Induction of functional retinal projections to the somatosensory system

Optic axons can be induced to form permanent, retinotopic connections in the auditory (medial geniculate, MG) and somatosensory (ventrobasal, VB) nuclei of the Syrian hamster thalamus; this occurs when the principal targets of retinofugal axons are ablated in newborn hamsters and alternative terminal space is created by partial deafferentation of MG or VB. The experimentally induced retinal projection to the somatosensory nucleus occurs by the stabilization of an early, normally transient projection. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the anomalous, stabilized retino-VB projection is functional. Newborn hamsters were operated on to produce permanent retino-VB projections and when the animals were mature, neurophysiological recordings were made in the cortical targets of VB, the first and second somatosensory cortices (SI and SII, respectively). Visual stimulation within well-defined receptive fields reliably evoked multi-unit responses in SI and SII of operated, but not normal hamsters. The representations of the visual field in SI and SII showed a partially retinotopic organization. These results demonstrate that optic tract axons can form functional synapses in the thalamic somatosensory nucleus, and suggest that neural structures which normally process information specific to one sensory modality have the potential to mediate function for other modalities.     

Mediation of thalamic sensory input by both NMDA receptors and non-NMDA receptors

Excitatory amino acids such as L-glutamate and L-aspartate are well established as neurotransmitter candidates in the mammalian central nervous system, and three types of receptor for these substances have been proposed, characterized by the agonists N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainate and quisqualate. All these receptors have been suggested to have synaptic roles in excitatory transmission in the brain. Here I demonstrate that NMDA receptors play a crucial role in the observed response of ventrobasal thalamus (VB) neurones to natural stimulation of somatosensory afferents, but do not appear to be responsible for the short-latency excitation seen on electrical stimulation of the afferents which is apparently mediated by excitatory amino-acid receptors of the non-NMDA type. This result indicates an involvement of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors in the responses of VB neurones to stimulation of somatosensory somatosensory afferents, depending on the mode of stimulation of the pathway.     

Somatosensory basis of speech production

The hypothesis that speech goals are defined acoustically and maintained by auditory feedback is a central idea in speech production research. An alternative proposal is that speech production is organized in terms of control signals that subserve movements and associated vocal-tract configurations. Indeed, the capacity for intelligible speech by deaf speakers suggests that somatosensory inputs related to movement play a role in speech production-but studies that might have documented a somatosensory component have been equivocal. For example, mechanical perturbations that have altered somatosensory feedback have simultaneously altered acoustics. Hence, any adaptation observed under these conditions may have been a consequence of acoustic change. Here we show that somatosensory information on its own is fundamental to the achievement of speech movements. This demonstration involves a dissociation of somatosensory and auditory feedback during speech production. Over time, subjects correct for the effects of a complex mechanical load that alters jaw movements (and hence somatosensory feedback), but which has no measurable or perceptible effect on acoustic output. The findings indicate that the positions of speech articulators and associated somatosensory inputs constitute a goal of speech movements that is wholly separate from the sounds produced.     

大鼠前庭核群亚核界定及其投射联系

前庭系统是脊椎动物中高度保守的感觉系统 ,对保持身体的空间位置、姿势平衡 ,调节肌紧张及协调眼球运动、自主神经活动的调节等起着重要作用 .前庭神经核是前庭传入的初级中枢 ,与中枢的很多核团和区域有传入、传出联系 .简述了近年来大鼠前庭核群在分区及其纤维联系等形态学上的研究进展     

触觉信息处理及其脑机制

 触觉不仅包含对物理特征的感知,还包括对情感性信息的识别,其信息的整合是人类认识环境的基础。本文阐述了编码不同特征触觉信息的皮肤感受器是触觉信息感知的结构基础;讨论了触觉信息在外周和中枢神经系统的加工机制。其中脊髓背角是触觉信息在皮层下水平加工的初级枢纽,躯体感觉皮层是加工触觉信息的主要脑区,且针对不同特征的触觉信息加工,存在相对独立的脑网络连接。本文还探讨了触觉与跨模态感觉的交互作用,揭示了多模态感觉信息整合的神经机制及其广泛的应用价值。     

Effect of propolis on vestibular compensation following unilateral labyrinthectomy in rats

Unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) results in the vestibular syndrome including nausea, vomiting, vertigo, spontaneous nystagmus (SN) and postural disturbance which abate over time in a process of behavioral recovery known as vestibular compensation. In order to investigate the effect of propolis on bestibular compensation, SN and expression of c-Fos protein in the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) were measured in unilateral labyrinthectomized Sprague-Dawley rats with pretreatment of propolis.     

Neuronal correlates of parametric working memory in the prefrontal cortex.

Humans and monkeys have similar abilities to discriminate the difference in frequency between two mechanical vibrations applied sequentially to the fingertips. A key component of this sensory task is that the second stimulus is compared with the trace left by the first (base) stimulus, which must involve working memory. Where and how is this trace held in the brain? This question was investigated by recording from single neurons in the prefrontal cortex of monkeys while they performed the somatosensory discrimination task. Here we describe neurons in the inferior convexity of the prefrontal cortex whose discharge rates varied, during the delay period between the two stimuli, as a monotonic function of the base stimulus frequency. We describe this as 'monotonic stimulus encoding', and we suggest that the result may generalize: monotonic stimulus encoding may be the basic representation of one-dimensional sensory stimulus quantities in working memory. Thus we predict that other behavioural tasks that require ordinal comparisons between scalar analogue stimuli would give rise to monotonic responses similar to those reported here.     

Cortex-restricted disruption of NMDAR1 impairs neuronal patterns in the barrel cortex

In the rodent primary somatosensory cortex, the configuration of whiskers and sinus hairs on the snout and of receptor-dense zones on the paws is topographically represented as discrete modules of layer IV granule cells (barrels) and thalamocortical afferent terminals. The role of neural activity, particularly activity mediated by NMDARs (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors), in patterning of the somatosensory cortex has been a subject of debate. We have generated mice in which deletion of the NMDAR1 (NR1) gene is restricted to excitatory cortical neurons, and here we show that sensory periphery-related patterns develop normally in the brainstem and thalamic somatosensory relay stations of these mice. In the somatosensory cortex, thalamocortical afferents corresponding to large whiskers form patterns and display critical period plasticity, but their patterning is not as distinct as that seen in the cortex of normal mice. Other thalamocortical patterns corresponding to sinus hairs and digits are mostly absent. The cellular aggregates known as barrels and barrel boundaries do not develop even at sites where thalamocortical afferents cluster. Our findings indicate that cortical NMDARs are essential for the aggregation of layer IV cells into barrels and for development of the full complement of thalamocortical patterns.     

家鸽桡神经和坐骨神经传入冲动在丘脑背外后核的会聚

在氨基甲酸乙酯麻醉的36只鸽上,记录和分析了丘脑背外后核对桡神经传入冲动发生反应的103个神经元的单位放电.神经元的诱发反应可分为六种类型.其中一部分单位还对刺激坐骨神经发生反应.不同前、后肢的同时传入可以在同一神经元上会聚并具有相互作用.丘脑背外后核的多种形式会聚可能是家鸽丘脑对四肢躯体感觉传入信息进行整合和加工的基础.     

Neurons excitability changes in rat medial vestibular nucleus following vestibular neurectomy

Intrinsic excitabilities of acutely isolated medial vestibular nucleus （MVN） neurons of rats with normal labyrinth and with undergoing vestibular compensation from 30 min to 24 h after unilateral vestibular deafferentation （UVD） were compared. In control rats, proportions of type A and B cells were 30 and 70%, respectively, however, the proportion of type A cells increased following UVD. Bursting discharge and irregular firing patterns were recorded from 2 to 12 h post UVD. The spontaneous discharge rate of neurons in the ipsilesional MVN increased significantly at 2 h post-UVD and remained high until 12 h post-UVD in both type A and type B cells. After-hyperpolarization （AHP） of the MVN neurons decreased significantly from 2 h post-UVD in both types of cells. These results suggest that the early stage of vestibular compensation after peripheral neurectomy is associated with an increase in intrinsic excitability due to reduction of AHP in MVN neurons.     

基于多模式测量的网站用户行为意图预测模型

研究了用户浏览电子商务网站时的行为意图预测模型.运用实验研究的方法,测量了用户在初次浏览电子商务网站时情感体验的三个方面(主观情感体验、眼动特征以及生理反应),以及用户浏览电子商务网站之后对于网站的行为意图(接近趋势),采用方差分析的方法提取了影响用户行为意图的情感体验指标,基于支持向量机建立了用户情感体验与行为意图之间的关系模型.结果表明,综合使用主观评价指标、眼动指标和生理指标能够很好地预测用户对于网站的接近趋势.     

论老舍小说中新女性形象缺失的原委

在老舍的小说中很难找到新女性(时代女性)形象，这与其特殊的人生经历、切入社会人生的方式以及主体的情感体验与怀旧情愫所导致的特殊审美心理有关。老舍是一个心态极其矛盾复杂的作家。     

Localization of a human system for sustained attention by positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomographic (PET) studies of human attention have begun to dissect isolable components of this complex higher brain function, including a midline attentional system in a region of the anterior cingulate cortex. The right hemisphere may play a special part in human attention; neglect, an important phenomenon associated with damage to attentional systems, is more severe, extensive and long-lasting after lesions to the right hemisphere. Here we use PET measurements of brain blood flow in healthy subjects to identify changes in regional brain activity during simple visual and somatosensory tasks of sustained attention or vigilance. We find localized increases in blood flow in the prefrontal and superior parietal cortex primarily in the right hemisphere, regardless of the modality or laterality of sensory input. The anterior cingulate was not activated during either task. These data localize the vigilance aspects of normal human attention to sensory stimuli, thereby clarifying the biology underlying asymmetries of attention to such stimuli that have been reported in clinical lesions.     

A neuronal analogue of state-dependent learning

State-dependent learning is a phenomenon in which the retrieval of newly acquired information is possible only if the subject is in the same sensory context and physiological state as during the encoding phase. In spite of extensive behavioural and pharmacological characterization, no cellular counterpart of this phenomenon has been reported. Here we describe a neuronal analogue of state-dependent learning in which cortical neurons show an acetylcholine-dependent expression of an acetylcholine-induced functional plasticity. This was demonstrated on neurons of rat somatosensory 'barrel' cortex, whose tunings to the temporal frequency of whisker deflections were modified by cellular conditioning. Pairing whisker stimulation with acetylcholine applied iontophoretically yielded selective lasting modification of responses, the expression of which depended on the presence of exogenous acetylcholine. Administration of acetylcholine during testing revealed frequency-specific changes in response that were not expressed when tested without acetylcholine or when the muscarinic antagonist, atropine, was applied concomitantly. Our results suggest that both acquisition and recall can be controlled by the cortical release of acetylcholine.     

An N-methylaspartate receptor-mediated synapse in rat cerebral cortex: a site of action of ketamine?

It has been proposed that three major receptor subtypes subserve the putative transmitter role of glutamate and aspartate in the mammalian central nervous system. One subtype is classified by the specific agonist N-methylaspartate (NMA) and the specific antagonist 4-amino-2-phosphonovaleric acid. It has been shown recently that excitation of neurones by NMA is also selectively reduced by dissociative anaesthetics such as ketamine and phencyclidine and by sigma opiates, drugs of abuse with common psychotomimetic properties. Responses to NMA have an unusual voltage relation which may result from a voltage-dependent block of the activated channel by physiological concentrations of magnesium. No synaptic potential with properties similar to those of responses to NMA, however, has yet been reported. We describe here an excitatory postsynaptic potential (e.p.s.p.) evoked by electrical stimulation of the white matter and recorded intracellularly from pyramidal cells in slices of rat somatosensory cortex. This e.p.s.p. has the appropriate voltage relation and sensitivity to Mg2+ and ketamine to be an NMA receptor-mediated synapse and a potential central site for the psychotomimetic actions of ketamine.     

PTMD对剪切型结构地震反应的控制效果分析

用复模态分析方法研究了ＰＴＭＤ的参数变化对剪切型结构地震反应的影响，并用具体实例进行了分析总结。数例结果表明ＰＴＭＤ用于控制剪切型结构地震反应是非常有效的。     

Identification of a serotonin/glutamate receptor complex implicated in psychosis

The psychosis associated with schizophrenia is characterized by alterations in sensory processing and perception. Some antipsychotic drugs were identified by their high affinity for serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (2AR). Drugs that interact with metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) also have potential for the treatment of schizophrenia. The effects of hallucinogenic drugs, such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide, require the 2AR and resemble some of the core symptoms of schizophrenia. Here we show that the mGluR2 interacts through specific transmembrane helix domains with the 2AR, a member of an unrelated G-protein-coupled receptor family, to form functional complexes in brain cortex. The 2AR-mGluR2 complex triggers unique cellular responses when targeted by hallucinogenic drugs, and activation of mGluR2 abolishes hallucinogen-specific signalling and behavioural responses. In post-mortem human brain from untreated schizophrenic subjects, the 2AR is upregulated and the mGluR2 is downregulated, a pattern that could predispose to psychosis. These regulatory changes indicate that the 2AR-mGluR2 complex may be involved in the altered cortical processes of schizophrenia, and this complex is therefore a promising new target for the treatment of psychosis.     

Receptive fields in the body-surface map in adult cortex defined by temporally correlated inputs

Receptive fields (RFs) obtained at specific cortical sites can be used to define a topographic map of the body surface in adult mammalian somatosensory cortex. This map is not static, and RFs at particular cortical sites can change in size and location throughout adult life. Conversely, the cortical loci at which a given skin surface is represented can shift hundreds of micrometres across the cortex in the koniocortical field, area 3b (refs 1-12). This plasticity suggests that RFs derive not from rigid anatomical connections, but by the selection of a subset of a large number of inputs. We have proposed that inputs are selected on the basis of temporal correlation 11-15. Here we test this idea by altering the correlation of inputs from two adjacent digits on the adult owl monkey hand by surgically connecting the skin surfaces of the two fingers (the formation of syndactyly). This manipulation increases the correlation of inputs from skin surfaces of adjacent fingers. The striking discontinuity between the zones of representation of adjacent digits on the somatosensory cortex disappeared. These results support the hypothesis that the topography of the body-surface map in the adult cortex is influenced by the temporal correlations of afferent inputs.     

基于小波变换提取和分析兔体感诱发电位

单次提取兔体感诱发电位,并定位和分析诱发电位波形成分．麻醉兔,以0．5Hz频率电脉冲刺激兔下肢隐神经,3764Hz采样频率收集兔头皮电位．采用一维多分辨分析提取兔体感诱发电位,并用连续小渡变换定位和分析诱发电位波形成分．单次诱发电位的小波变换与叠加平均诱发电位比较表明,Daubechies小波多分辨分析可以单次提取诱发电位．连续小渡变换能够精确定位诱发电位中波形成分,并可采用连续小波变换分析诱发成分的频域特性．连续小波变换技术把一维时域信号投影到二维时频空间研究将成为医学信号处理的一个有用方法．