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At least 127 records · Page 7

Localization of motoneurons innervating individual abdominal muscles of the cat

The paper presents the results of a systematic investigation of the innervation of the cat's individual abdominal muscles. The segmental distribution of the different motor pools was determined by using electrical microstimulation of the ventral horn to produce visible localized muscle twitches and by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase injected into individual muscles. The segmental distribution of each motor pool was as follows: rectus abdominis, T4-L3; external oblique, T6-L3; transverse abdominis, T9-L3; and internal oblique, T13-L3.

Miller, Alan D.

Control of abdominal muscles by brain stem respiratory neurons in the cat

The nature of the control of abdominal muscles by the brain stem respiratory neurons was investigated in decerebrate unanesthetized cats. First, it was determined which of the brain stem respiratory neurons project to the lumbar cord (from which the abdominal muscles receive part of their innervation), by stimulating the neurons monopolarly. In a second part of the study, it was determined if lumbar-projecting respiratory neurons make monosynaptic connections with abdominal motoneurons; in these experiments, discriminate spontaneous spikes of antidromically acivated expiratory (E) neurons were used to trigger activity from both L1 and L2 nerves. A large projection was observed from E neurons in the caudal ventral respiratory group to the contralateral upper lumber cord. However, cross-correlation experiments found only two (out of 47 neuron pairs tested) strong monosynaptic connections between brain stem neurons and abdominal motoneurons.

Miller, Alan D.

Innervation of periesophageal region of cat's diaphragm - Implication for studies of control of vomiting

The extent of the region of the diaphragm around the esophagus that displays greatly reduced activity during the expulsive phase of vomiting was determined from electromyographic studies in cats to be about 0.75-1.0 cm from the esophagus. Horseradish peroxidase injected into this region retrogradely labeled motoneurons throughout most of the rostral-caudal extent of the phrenic nucleus, with the exception of caudal C6 and rostral C7. This widespread intermingling of motoneurons that innervate the region of reduced activity with other phrenic motoneurons creates a difficulty for needed follow-up studies of diaphragmatic control during vomiting.

Tan, L. K.

Direct and indirect pathways to lamina I in the medulla oblongata and spinal cord of the cat

The pathways to lamina I in the medulla oblongata and spinal cord of the cat were traced using horse-radish-peroxidase (HRP) and autoradiographic techniques. The HRP results indicated that several neuronal cell groups in the brain stem and hypothalamus project to the spinal cord throughout its total length. The autoradiographic tracing results demonstrated that the strongest projections to lamina I are derived from the following four areas: the caudal nucleus raphe magnus (NRM), the ventral part of the caudal pontine and NRM, the contralaterally projecting lateral pontine or paralemniscal tegmentum, and the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. In addition, a limited, especially at lumbosacral levels, distinct projection to lamina I was found to originate in the most caudal part of the medullary tegmentum.

Holstege, Gert

Projections from the rostral mesencephalic reticular formation to the spinal cord - An HRP and autoradiographical tracing study in the cat

Horseradish peroxidase was injected, or implanted unilaterally, into various levels of the spinal cord of anesthetized cats, to trace the distribution of projections to the spinal cord, of neurons in Field H of Forel, including the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF), and the interstitial nucleus of Cajal with adjacent reticular formation (INC-RF). Results indicate that, unlike the neurons projecting to the extraocular muscle motoneurons, the major portion of the spinally projecting neurons are not located in the riMLF or INC proper, but in adjacent areas, i.e., the ventral and lateral parts of the caudal third of the Field H of Forel and in the INC-RF. Neurons in caudal Field H of Forel, project, via the ventral part of the ventral funicululs, to the lateral part of the upper cervical ventral horn.

Holstege, G.

Anatomical study of the final common pathway for vocalization in the cat

Results are presented of an anatomical study of the neuronal pathways in the cat, via which the periaqueductal gray (PAG) produces excitation of motoneurons involved in vocalization. It is shown that a specific cell group in the lateral part of the caudal PAG and in the tegmentum just lateral to it projects bilaterally to the nucleus retroambiguus (NRA) in the caudal medulla oblongata. Neurons in the NRA in turn project, via a contralateral pathway through the ventral funiculus of the spinal cord, to the motoneuronal cell groups innervating intercostal and abdominal muscles. In the brainstem, the NRA neurons project to the motoneuronal cell groups innervating mouth-opening and perioral muscles as well as to motoneurons innervating the pharynx, soft palate, and tongue. These results indicate that the projections from PAG via NRA to vocalization motoneurons form the final common pathway in vocalization.

Holstege, Gert

8-OH-DPAT suppresses vomiting in the cat elicited by motion, cisplatin or xylazine

Vomiting was suppressed in cats pretreated with 8-OH-DPAT and then challenged with an emetic stimulus; motion, xylazine or cisplatin. The antiemetic effect is likely due to stimulation of postsynaptic serotonin-1A receptors. The most parsimonious explanation is that it acts at a convergent structure, presumably at or near the vomiting center. If so, 8-OH-DPAT may block emesis elicited by virtually any other stimulus. A supplementary experiment revealed that lorazepam suppressed motion sickness at a dose that produced ataxia, but did not suppress xylazine-induced emesis. These results do not support the possibility that the antiemetic effects of 8-OH-DPAT were the result of anxiolytic activity.

Lucot, James B.

Descending pathways to the cutaneus trunci muscle motoneuronal cell group in the cat

The descending pathways to the motoneuronal cell group of the cutaneous trunci muscle (CTM) of the cat were investigated by injecting H-3-labeled lucine into the brain stem, the diencephalon, or the C1, C2, C6, and C8 segments of the spinal cord, and examining fixed autoradiographic sections of the spinal cord and brain regions. Results demonstrate presence of specific supraspinal projectons to the CTM motor nucleus originating in the contralateral nucleus retroambiguous and the ipsilateral dorsolateral pontine tegmentum. Results also suggest that propriospinal pathways to the CTM motor nucleus originating in the cervical cord do not exist, although these propriospinal projections to all other motoneuronal cell groups surrounding the CTM nucleus are very strong.

Holstege, Gert

Descending pathways to the cutaneus trunci muscle motoneuronal cell group in the cat

Pathways involved in the cutaneous trunci muscle (CTM) reflex in the cat were investigated. Experimental animals were injected with tritium-labeled L-leucine into their spinal cord, brain stem, or diencephalon and, after six weeks, perfused with 10-percent formalin. The brains and spinal cords were postfixed in formalin and were cut into transverse 25-micron-thick frozen sections for autoradiography. Results based on injections in the C1, C2, C6, and C8 segments suggest that propriospinal pathways to the CTM motor nucleus originating in the cervical cord do no exist, although these propriospinal projections are very strong to all other motoneuronal cell groups surrounding the CTM motor nucleus. The results also demonstrate presence of specific supraspinal projections to the CTM motor nucleus, originating in the contralateral nucleus retroambiguous and the ipsilateral dorsolateral pontine tegmentum.

Holstege, Gert

Effects of serotonin antagonists on motion sickness and its suppression by 8-OH-DPAT in cats

The antagonist properties of (-)propranolol, (+)propranolol, metergoline and BMY 7378 on the known effect of 8-OH-DPAT (DPAT) to decrease motion sickness in cats has been evaluated. (-)Propranolol produced a greater decrease in the antiemetic effect of DPAT than did (+)propranolol. Although metergoline produced a decrease in the antiemetic effect of DPAT, the decrease could not be clearly attributed to interactions with 5-HT(1A) receptors because metergoline alone slightly enhanced motion sickness. Depletion of 5-HT with PCPA produced a weaker, nonsignificant enhancement of motion sickness, while mesulergine had no effect. As neither nonspecific 5-HT receptor blockade with metergoline nor depletion of 5-HT mimicked the antiemetic effect of DPAT, it was concluded that DPAT acts on postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptors to prevent emesis. BMY 7378 alone decreased the incidence of motion sickness. A dose just below this agonist range did not decrease the effects of DPAT.

Lucot, James B.

Increased release of brain serotonin reduces vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation in the cat

The effect of administering the serotonin precursor 5-l-hydroxytryptophan, in conjunction with a monamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine and a l-amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor carbidopa, on neurochemical changes in the concentrations of serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the cerebrospinal fluid of the cat were investigated. Results showed that this drug regimen led to increases of serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid by 330 and 830 percent, respectively. Concomitantly, the threshold of ventricular fibrillation was found to be elevated by 42 percent and the effective refractory period was prolonged by 7 percent; the efferent sympathetic neural activity was suppressed in the normal heart. The results indicate that the enhancement of central serotoninergic neurotransmission can reduce the susceptibility of the heart to ventricular fibrillation mediated through a decline in sympathetic neural traffic to the heart.

Lehnert, Hendrik

Half-squaring in responses of cat striate cells

Simple cells in striate cortex have been depicted as rectified linear operators, and complex cells have been depicted as energy mechanisms (constructed from the squared sums of linear operator outputs). This paper discusses two essential hypotheses of the linear/energy model: (1) that a cell's selectivity is due to an underlying (spatiotemporal and binocular) linear stage; and (2) that a cell's firing rate depends on the squared output of the underlying linear stage. This paper reviews physiological measurements of cat striate cell responses, and concludes that both of these hypotheses are supported by the data.

Heeger, D. J.

Antagonistic otolith-visual units in cat vestibular nuclei

The nature of neural coding of visual (Vis) and vestibular (Vst) information on translational motion in the region of the vestibular nuclei was investigated using extracellular single-unit recordings in alert adult cats. Responses were recorded and averaged over 60 cycles of stimulation in the vertical and horizontal planes, which included the Vst (movement of the animal in the dark), Vis (movement within lighted visual surround), and combined Vis and Vst (movement of the animal within the lighted stationary visual surround). Data are reported on responses to stimulations along the axis showing maximal sensitivity. A small number of units were identified that showed an antagonistic relationship between their Vis and Vst responses (since they were maximally excited by Vis and by Vst stimulations in the same direction). Results suggest that antagonistic units may belong to an infrequently encountered, but functionally distinct, class of neurons.

Daunton, Nancy G.

8-OH-DPAT does not interfere with habituation to motion-induced emesis in cats

Experiments were performed to determine if suppression of motion-induced emesis (motion sickness) by 8-OH-DPAT altered the development or retention of habituation to the motion stimulus. Cats received 8-OH-DPAT followed by provocative motion on three consecutive treatment days. A drug-free test on the fourth day resulted in an incidence of emesis that was not different from that obtained on the fourth consecutive day of drug-free motion testing. Three consecutive days of treatment with 8-OH-DPAT without motion had no effect on the incidence of motion sickness on the fourth day. It was concluded that suppression of motion sickness by 8-OH-DPAT does not alter the acquisition or retention of habituation.

Lucot, James B.

Cat Mountain: A meteoritic sample of an impact-melted chondritic asteroid

Although impact cratering and collisional disruption are the dominant geologic processes affecting asteroids, samples of impact melt breccias comprise less than 1 percent of ordinary chondritic material and none exist among enstatite and carbonaceous chondrite groups. Because the average collisional velocity among asteroids is sufficiently large to produce impact melts, this paucity of impact-melted material is generally believed to be a sampling bias, making it difficult to determine the evolutionary history of chondritic bodies and how impact processes may have affected the physical properties of asteroids (e.g., their structural integrity and reflectance spectra). To help address these and related issues, the first petrographic description of a new chondritic impact melt breccia sample, tentatively named Cat Mountain, is presented.

Kring, David A.

Vibrational Schroedinger Cats

The optical Schroedinger cat states are simple realizations of quantum states having nonclassical features. It is shown that vibrational analogues of such states can be realized in an experiment of double pulse excitation of vibrionic transitions. To track the evolution of the vibrational wave packet we derive a non-unitary time evolution operator so that calculations are made in a quasi Heisenberg picture.

Kis, Z.

Correlated Light and Schroedinger Cats

The Schrodinger cat male and female states are discussed. The Wigner and Q-functions of generalized correlated light are given. Linear transformator of photon statistics is reviewed.

Manko, V. I.

Error Generation in CATS-Based Agents

This research presents a methodology for generating errors from a model of nominally preferred correct operator activities, given a particular operational context, and maintaining an explicit link to the erroneous contextual information to support analyses. It uses the Crew Activity Tracking System (CATS) model as the basis for error generation. This report describes how the process works, and how it may be useful for supporting agent-based system safety analyses. The report presents results obtained by applying the error-generation process and discusses implementation issues. The research is supported by the System-Wide Accident Prevention Element of the NASA Aviation Safety Program.

Callantine, Todd