HOK Vincent
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Teaching manager in charge of the practical sessions of the third year of the Neurosciences degree (Aix-Marseille University).
Vice-President of the local ethics committee on animal experimentation (CEEA n°71 – Laurent Vinay).
Domaines de recherche
My research aims to understand the neural basis of spatial navigation. Recent advances allow us to propose biologically realistic computational models inspired by the concepts of cognitive psychology. In this context, I study not only how the animal perceives space and orients itself but also the involvement of several neural systems dedicated to these tasks.
My work focuses on the role of the hippocampus and several neocortical and subcortical areas (prefrontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, nucleus reuniens) that have distinct functions in space processing. The lesion studies aim to describe the differential effects induced by damaging these structures. Reversible inactivation studies allow us to analyze the role of these structures in specific stages of information processing.
My current research focuses on the couplings between activity of place cells and navigation performance, in order to establish how these cells are involved in computing trajectories.
Research Funding
Enseignements
Sensory Neurophysiology (first year Biology)
This course aims to provide the basis of physiological mechanisms involved in the processing of sensory information from internal and external stimuli to the body. The main concepts covered in this course focus on the mechanisms of transduction, transmission and coding of neural information. These mechanisms are discussed through several examples involving different sensory modalities (e.g. somesthesia, vision, auditory perception). Most of these concepts serve as a basis for the teaching of second year in which some features are developed in more detail.
Anatomy Glossary and Neuroanatomy (first year Biology)
These classes aim to enable students to acquire the basics for understanding the relationship between structures and different levels of organization of the vertebrate nervous system. Developmental, functional and pathological aspects are also addressed in order to facilitate the integration of neuroanatomical knowledge in a broader framework of reflection on nerve physiology.
Visual Perception (first year Biology)
This lab aims at illustrating concepts acquired about vision in the course. This study focuses on the characterization of the human visual field using campimetry technique. Students have to characterize their visual field in response to stimuli of different colour variations and interpret these data based on knowledge covered in class. This lab also provides an opportunity to illustrate the phenomenon of the blind spot of Mariotte and on this occasion to recall the anatomy of the eye and the main types of photoreceptors present in the retina.
Behavioural Genetics (third year Physiology & Neurosciences)
This series of courses address key concepts covered in class through the study of scientific articles, book excerpts and popular science magazines. The second objective is to enable students to develop critical thinking based on scientific knowledge and to learn to identify the source of certain information and to judge their quality.
See also Science and Humanities Bachelor’s Degree for further information!
Publications
- Eléonore Duvelle, Roddy Grieves, Vincent Hok, Bruno Poucet, Angelo Arleo, et al.. Insensitivity of place cells to the value of spatial goals in a two-choice flexible navigation task. Journal of Neuroscience, 2019, 39 (13), pp.2522-2541. ⟨10.1523/jneurosci.1578-18.2018⟩. ⟨hal-03063977⟩
- Thibault Cholvin, V. Hok, Lisa Giorgi, Franck A Chaillan, Bruno Poucet. Ventral midline thalamus is necessary for hippocampal place field stability and cell firing modulation. Journal of Neuroscience, 2018, 38 (1), pp.158-172. ⟨10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2039-17.2017⟩. ⟨hal-01635983⟩
- Johannes Passecker, Md. Nurul Islam, Vincent Hok, Shane M. O'Mara. Influences of photic stress on postsubicular head-directional processing. European Journal of Neuroscience, In press, ⟨10.1111/ejn.13887⟩. ⟨hal-01745913⟩
- Sally Barlow, Briana Fahey, Kimberley Smith, Johannes Passecker, Andrea Della-Chiesa, et al.. Deficits in temporal order memory induced by interferon-alpha (IFN-α) treatment are rescued by aerobic exercise. Brain Research Bulletin, 2018, ⟨10.1016/j.brainresbull.2018.05.012⟩. ⟨hal-01797605⟩
- Bruno Poucet, Vincent Hok. Remembering goal locations. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 2017, 17, pp.51-56. ⟨hal-01532056⟩
- Vincent Hok, Bruno Poucet, Eléonore Duvelle, Etienne Save, Francesca Sargolini. Spatial cognition in mice and rats: similarities and differences in brain and behavior. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2016, ⟨10.1002/wcs.1411⟩. ⟨hal-01444603⟩
- Bruno Poucet, Franck Chaillan, Bruno Truchet, Etienne Save, Francesca Sargolini, et al.. Is there a pilot in the brain? Contribution of the self-positioning system to spatial navigation. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2015, 8, pp.222 - 222. ⟨10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00222⟩. ⟨hal-01382747⟩
- Paul de Saint Blanquat, Vincent Hok, Etienne Save, Bruno Poucet, Franck A. Chaillan. Differential role of the dorsal hippocampus, ventro-intermediate hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex in updating the value of a spatial goal. Hippocampus, 2013, 23 (5), pp.342-351. ⟨10.1002/hipo.22094⟩. ⟨hal-01384088⟩
- Vincent Hok, Ehsan Chah, Etienne Save, Bruno Poucet. Prefrontal Cortex Focally Modulates Hippocampal Place Cell Firing Patterns. Journal of Neuroscience, 2013, 33 (8), pp.3443-3451. ⟨10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3427-12.2013⟩. ⟨hal-01384100⟩
- Boon Wan Wang, Vincent Hok, Andrea Della-Chiesa, Charlotte Callaghan, Sally Barlow, et al.. Rosiglitazone enhances learning, place cell activity, and synaptic plasticity in middle-aged rats. Neurobiology of Aging, 2012, 33 (4), pp.835.e13-835.e30. ⟨hal-02057326⟩
- Bruno Poucet, V. Hok, F. Sargolini, E. Save. Stability and variability of place cell activity during behavior: Functional implications for dynamic coding of spatial information. Journal of Physiology - Paris, 2012, 106 (3-4), pp.62-71. ⟨10.1016/j.jphysparis.2011.09.002⟩. ⟨hal-01384125⟩
- Charlotte Callaghan, Vincent Hok, Andrea Della-Chiesa, David Virley, Neil Upton, et al.. Age-related declines in delayed non-match-to-sample performance (DNMS) are reversed by the novel 5HT6 receptor antagonist SB742457. Neuropharmacology, 2012, 63 (5), pp.890-897. ⟨hal-02057313⟩
- V. Hok, E. Chah, R. Reilly, S. O'Mara. Hippocampal Dynamics Predict Interindividual Cognitive Differences in Rats. Journal of Neuroscience, 2012, 32 (10), pp.3540-3551. ⟨10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6449-11.2012⟩. ⟨hal-02057316⟩
- E. Chah, V. Hok, S. O'Mara, R. Reilly. A waveform independent cell identification method to study long-term variability of spike recordings. 2011 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Aug 2011, Boston, France. pp.2558-2561. ⟨hal-02057317⟩
- E Chah, V. Hok, A Della-Chiesa, J Miller, S O'Mara, et al.. Automated spike sorting algorithmbased on Laplacian eigenmaps and k -means clustering. Journal of Neural Engineering, 2011, 8 (1), pp.016006. ⟨hal-02057331⟩
- Bruno Poucet, Alice Alvernhe, Vincent Hok, Sophie Renaudineau, Francesca Sargolini, et al.. L’hippocampe et le code neural de la mémoire spatiale. Biologie Aujourd'hui, 2010, 204 (2), pp.103-112. ⟨hal-02057337⟩
- Paul De Saint Blanquat, Vincent Hok, Alice Alvernhe, Etienne Save, Bruno Poucet. Tagging items in spatial working memory: A unit-recording study in the rat medial prefrontal cortex. Behavioural Brain Research, 2010, 209 (2), pp.267-273. ⟨10.1016/j.bbr.2010.02.004⟩. ⟨hal-01384824⟩
