World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
François Clarac

François Clarac

D-Index & Metrics

Neuroscience

D-Index
53
Citations
8107
World Ranking
5173
National Ranking
215

Research.com Recognitions

  • 1996 - Member of Academia Europaea

Overview

François Clarac is a researcher affiliated with Aix-Marseille University in France. The focus of their work centers primarily on fields within Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science, with a specialization in paleontology and related subfields.

Their research encompasses the study of ancient life forms and their evolutionary biology, with particular attention to paleontology, turtle biology and conservation, physiological and biochemical adaptations, as well as amphibian and reptile biology. The subfields represented in their work include paleontology, nature and landscape conservation, ecology, and global and planetary change.

Clarac's published work appears in several academic venues, with multiple papers in Comptes Rendus Palevol, as well as contributions to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), The Anatomical Record, and HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe).

  • Comptes Rendus Palevol (2 publications)
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (1 publication)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (1 publication)
  • The Anatomical Record (1 publication)
  • HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) (1 publication)

Recent papers by Clarac include:

  • The evolution of dermal shield vascularization in Testudinata and Pseudosuchia: phylogenetic constraints versus ecophysiological adaptations, 2020, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
  • The extended osteoderm shield in Paleosuchus sp.: a dwarf crocodylian adaptation to the equatorial forest ecosystem?, 2024, Comptes Rendus Palevol
  • Tetrapod terrestrialisation: a weight-bearing potential already present in the humerus of the stem-tetrapod fish Eusthenopteron foordi, 2024, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Elucidating the thermometabolism of Thalattosuchus superciliosus (de Blainville) Young, Brignon, Sachs, Hornung, Foffa, Kitson, Johnson & Steel, 2021 (Archosauria: Metriorhynchidae): a paleohistological study, 2025, Comptes Rendus Palevol
  • Skeletal pathologies in extant crocodilians as a window into the paleopathology of fossil archosaurs, 2025, The Anatomical Record

Clarac has collaborated frequently with several researchers, including:

  • Sophie Sanchez (2 joint publications)
  • Torsten M. Scheyer
  • Julia B. Desojo
  • Ignacio A. Cerda
  • Zilca Campos

Their research topics span the evolution and paleontology studies, paleontology and evolutionary biology, turtle biology and conservation, physiological and biochemical adaptations, and amphibian and reptile biology.

  • Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Turtle Biology and Conservation
  • Physiological and Biochemical Adaptations
  • Amphibian and Reptile Biology

Earlier in their career, François Clarac was recognized with membership in Academia Europaea since 1996.

Best Publications

  • Load-regulating mechanisms in gait and posture: comparative aspects.

    J.E.J. Duysens;F. Clarac;H. Cruse

  • Activation of the central pattern generators for locomotion by serotonin and excitatory amino acids in neonatal rat.

    J R Cazalets;Y Sqalli-Houssaini;F Clarac

  • Localization and organization of the central pattern generator for hindlimb locomotion in newborn rat

    JR Cazalets;M Borde;F Clarac

  • What do reflex and voluntary mean? Modern views on an ancient debate.

    Arthur Prochazka;Francois Clarac;Gerald E. Loeb;John C. Rothwell

  • Perinatal development of lumbar motoneurons and their inputs in the rat.

    Laurent Vinay;Frédéric Brocard;Jean-François Pflieger;Juliette Simeoni-Alias

  • The synaptic drive from the spinal locomotor network to motoneurons in the newborn rat

    JR Cazalets;M Borde;F Clarac

  • Direct evidence for presynaptic inhibitory mechanisms in crayfish sensory afferents.

    D. Cattaert;A. el Manira;F. Clarac

  • Central control components of a 'simple' stretch reflex.

    François Clarac;Daniel Cattaert;Didier Le Ray

  • Development of posture and locomotion: an interplay of endogenously generated activities and neurotrophic actions by descending pathways.

    Laurent Vinay;Frédéric Brocard;François Clarac;Jean Chrétien Norreel

  • Oscillatory properties of the central pattern generator for locomotion in neonatal rats

    Y. Sqalli-Houssaini;J. R. Cazalets;F. Clarac

  • Monosynaptic Interjoint Reflexes and their Central Modulation During Fictive Locomotion in Crayfish.

    A. El Manira;R. A. DiCaprio;D. Cattaert;F. Clarac

  • Role of gravity in the development of posture and locomotion in the neonatal rat

    François Clarac;Laurent Vinay;Jean-René Cazalets;Jean-Claude Fady

  • Invertebrate presynaptic inhibition and motor control

    F. Clarac;D. Cattaert

  • Postural modifications and neuronal excitability changes induced by a short-term serotonin depletion during neonatal development in the rat.

    Jean-François Pflieger;François Clarac;Laurent Vinay

  • Reversible Disorganization of the Locomotor Pattern after Neonatal Spinal Cord Transection in the Rat

    Jean-Chrétien Norreel;Jean-François Pflieger;Edouard Pearlstein;Juliette Simeoni-Alias

  • Monosynaptic connections mediate resistance reflex in crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) walking legs

    A. El Manira;D. Cattaert;F. Clarac

  • Two types of motor rhythm induced by NMDA and amines in an in vitro spinal cord preparation of neonatal rat.

    J.R. Cazalets;P. Grillner;I. Menard;J. Cremieux

  • Variability as a characteristic of immature motor systems: an electromyographic study of swimming in the newborn rat.

    J.R. Cazalets;I. Menard;J. Crémieux;F. Clarac

  • Invertebrate preparations and their contribution to neurobiology in the second half of the 20th century.

    François Clarac;Edouard Pearlstein

  • Neuromuscular strategies underlying different behavioral acts in a multifunctional crustacean leg joint

    Joseph Ayers;François Clarac

  • Modulation of the spinal network for locomotion by substance P in the neonatal rat

    J.-Y. Barthe;François Clarac

  • The control of antennal movements by leg proprioceptors in the rock lobster,Palinurus vulgaris

    François Clarac;Douglas M. Neil;Jean Pierre Vedel

  • Dual locomotor activity selectively controlled by force- and contact-sensitive mechanoreceptors.

    M. Bévengut;F. Libersat;F. Clarac

  • Single unit sensory activity in free walking crabs: force sensitive mechanoreceptors of the dactyl.

    Sasha N. Zill;Frederic Libersat;Francois Clarac

  • Anatomical and physiological organization of the swimmeret system of the spiny lobsterJasus lalandii as adaptive components of the tail flick

    Daniel Cattaert;Francois Clarac;Douglas M. Neil

Frequent Co-Authors

Jean-René Cazalets
Jean-René Cazalets University of Bordeaux
Washington Buño
Washington Buño Spanish National Research Council
Alfonso Araque
Alfonso Araque University of Minnesota
Douglas G. Stuart
Douglas G. Stuart University of Arizona
Allan M. Smith
Allan M. Smith University of Montreal
Jonathan R. Wolpaw
Jonathan R. Wolpaw National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies
Abdeljabbar El Manira
Abdeljabbar El Manira Karolinska Institute
Robert M. Brownstone
Robert M. Brownstone University College London
François Boller
François Boller National Institutes of Health

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