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type="graphical" xml:id="gpol12202-abs-0002"> One of the most effective ways to learn and practice empathy is to put yourself into the shoes of another.

Some evidence suggests that the non-genomic effects exerted by progesterone (P) on human spermatozoa are mediated by membrane receptor(s) displaying the C-terminal domain, but not the N-terminal domain of the genomic P receptor (PR). This study aimed at determining whether the monoclonal antibody (mAb) c-262, directed against the C-terminal domain of the genomic PR, counteracts the stimulatory effect of P on the human sperm ability to fuse with oocytes. Sperm/oocyte fusion was evaluated by means of the hamster egg penetration test. The brief exposure of capacitated spermatozoa to P produced a stimulatory effect on sperm/oocyte fusion. mAb c262 counteracted this stimulatory effect in a dose-dependent manner. No counteraction was observed when capacitated spermatozoa were pre-exposed to PGR-312, a mAb directed against the N-terminal domain of the genomic PR. These results reinforce the hypothesis that the non-genomic effects exerted by P on human spermatozoa are mediated by membrane receptor(s) displaying the C-terminal domain, but not the N-terminal domain of the genomic PR.

International audience; Head direction cells discharge selectively when the head of the animal is oriented in a specific direction. The goal of this study was to determine how sensory signals arising from passive rotations (e.g., triggered by vestibular stimulation and dynamic visual inputs) influence the responses of anterodorsal thalamic head direction cells in the absence of voluntary movement cues (e.g., motor command, efference copy, and associated kinesthetic signals). Three unrestrained rats consumed water from a reservoir at the center of a circular platform while passively subjected to sinusoidal rotatory oscillations at fast (153 +/- 27 degrees/s, sd) and slow (38 +/- 15 degrees/s) peak velocities. In 14 anterodorsal thalamic head direction cells, the preferred directions, angular response ranges and baseline firing rates remained stable, but the peak firing rates were, on average, 36% higher during the fast rotations (Wilcoxon matched-pairs test, p < 0.001; variation range: +11% to approximately +100%). No cell changed its peak firing rate by less than 10%, while three cells (21%) increased their peak firing rates by more than 50%. The velocity-dependent increase in peak firing rates was similar for left and right rotations, and the skewness of the directional response curves were not significantly different between left and right turns (Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests, n = 14, ns). These results show that sensory signals concerning self-movements modulate the responses of the head direction cells in the absence of active locomotion.