Francesco Paolo Battaglia - Publications#

Prof. Battaglia contributed more than 50 publications in theoretical physics, neural data analysis, computational & systems neuroscience, neuro-engineering (>6400 citations, according to Google Scholar, see full list below). Here are some selected publications that best illustrate my main research lines:

Cortico-hippocampal interactions

1) Peyrache A, Benchenane K, Khamassi M, Wiener SI, Battaglia FP* (2009) Replay of rule-learning related neural patterns in the prefrontal cortex during sleep.
Nature Neuroscience 12:919-926 (>400 citations).

2) Benchenane K, Peyrache A, Khamassi M, Tierney PL, Gioanni Y, Battaglia FP*, Wiener SI* (2010) Coherent theta oscillations and reorganization of spike timing in the hippocampal- prefrontal network upon learning.
Neuron 66:921-936. (FPB, SIW: shared senior authors; > 500 citations; Listed by Neuron in their “Top 30 over 30 years” list, see https://www.cell.com/i3/neuron/30over30 ).

These papers contain the first demonstration of the link between hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony, the constitution of cell assemblies and decision making, in a learning dependent fashion, during wakefulness, and replay in prefrontal cortex, coordinated with hippocampal activity, providing seminal experimental evidence for the standard model of systems consolidation.

Theories of memory consolidation

3) Genzel L, Kroes MC, Dresler M, Battaglia FP* (2014) Light sleep versus slow wave sleep in memory consolidation: a question of global versus local processes?
Trends in Neurosciences 37(1):10-9.

4) Battaglia FP* Borensztajn G, Bod R (2012) Compositionality in neural systems: from rats to language. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, DOI

5) Battaglia FP*, Pennartz CM (2011) The construction of semantic memory: grammar based representations learned from relational episodic information,
Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience 5:36

Genzel et al. (2014) formulates a theory of the role of different sleep phases in memory consolidation with light sleep favouring the global brain interactions underlying semantic memory formation (whose study is at the centre of this proposal) and deep sleep having a role in homeostasis. Battaglia et al (2012) formulates the hypothesis (central to this proposal) that memory representations are compositional in nature, and that similar organizing principles may hold across multiple type of information, from simple semantic-like memories in the rodent brain to language. The hypothesis finds a formal framework in the first application of stochastic grammar models to computational models of memory consolidation in Battaglia et al. (2011)

Data analysis

6) Grossberger L Battaglia FP*, Vinck MA* (2018) Unsupervised clustering of temporal patterns in high-dimensional neuronal ensembles using a novel dissimilarity measure.
PLoS Comput Biol. 14(7):e1006283. (FPB, MAV: shared senior authors)

7) Peyrache A, Benchenane K, Khamassi M, Wiener SI, Battaglia FP* (2010) Principal component analysis of ensemble recordings reveals cell assemblies at high temporal resolution.
Journal of Computational Neuroscience 29 1-2 309-25

Two methods for the unsupervised detection of cell assemblies, Peyrache et al (2010) based on PCA and random matrix theory, and currently a standard in the field. Grossberger et al (2018) taking a completely novel non-linear approach, based on the First application of the optimal transportation theory from mathematics to neuroscience
Hippocampal circuits for Spatial Navigation

8) Cabral HO, Vinck M, Fouquet C, Pennartz CMA., Rondi-Reig L, Battaglia FP* (2014) Oscillatory Dynamics and Place Field Maps Reflect Hippocampal Ensemble Processing of Sequence and Place Memory under NMDA Receptor Control
Neuron 81(2):402–415

9) Cabral HO, Fouquet C, Rondi-Reig L, Pennartz CMA, Battaglia FP* (2014)Single-trial properties of Place Cells in Control and CA1 NMDA receptor subunit 1-KO mice
Journal of Neuroscience 34(48):15861-9

In these two papers, for the first time, the candidate shows a link between neural activity and oscillatory modes in the hippocampus and spontaneously selected spatial navigation strategy. Neural processes related to slow gamma oscillations are linked to memory-based navigation, whereas fast gamma oscillations are associated to sensory-based navigation. Furthermore, we show that a role of NMDA receptors in the hippocampus is to stabilize spatial representations and to temporally organize ensemble activity

Mouse models of disease

10) Arbab T, Pennartz CMA, Battaglia FP* (2018) Impaired hippocampal representation of place in the Fmr1-knockout mouse model of fragile X syndrome
Scientific reports (2018) 8 (1), 8889

Prof. Bttaglia showed that in a mouse transgenic model of Fragile-X syndrome hippocampal place cells are unstable, providing an avenue to study cognitive impairment in intellectual disability at the neural circuit level