About the contributor

• André Jean
• Michel Dallaporta

André Jean

André Jean is a Doctor of Medicine and obtained his Doctorat ès-Sciences at the University Paul Cézanne (Aix-Marseille) with Claude Roman, where he has provided fundamental information, understanding and concepts of the nature and operation of the brain stem central pattern generator that controls swallowing. In addition to his work on swallowing, Dr Jean has provided solid results supporting the concept of neuroplasticity of the brain stem autonomic centres of the adult. He is currently Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience at the University Paul Cézanne, Director of the Laboratory of "Physiologie Neurovégétative" (UMR CNRS-INRA), and Head of the Department of Biology. Dr Jean's main research interests are in the area of autonomic neuroscience, neural control of the digestive tract and of ingestive and food intake behaviors, neurobiology of brain stem autonomic centres (dorsal vagal complex), network and neuronal properties of central pattern generation, and neuronal plasticity (structural re-organization, synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis). Author and co-author of numerous publications and book chapters, Dr Jean has been active in the national and international neuroscience community. In 2002, he received a Janssen Award in Gastroenterology, in the section Basic Research in Digestive Science, and was recently appointed as the Chair of the 4th Congress of the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience, held in Marseille in 2005.

Michel Dallaporta

Dr Michel Dallaporta obtained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University Paul Cézanne (Aix-Marseille). After a post-doctoral position at the Pharmacology and Toxicology Institute of the University of Lausanne, he is now an Assistant Professor in Neurophysiology at the Department of Biology of the University Paul Cézanne. The aim of his research is based on the physiological and neurobiological characteristics of the dorsal vagal complex within the brainstem, and on its involvement in glucodetection during feeding behaviour.