The influence of stimulus-modality and duration on changes in temporal judgments over trials.
Sensory stimulation and duration on changes in time judgments over trials
SENSORY STIMULATION↗
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Some characteristics of stimulus-provoked alpha activity.
Electroencephalogram reactivity and reactivity and reaction time of subjects to photic stimulation
REACTION TIME↗
Effect of stromal-cell-derived factor 1 on stem-cell homing and tissue regeneration in ischaemic cardiomyopathy
BACKGROUND: Myocardial regeneration via stem-cell mobilisation at the time of myocardial infarction is known to occur, although the mechanism for stem-cell homing to infarcted tissue subsequently and whether this approach can be used for treatment of ischaemic cardiomyopathy are unknown. We investigated these issues in a Lewis rat model (ligation of the left anterior descending artery) of ischaemic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: We studied the effects of stem-cell mobilisation by use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim) with or without transplantation of syngeneic cells. Shortening fraction and myocardial strain by tissue doppler imaging were quantified by echocardiography. FINDINGS: Stem-cell mobilisation with filgrastim alone did not lead to engraftment of bone-marrow-derived cells. Stromal-cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), required for stem-cell homing to bone marrow, was upregulated immediately after myocardial infarction and downregulated within 7 days. 8 weeks after myocardial infarction, transplantation into the peri-infarct zone of syngeneic cardiac fibroblasts stably transfected to express SDF-1 induced homing of CD117-positive stem cells to injured myocardium after filgrastim administration (control vs SDF-1-expressing cardiac fibroblasts mean 7.2 [SD 3.4] vs 33.2 [6.0] cells/mm2, n=4 per group, p<0.02) resulting in greater left-ventricular mass (1.24 [0.29] vs 1.57 [0.27] g) and better cardiac function (shortening fraction 9.2 [4.9] vs 17.2 [4.2]%, n=8 per group, p<0.05). INTERPRETATION: These findings show that SDF-1 is sufficient to induce therapeutic stem-cell homing to injured myocardium and suggest a strategy for directed stem-cell engraftment into injured tissues. Our findings also indicate that therapeutic strategies focused on stem-cell mobilisation for regeneration of myocardial tissue must be initiated within days of myocardial infarction unless signalling for stem-cell homing is re-established.
NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗
Alternating-pulse iontophoresis for targeted cutaneous anesthesia
In studies of sensory contributions to motor control, it may be advantageous to temporarily reduce the sensitivity of specific sensory systems. This article details a method for non-invasively inducing cutaneous anesthesia, leaving proprioceptive and motor functions intact. This method, called alternating-pulse iontophoresis, differs from conventional direct-current (DC) iontophoretic drug delivery in that adjacent drug delivery electrodes are stimulated out-of-phase. The total current delivered at any instant is then less than that produced during a comparable DC application, while the uniformity of drug delivery is expected to improve. Effective delivery of local anesthetics to the cutaneous foot soles by alternating-pulse iontophoresis was demonstrated using cutaneous pressure sensory threshold levels (STL's) assessed with Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments (arbitrary units of perceived force, or a.u.). Thirteen of 16 healthy subjects achieved a level of anesthesia greater than or equal to that normally associated with clinical peripheral sensory neuropathy. Average STL's measured prior to the anesthesia procedure were 4.00 a.u. ( approximately 10 mN). Immediately following the procedure, STL's were elevated to an average of 5.40 a.u. ( approximately 246 mN) and averaged 4.97 a.u. ( approximately 92 mN) after 50 min of standing. A number of research and clinical applications for this technique are suggested.
Non-NASA Center↗
Vestibulo-ocular and vestibulospinal function before and after cochlear implant surgery
Vestibular function in cochlear implant candidates varies from normal to total absence of function. In patients with intact vestibular function preoperatively, invasion of the otic capsule places residual vestibular function at risk. Speech-processing strategies that result in large amplitude electrical transients or strategies that employ high amplitude broad frequency carrier signals have the potential for disrupting vestibular function. Five patients were tested with and without electrical stimulation via cochlear electrodes. Two patients experienced subjective vestibular effects that were quickly resolved. No long-term vestibular effects were noted for the two types of second generation cochlear implants evaluated. Histopathological findings from another patient, who had electrically generated vestibular reflex responses to intramodiolar electrodes, indicated that responses elicited were a function of several variables including electrode location, stimulus intensity, stimulus amplitude, and stimulus frequency. Differential auditory, vestibulocolic, and vestibulospinal reflexes were demonstrated from the same electrode as a function of stimulus amplitude, frequency, and duration.
Case Reports↗
Effects of hypergravity on immunologic function
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of hypergravity exposure (2g) with those of exposure to space flight in the Cosmos 2044 flight. To do so, rats were centrifuged continuously for 14 days. Two different experiments were carried out on tissue obtained from the centrifuged rats. In the first experiment, rat bone marrow cells were examined for their response to recombinant murine colony stimulating factor-granulocyte/monocyte (GM-CSF). In the second experiment, rat spleen and bone marrow cells were stained in with a variety of antibodies directed against cell surface antigenic markers. These cells were preserved and analyzed on a flow cytometer. The results of the studies indicated that bone marrow cells from centrifuged rats showed no significant change in response to GM-CSF as compared to bone marrow cells from control rats. Spleen cells from flown rats showed some statistically significant changes in leukocytes subset distribution, but no differences that appeared to be of biological significance. These results indicate that hypergravity did not greatly affect the same immunological parameters affected by space flight in the Cosmos 2044 mission.
NASA Program Flight↗
Stabilization of posture by precision touch of the index finger with rigid and flexible filaments
Light touch of the index finger with a stationary surface at non-mechanically supportive force levels (<100 g) greatly attenuates the body sway of standing subjects. In three experiments, we evaluated the properties of finger contact and of the contacted object necessary to produce postural stabilization in subjects standing heel-to-toe with eyes closed, as well as how accurately hand position can be controlled. Experiment 1 involved finger contact with flexible filaments of different bending strengths, a flat surface, and an imagined spatial position. Contact with the flat surface was most effective in attenuating sway; the flexible filaments were much less effective but still significantly better than imagined contact. Experiment 2 compared the effectiveness of finger contact with a flexible filament, a rigid filament of the same diameter, a flat surface, and an imagined spatial position. The rigid filament and flat surface conditions were equally effective in attenuating body sway and were greatly superior to contact with the flexible filament, which was superior to imagined contact. Experiment 3 included five conditions: arms by sides; finger "contact" with an imagined spatial position; finger contact with a flat surface; finger contact with a flexible filament attempting to maintain it bent; and contact with the flexible filament attempting not to bend it. The arms by sides and finger "contact" with an imagined position conditions did not differ significantly; all three conditions involving actual finger contact showed significantly less center of pressure and hand sway, but contact with the flat surface was most effective in attenuating both postural and hand displacement. In all three experiments, the level of force applied in fingertip contact conditions was far below that necessary to provide mechanical stabilization. Our findings indicate that: (1) stimulation of a small number of receptors in the fingertip is adequate to allow stabilization of sway, (2) fingertip force levels as low as 5-10 g provide some stabilization, (3) contact with a stationary spatial referent is most effective, and (4) independent control of arm and torso occurs when finger contact is allowed.
NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
Role of the medial medullary reticular formation in relaying vestibular signals to the diaphragm and abdominal muscles
Changes in posture can affect the resting length of respiratory muscles, requiring alterations in the activity of these muscles if ventilation is to be unaffected. Recent studies have shown that the vestibular system contributes to altering respiratory muscle activity during movement and changes in posture. Furthermore, anatomical studies have demonstrated that many bulbospinal neurons in the medial medullary reticular formation (MRF) provide inputs to phrenic and abdominal motoneurons; because this region of the reticular formation receives substantial vestibular and other movement-related input, it seems likely that medial medullary reticulospinal neurons could adjust the activity of respiratory motoneurons during postural alterations. The objective of the present study was to determine whether functional lesions of the MRF affect inspiratory and expiratory muscle responses to activation of the vestibular system. Lidocaine or muscimol injections into the MRF produced a large increase in diaphragm and abdominal muscle responses to vestibular stimulation. These vestibulo-respiratory responses were eliminated following subsequent chemical blockade of descending pathways in the lateral medulla. However, inactivation of pathways coursing through the lateral medulla eliminated excitatory, but not inhibitory, components of vestibulo-respiratory responses. The simplest explanation for these data is that MRF neurons that receive input from the vestibular nuclei make inhibitory connections with diaphragm and abdominal motoneurons, whereas a pathway that courses laterally in the caudal medulla provides excitatory vestibular inputs to these motoneurons.
Non-NASA Center↗
Enhancement of lettuce yield by manipulation of light and nitrogen nutrition
Several levels of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) were tested for effects on growth of 4 cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under controlled-environment conditions. Growth of 'Salad Bowl', 'Bibb', and 'Ruby' was greater at 932 micromoles s-1 m-2 than at < or = 644 micromoles s-1 m-2 under a 16-hour photoperiod. Thirty mM NO3- or 5 mM NH4+ + 25 mM NO3- increased leaf dry weight while reducing leaf chlorosis in 'Salad Bowl' and 'Grand Rapids' relative to that with 15 mM NO3-, and reduced leaf purpling in 'Bibb' and 'Ruby' with little or no effect on yield. Continuous illumination with 455 or 918 micromoles s-1 m-2 stimulated yield of 'Salad Bowl' and 'Bibb' when 30 mM N as NH4+ + NO3- was used relative to that with 15 mM NO3-.
Nitrogen/metabolism↗
Rapid and systemic accumulation of chloroplast mRNA-binding protein transcripts after flame stimulus in tomato
It has been shown that tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants respond to flame wounding and electrical stimulation by a rapid (15 min) and systemic up-regulation of proteinase inhibitor (pin) genes. To find other genes having a similar expression pattern, we used subtractive cDNA screening between flamed and control plants to select clones up-regulated by flame wounding. We report the characterization of one of them, a chloroplast mRNA-binding protein encoded by a single gene and expressed preferentially in the leaves. Systemic gene expression in response to flaming in the youngest terminal leaf exhibited three distinct phases: a rapid and transient increase (5-15 min) in transcript accumulation, a decline to basal levels (15-45 min), and then a second, more prolonged increase (60-90 min). In contrast, after a mechanical wound the rapid, transient increase (5 min) was followed by a rapid decline to basal levels but no later, prolonged accumulation. In the petiole, the initial flame-wound-evoked transient increase (15 min) was followed by a continuous decline for 3 h. The nature of the wound signal(s) causing such rapid changes in transcript abundance is discussed in relation to electrical signaling, which has recently been implicated in plant responses to wounding.
NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
Integration of vestibular and head movement signals in the vestibular nuclei during whole-body rotation
Single-unit recordings were obtained from 107 horizontal semicircular canal-related central vestibular neurons in three alert squirrel monkeys during passive sinusoidal whole-body rotation (WBR) while the head was free to move in the yaw plane (2.3 Hz, 20 degrees /s). Most of the units were identified as secondary vestibular neurons by electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral vestibular nerve (61/80 tested). Both non-eye-movement (n = 52) and eye-movement-related (n = 55) units were studied. Unit responses recorded when the head was free to move were compared with responses recorded when the head was restrained from moving. WBR in the absence of a visual target evoked a compensatory vestibulocollic reflex (VCR) that effectively reduced the head velocity in space by an average of 33 +/- 14%. In 73 units, the compensatory head movements were sufficiently large to permit the effect of the VCR on vestibular signal processing to be assessed quantitatively. The VCR affected the rotational responses of different vestibular neurons in different ways. Approximately one-half of the units (34/73, 47%) had responses that decreased as head velocity decreased. However, the responses of many other units (24/73) showed little change. These cells had signals that were better correlated with trunk velocity than with head velocity. The remaining units had responses that were significantly larger (15/73, 21%) when the VCR produced a decrease in head velocity. Eye-movement-related units tended to have rotational responses that were correlated with head velocity. On the other hand, non-eye-movement units tended to have rotational responses that were better correlated with trunk velocity. We conclude that sensory vestibular signals are transformed from head-in-space coordinates to trunk-in-space coordinates on many secondary vestibular neurons in the vestibular nuclei by the addition of inputs related to head rotation on the trunk. This coordinate transformation is presumably important for controlling postural reflexes and constructing a central percept of body orientation and movement in space.
Non-NASA Center↗
Root-growth behavior of the Arabidopsis mutant rgr1. Roles of gravitropism and circumnutation in the waving/coiling phenomenon
In this study we investigated the kinetics of the gravitropic response of the Arabidopsis mutant rgr1 (reduced root gravitropism). Although the rate of curvature in rgr1, which is allelic to axr4, was smaller than in the wild type (ecotype Wassilewskija), curvature was initiated in the same region of the root, the distal elongation zone. The time lag for the response was unaffected in the mutant; however, the gravitropic response of rgr1 contained a feature not found in the wild type: when roots growing along the surface of an agar plate were gravistimulated, there was often an upward curvature that initiated in the central elongation zone. Because this response was dependent on the tactile environment of the root, it most likely resulted from the superposition of the waving/coiling phenomenon onto the gravitropic response. We found that the frequency of the waving pattern and circumnutation, a cyclic endogenous pattern of root growth, was the same in rgr1 and in the wild type, so the waving/coiling phenomenon is likely governed by circumnutation patterns. The amplitudes of these oscillations may then be selectively amplified by tactile stimulation to provide a directional preference to the slanting.
NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
Effect of space flight on cytokine production and other immunologic parameters of rhesus monkeys
During a recent flight of a Russian satellite (Cosmos #2229), initial experiments examining the effects of space flight on immunologic responses of rhesus monkeys were performed to gain insight into the effect of space flight on resistance to infection. Experiments were performed on tissue samples taken from the monkeys before and immediately after flight. Additional samples were obtained approximately 1 month after flight for a postflight restraint study. Two types of experiments were carried out throughout this study. The first experiment determined the ability of leukocytes to produce interleukin-1 and to express interleukin-2 receptors. The second experiment examined the responsiveness of rhesus bone marrow cells to recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Human reagents that cross-reacted with monkey tissue were utilized for the bulk of the studies. Results from both studies indicated that there were changes in immunologic function attributable to space flight. Interleukin-1 production and the expression of interleukin-2 receptors was decreased after space flight. Bone marrow cells from flight monkeys showed a significant decrease in their response to GM-CSF compared with the response of bone marrow cells from nonflight control monkeys. These results suggest that the rhesus monkey may be a useful surrogate for humans in future studies that examine the effect of space flight on immune response, particularly when conditions do not readily permit human study.
unmanned↗
Lipopolysaccharide modulation of a CD14-like molecule on porcine alveolar macrophages
Cluster of differentiation antigen 14 (CD14) functions as a receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) LPS-binding protein (LBP) complexes. Because LPS has varying effects on CD14 expression in vitro, we evaluated CD14 expression in response to LPS with a fully differentiated macrophage phenotype, the alveolar macrophage. By using flow microfluorometric analysis and a radioimmunoassay with an anti-human CD14 monoclonal antibody (My4) that cross-reacts with porcine CD14, we found that macrophages stimulated with LPS for 24 h exhibited a two- to fivefold increase in CD14-like antigen compared with unstimulated cells. At low concentrations of LPS, up-regulation of the CD14-like antigen was dependent on serum; at higher concentrations of LPS, serum was not required. In the absence of serum a 10-fold higher dose of LPS (10 ng/ml) was required to increase CD14-like expression. In addition, LPS-induced CD14-like up-regulation correlated with secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, regardless of serum concentration. Blockade with My4 antibody significantly inhibited LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion at 1 ng/ml of LPS. However, inhibition decreased as we increased the LPS concentration, suggesting the existence of CD14-independent pathways of macrophage activation in response to LPS. Alternatively, My4 may have a lower affinity for the porcine CD14 antigen than LPS, which may have only partially blocked the LPS-LBP binding site at high concentrations of LPS. Therefore, these data suggest that LPS activation of porcine alveolar macrophages for 24 h increased CD14-like receptor expression. The degree of CD14-like up-regulation was related to LPS concentration, however, activation did not require the presence of serum at high concentrations of LPS.
Non-NASA Center↗
Conventional and cross-correlation brain-stem auditory evoked responses in the white leghorn chick: rate manipulations
Rate-dependent changes in the chick brain-stem auditory evoked response (BAER) using conventional averaging and a cross-correlation technique were investigated. Five 15- to 19-day-old white leghorn chicks were anesthetized with Chloropent. In each chick, the left ear was acoustically stimulated. Electrical pulses of 0.1-ms duration were shaped, attenuated, and passed through a current driver to an Etymotic ER-2 which was sealed in the ear canal. Electrical activity from stainless-steel electrodes was amplified, filtered (300-3000 Hz) and digitized at 20 kHz. Click levels included 70 and 90 dB peSPL. In each animal, conventional BAERs were obtained at rates ranging from 5 to 90 Hz. BAERs were also obtained using a cross-correlation technique involving pseudorandom pulse sequences called maximum length sequences (MLSs). The minimum time between pulses, called the minimum pulse interval (MPI), ranged from 0.5 to 6 ms. Two BAERs were obtained for each condition. Dependent variables included the latency and amplitude of the cochlear microphonic (CM), wave 2 and wave 3. BAERs were observed in all chicks, for all level by rate combinations for both conventional and MLS BAERs. There was no effect of click level or rate on the latency of the CM. The latency of waves 2 and 3 increased with decreasing click level and increasing rate. CM amplitude decreased with decreasing click level, but was not influenced by click rate for the 70 dB peSPL condition. For the 90 dB peSPL click, CM amplitude was uninfluenced by click rate for conventional averaging. For MLS BAERs, CM amplitude was similar to conventional averaging for longer MPIs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).
NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
Cell proliferation and differentiation in chemical leukemogenesis
In tissues such as bone marrow with normally high rates of cell division, proliferation is tightly coordinated with cell differentiation. Survival, proliferation and differentiation of early hematopoietic progenitor cells depend on the growth factors, interleukin 3 (IL-3) and/or granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and their synergism with other cytokines. We provide evidence that a characteristic shared by a diverse group of compounds with demonstrated leukemogenic potential is the ability to act synergistically with GM-CSF. This results in an increase in recruitment of a resting population of hematopoietic progenitor cells normally unresponsive to the cytokine and a twofold increase in the size of the proliferating cell population normally regarded to be at risk of transformation in leukemogenesis. These findings support the possibility that transient alterations in hematopoietic progenitor cell differentiation may be an important factor in the early stages of development of leukemia secondary to chemical or drug exposure.
Non-NASA Center↗
Isoperiodic neuronal activity in suprachiasmatic nucleus of the rat
A subpopulation of neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is shown here to exhibit isoperiodic bursting activity. The period of discharge in these cells may be lengthened or the periodicity may be transiently disrupted by photic stimulation. It is suggested that many, if not all, of these cells are vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) neurons. It is shown that the ultradian periodicity of these cells, estimates of the VIP neuron population size in the SCN, effects of partial lesions on tau (period), and estimates of the phase stability of SCN-driven circadian rhythms are consistent with a strongly coupled, multioscillator model of circadian rhythmicity, in which the oscillator population constitutes a restricted subset of the SCN neuronal population.
NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
Muscle fatigue in frog semitendinosus: role of intracellular pH
The purpose of this study was to utilize glass microelectrodes to characterize the intracellular pH (pHi) before and during recovery from fatigue in the frog semitendinosus (ST) muscle. A second objective was to evaluate the relationship between pHi and contractile function. The frog ST muscle (22 degrees C) was fatigued by direct electrical stimulation with 100-ms 150-Hz trains at 1/s for 5 min. Peak tetanic force (Po) was reduced to 8.5% of initial force and recovered in a biphasic manner, returning to the resting value by 40 min. Resting pHi was 7.00 +/- 0.02 (n = 37) and declined with fatigue to an average value of 6.42 at 3 min of recovery. During recovery pHi significantly increased and by 25 min had returned to the prefatigue value. The pHi recovery was highly correlated to the slow phase of Po recovery (r = 0.98, P less than 0.001). The mean resting membrane potential was -78 +/- 1.0 mV (n = 42) and at 3 min of recovery was depolarized to -67 +/- 4 mV. Both the peak rate of twitch force development (+dP/dt) (r = 0.99, P less than 0.001) and decline (-dP/dt) (r = 0.94, P less than 0.014) were highly correlated to pHi during the slow phase of recovery. Contraction time (CT) and one-half relaxation time (1/2RT) increased significantly and recovered exponentially. The recovery of CT and 1/2RT were both significantly correlated to pHi (r = -0.93, P less than 0.001 and r = -0.86, P less than 0.001 for CT and 1/2RT, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).
NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗