Antoine Bergel

The academic community failed Wikipedia for 25 years — now it might fail us Artificial-intelligence systems are feeding on Wikipedia without giving back, and academic indifference is threatening the survival of what is arguably the most widely used reference work on the plane...

"The time for passive consumption has expired. Every scholar should begin contributing their expertise to Wikipedia — not as charity, but as a core duty"

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A commentary on reptile sleep, with recommendation from @anitaluthi.bsky.social @labluthi.bsky.social

Position-independent emergence of neocortical neuron molecular identity, connectivity and function - Nature Neuroscience Even when neocortical neurons form in abnormal locations, they retain their identity and function, revealing that brain circuit formation can be guided by intrinsic developmental programs rather than ...

Very happy to have contributed to this wonderful/tentacular work alongside so many amazing colleagues and friends!

It opens up new ways of understanding grey matter heterotopia associated with altered cortical function and #epilepsy in humans.

🧠🧪🔥

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks @kasumbisa.bsky.social !!

Thanks!

Thanks a lot @dlevenstein.bsky.social !! These NREM packets/cycles are indeed mysterious :)

Thanks @thomasandrillon.bsky.social !!

Thanks @apeyrache.bsky.social !!

A new comparative study of seven lizard species, including chameleons and bearded dragons, finds an ancient sleep rhythm conserved over millennia.

By Lauren Schenkman

www.thetransmitter.org/sleep/snoozi...

Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals Nature Neuroscience - Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping...

Many thanks to all co-authors and collaborators across the years: Chloe Froidevaux, Julien Schmidt, Baptiste Barillot, @mickaeltanter.bsky.social , Anthony Herrel, @marksblumberg.bsky.social and Paul-Antoine Libourel.

Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 8/8

Our findings challenge the notion that REM sleep “exist” in lizards but instead give a central place the infraslow rhythm, as a conserved fundamental building block of sleep architecture, dating back its apparition to the common ancestor of amniotes about 320 million years ago. 7/8

Finally, skin brightness – but not skin color – recorded in darkness in the sleeping panther chameleon oscillates at this infraslow rhythm, possibly reflecting blood oxygenation, and bouts of eye movements occurred markedly during one half of the cycle, which could be a marker of vigilance. 6/8

Functional ultrasound imaging showed that the whole brain oscillates at this infraslow rhythm, with blood flow coupled to neural signals during sleep in the bearded dragon and during NREM sleep in mice - but that this coupling disappears during REM sleep (in mice) and wake (in both species). 5/8

All 7 species recorded -the tokay and leopard geckos, the Sudan plated lizard, Argentine tegu, Egyptian rock agama, bearded dragon and panther chameleon- show brain waves synchronized with heart rate, respiratory rate, muscle tone and eye movements - as previously demonstrated during NREM sleep. 4/8

By recording in seven evolutionarily-distant lizard species, we show that neural signals display an infraslow rhythm (period ~100 sec) during sleep, like that previously described in mice and humans (period ~50 sec). The longer period in reptiles could be explained by their lower temperature. 3/8

This marks the accomplishment of a collaboration with Paul-Antoine Libourel started in 2019, with whom we used functional ultrasound imaging in bearded dragons to investigate whether they “possess” REM sleep. 6 years later, we come up with new data shedding a new light on sleep state evolution. 2/8

Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals Nature Neuroscience - Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping...

⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.

Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8

🚨 New paper in @pnas.org to end 2025 with a bang!🚨

Behavioral, experiential, and physiological signatures of mind blanking
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

with Esteban Munoz-Musat, @arthurlecoz.bsky.social @corcorana.bsky.social, Laouen Belloli and Lionel Naccache

Illustration: Ana Yael.

1/n

#PressRelease 🗞️ An infraslow brain and body rhythm, specific to the deep sleep of mammals, has recently been identified in reptile and bird species, showing its ancestral and fundamental character.💤
👉 www.cnrs.fr/en/press/discov...

#Communiqué 🗞️ Un rythme de sommeil ultra-lent, commun aux mammifères, à 7 reptiles et 1 oiseau, révèle un mécanisme ancestral vieux de plus de 300 millions d’années.🦎💤

👉 www.cnrs.fr/fr/presse/decou...

Merci Adrien !

Thanks Guy !

Merci Jeremie !

Merci Aude !!

Thanks Jerome !!

Huge thanks to all my mentors over the years for their time, help, and advice. In particular @mickaeltanter.bsky.social, @apeyrache.bsky.social, K. Benchenane and @faurelab.bsky.social. Very grateful 🙏.

2025 has been quite a year for me! Welcomed a new member in the family in Jan 🐣, got a permanent position @CNRS in May 🎓, and got awarded an Atip-Avenir fellowship in August 😱! Can't top that. Looking forward to start my own group at the Paris Brain Institute in 2026. Cool science ahead 😀!