plasticity in the deprived primary somatosensory cortex and beyond. We reveal that global remapping, encompassing the entire sensory homunculus, is established early and maintained in adulthood. We demonstrate that deprivation-driven homeostatic plasticity can drive this global remapping, with Hebbian-based compensatory learning further contributing to inter-individual differences both in childhood and adulthood. Our findings emphasise the early establishment and stability of cortical maps, despite extensive daily-life behavioural adaptation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Gender Imbalance in the Editorial Activities of a Researcher-led Journal

Editorial decision-making is a fundamental element of the scientific enterprise. We examined whether contributions to editorial decisions at various stages of the publication process is subject to gender disparity, based on analytics collected by the biomedical researcher-led journal eLife. Despite efforts to increase women representation, the board of reviewing editors (BRE) was men-dominant (69%). Moreover, authors suggested more men from the BRE pool, even after correcting for mens numerical over-representation. Although women editors were proportionally involved in the initial editorial process, they were under-engaged in editorial activities involving reviewers and authors. Additionally, converging evidence showed gender homophily in manuscripts assignment, such that men Senior Editors over-engaged men Reviewing Editors. This tendency was stronger in more gender-balanced scientific disciplines. Together, our findings confirm that gender disparities exist along the editorial process and suggest that merely increasing the proportion of women might not be sufficient to eliminate this bias.

scientific communication and education↗