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Intellectual disability is a term used to describe a group of neurodevelopmental disorders defined by deficits in cognitive and adaptive functioning with onset during the developmental period. Preclinical research suggest that pharmaceutical approached might benefit people with intellectual disabilities since mouse models bearing similar genetic modifications to those in human syndromes improve cognitive performance upon treatment. This thesis focused on the therapeutic potential of two different approaches, pharmacological and electroceutical, in two mouse models of intellectual disability. First, we studied therapeutic potential of long-term treatments targeting the endocannabinoid system for memory improvement in a well-characterized mouse model of Down syndrome. Secondly, we explored a new electroceutical approach for memory enhancement in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome based on vagus nerve stimulation. Together, using behavioral, pharmacological, electrostimulation, histological and biochemical approaches, we have described two new therapeutical interventions for memory enhancement in mouse models of intellectual disability. La discapacitat intel·lectual és un terme que s'utilitza per a descriure un grup de trastorns del neurodesenvolupament definits per dèficits en el funcionament cognitiu que comencen al llarg del període de desenvolupament. Aquesta tesi es va centrar en el potencial terapèutic de dues aproximacions diferents, farmacològica i electrocèutica, en dos models de ratolí de discapacitat intel·lectual. En primer lloc, hem estudiat el potencial terapèutic dels tractaments a llarg termini dirigits al sistema endocannabinoide per a millorar la memòria en un model de ratolí de síndrome de Down. En segon lloc, hem explorat un nou enfocament electrocèutic per a la millora de la memòria en un model de ratolí de la síndrome X fràgil basat en l'estimulació del nervi vague. Conjuntament, utilitzant tècniques conductuals, farmacològics, d'electroestimulació, histològics i bioquímics, hem descrit dues noves aplicacions terapèutiques per a la millora de la memòria en models de ratolí de discapacitat intel·lectual.

L'estudi pretén organitzar i realitzar un programa de teràpia visual en un cas clínic que ha patit un accident vascular cerebral, posteriorment a la valoració neurològica i oftalmològica. El treball es basarà a estudiar els signes i símptomes visuals d'aquest cas, valorar les proves binoculars, acomodatives i d'atenció visuoespacial, per posteriorment plantejar i realitzar un programa de teràpia visual de 12 sessions de durada El estudio pretende organizar y realizar un programa de terapia visual en un caso clínico que ha sufrido un accidente vascular cerebral, posteriormente a la valoración neurológica y oftalmológica. El trabajo se basará en estudiar los signos y síntomas visuales de este caso, valorar las pruebas binoculares, acomodativas y de atención visuoespacial, para posteriormente plantear y realizar un programa de terapia visual de 12 sesiones de duración The study aims to organize and carry out a visual therapy program in a clinical case that has suffered a stroke, after the neurological and ophthalmological evaluation. The work will be based on studying the visual signs and symptoms of this case, assessing the binocular, accommodative and visuospatial attention tests, to continue plan and carry out a visual therapy program lasting 12 sessions.

Additional file 6: Supplementary Figure 1. Rarefaction curves of a) Bacteria (16S) at 5000 reads, b) Fungi (ITS) at 2000 reads and c) Protists (18S) at 1000 reads.

Additional file 9: Supplementary Figure 4. Relative abundance of trophic modes based on FUNguild determinations. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences at the P < 0.05 level between bars of the same trophic mode. Rotations lengths were binned into groups of short (1 in 2 years to 1 in 4 years), medium (1 in 5 years to 1 in 7 years) and long (1 in 8 years and longer).

Additional file 8: Supplementary Figure 3. Phylogenetic tree of 18S rRNA sequences a) including the 18S sequence of the fungi (a) F9 and (b) F17 and the novel protist (c) P14. Other closely related less abundant OTUs found in this study are also included and highlighted in blue. The hosts the lineages are associated, or which environments they were sequenced from are in parenthesis.

International audience; Summary Soil aggregates are critical to soil functionality, but there remain many uncertainties with respect to the role of biotic factors in forming aggregates. Understanding the interacting effects of soil, land use type, vegetation and microbial communities is a major challenge that needs assessment in both field and controlled laboratory conditions, as well as in bulk and rhizosphere soils. To address these effects and their feedbacks, we first examined the influence of soil, root and litter characteristics along a land use gradient (ancient woodland, secondary woodland, grassland, pasture and arable land) on microbial community structure (in both bulk and rhizosphere soil), as well as on aggregate stability. Then, we performed an inoculation experiment where we extracted soil columns from the arable and secondary woodland and used a third unstructured loamy soil as a control. We sterilized these three soils to remove microbial communities, and then either inoculated the tops of sterilized soil columns with soil from the secondary woodland or the arable field sites. Control columns of all soil types were not inoculated. In a fully-crossed design, we planted two species possessing distinct root system morphological traits: Brachypodium sylvaticum (fibrous system with many thin and fine roots) and Urtica dioica (taproot system with few fine roots). After four months, microbial communities (in bulk and rhizospheric soil) and aggregate stability were measured, along with root traits. In both the field and laboratory experiments, bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) biodiversity was determined using high throughput sequencing. In the field study we found that: i) there were strong relationships between aggregate stability and microbial community composition that were driven by land use, ii) the relationship between aggregate stability along the land use gradient and the trophic nature of bacterial communities was not significant, but that certain soil, root and litter parameters shaped bacterial phyla, with oligotrophic bacteria conditioned by the rhizosphere niche, and copiotrophic phyla more dependent on bulk soil conditions, iii) land use gradient (from woodland to arable), reduced the relative abundance of saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal fungi with an increase in the relative abundance of Ascomycota and a reduction in the relative abundance of Basidiomycota. In the laboratory experiment we found that: i) the inoculation of sterilized soils with soils from the field significantly increased aggregate stability in control soil that was initially poorly structured, ii) the effects of inoculation on aggregate stability were similar when either secondary woodland or arable soils were used as inoculums and iii) these effects were affected significantly by root length density. Our results show that microbial communities influence soil structure and that bacterial communities are intimately associated to rhizospheric conditions and root traits (of which root length density was the most pertinent).

Additional file 7: Supplementary Figure 2. Correlogram showing significant Spearman correlations (FDR P ≤ 0.05) among metadata parameters. Circles are coloured according to the R2 value on the sliding scale (blue = positive correlation, red = negative correlation). Suffixes for nutrients, T = total nutrient, A = available nutrient.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Core taxa within each lung disease category. Given is prevalence, the number of samples a given core taxon was detected in, and average relative abundance across those samples. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) identifications have been used for bacterial taxon names. OTU numbers have been used to differentiate between taxa within the same genus. Given the length of the ribosomal sequences analysed, species identities should be considered putative.

Additional file 5: Table S4. PERMANOVA summary statistics from testing for significant differences in microbiota composition between lung function categories. Given in each instance are mean Bray-Curtis similarity within and between categories (± standard deviation of the mean), F-statistic, and significance (P). Asterisks denote significant differences in composition following one-way PERMANOVA tests with Bonferroni correction.

Additional file 2: Table S2. Kruskal-Wallis summary statistics for testing for significant differences in diversity between lung function categories. Given for each test is the mean Fisher's alpha diversity index, standard deviation of the mean, H-statistic, and significance (P), and mean of ranks values. Asterisks denote significant differences in diversity following Kruskal-Wallis with post-hoc Dunn test.

The elevational patterns of plant and animal diversity have been extensively described in ecological theory. However, how soil-temperature gradients and spatial heterogeneity of the forest and its associated root, soil and litter properties affect the diversity of soil microbial communities remains unclear. We studied the effects of a soil-temperature gradient and spatial heterogeneity of forests on taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns of bacterial and fungal communities in plant roots, rhizosphere and bulk soil. Soil samples were collected in closed (tree islands) and open (gaps) forest at three altitudes in the French Alps (1400, 1700 and 2000 m). Samples were separated into three fractions: plant roots (at the community level, as roots were not sorted by species), rhizosphere and bulk soil. Bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) diversity was determined, along with soil aggregate stability, litter and root traits. Phylogenetic clustering processes were observed for bacterial but not for fungal communities. Forest spatial heterogeneity significantly influenced taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities and divergence (phylogenetic relatedness) for bacterial communities. The soil temperature gradient and forest spatial heterogeneity affected fungal phylogenetic divergence, even though no over-dispersion or clustering processes were found. Soil aggregate stability was a significant factor explaining the bacterial and fungal communities’ structure and was correlated with bacterial taxonomic diversity and fungal divergence. Bacterial communities’ composition was better explained by root traits than in fungal communities, particularly for rhizosphere and root communities. Our findings highlight the importance of root traits describing the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of bacterial communities. Conversely, fungal communities did not show clustering processes and the variance of their structure was not significantly explained by the root or litter traits measured. Additionally, our results highlight the importance of spatial heterogeneity of forests to study the soil biodiversity of forests