The colour centre in the cerebral cortex of man

Anatomical and physiological studies have shown that there is an area specialized for the processing of colour (area V4) in the prestriate cortex of macaque monkey brain. Earlier this century, suggestive clinical evidence for a colour centre in the brain of man was dismissed because of the association of other visual defects with the defects in colour vision. However, since the demonstration of functional specialization in the macaque cortex, the question of a colour centre in man has been reinvestigated, based on patients with similar lesions in the visual cortex. In order to study the colour centre in normal human subjects, we used the technique of positron emission tomography (PET), which measures increases in blood flow resulting from increased activity in the cerebral cortex. A comparison of the results of PET scans of subjects viewing multi-coloured and black-and-white displays has identified a region of normal human cerebral cortex specialized for colour vision.     

Inhibin beta in central neural pathways involved in the control of oxytocin secretion

Inhibin (I) a gonadal hormone glycoprotein which suppresses follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion from the anterior pituitary, is a heterodimer consisting of an alpha subunit and one of two distinct beta subunits. S1 nuclease analysis has revealed that RNAs encoding all three subunits (alpha, beta A and beta B) are expressed in rat brain. We report here on the localization, and a potential function, of inhibin beta in the rat brain. A cell group centred in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), a major recipient of visceral sensory information, was stained immunohistochemically with antisera against synthetic fragments of I beta, but not I alpha. The distribution of I beta-stained fibres is consistent with known NTS projections, and includes a prominent projection to oxytocinergic aspects of the magnocellular neurosecretory system.     

Further simplification of a supernatant flow system for tissue culture

Zusammenfassung In der Arbeit wird eine Einrichtung für kontinuierliche Flüssigkeitszufuhr beschrieben, wie sie für Gewebskulturen wertvoll sein kann. Durch eine feinporöse Membran kann die Menge der Flüssigkeit reguliert werden.

---

---

This research was supported by a P.H.S. Grant H-2249 from the National Heart Institute, U.S. Public Health Service.     

Microelectrode studies of spontaneous potentials from chick embryo telencephalon in vitro

Résumé A l'aide de micro-électrodes, des potentiels rythmiques spontanés ont été enregistrés dans du tissu télencéphalique d'embryons de poulets âgès de 14 jours, in vitro. Ces potentiels sont semblables à ceux précédemment décrits en utilisant des électrodes de 80 en platine. La possibilité pour ces potentiels d'être produits par les neurones de l'explant est discuté.