Analysis of pairs of individual Ia-E.P.S.P.S in single motoneurones.

1. Recordings of individual e.p.s.p.s evoked by the action of single medial gastrocnemius Ia fibres have been made from medial gastrocnemius motoneurones. In many motoneurones the action of two Ia fibres has been observed and the properties of the e.p.s.p.s compared. 2. For sixty-three pairs of averaged e.p.s.p.s, each from the same motoneurone, the ratio of half-widths was plotted against the ratio of rise times. These results were compared with theoretical values derived from the Rall compartmental model. It was found that variations in synaptic current time courses and differences in the termination of localized synaptic terminals were not sufficient to account for all the data. 3. Amplitude and rise time were inversely related but the correlation coefficient was very low. For pairs of e.p.s.p.s in the same motoneurone the e.p.s.p. with the fast rise time was larger than that with the slow rise time in forty-eight of sixty-three cases. 4. In a given motoneurone individual e.p.s.p.s evoked by the action of different Ia fibres did not vary greatly in amplitude. The ratio of peak amplitudes was less than 3 for 86% of the pairs of e.p.s.p.s examined, and the maximum was 4-8. 5. Amplitude histograms were constructed for individual e.p.s.p.s at thirty-three synapses. Twenty-two of them could be shown to satisfy the Poisson law. The others satisfied the binomial law or neither. 6. Within a given motoneurone the amplitude of an e.p.s.p. is closely related to the mean number of quanta released but not to the amplitude of the unit e.p.s.p. produced by the action of a single quantum of transmitter.     

Prevention of E.N.T. diseases

World Health Organization has announced 'HEALTH FOR ALL BY YEAR 2000'. Unfortunately the emphasis at present is only on early diagnosis of a disease and its treatment. The modern investigations and treatment has become very costly which a poor man cannot afford. Preventive medicine is less costly. The developing countries have many socio-economic problems of population explosion, poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, shifting of population from rural to urban areas for employment and traffic jams in cities. Rapid industrialization has resulted in indiscriminate cutting of trees and forests and increasing pollution. Under the present circumstances one wonders whether it would be possible to achieve the WHO's object of health for all or will it remain a dream! The role of 'Yoga and Meditation' and vegetarian diet has been recognised world over for maintenance of normal physical and mental health; these help to lessen mental tension in the present competitive world full of stress and strain for all of us. 3-4% of people in the world avail the beneficial effects of alternative system of medicine is complete as each has its own merits and limitations. Hence our aim should be to choose an integrated system of medicine which would help in preventing diseases and treat them early by a safe and effective procedure. In the present political situation in our country none of the parties have announced any definite programme for population control, through it is a grave problem. We will not be able to fulfil our object of reaching our target of Health for all without strict population control major. Unless this programme is undertaken seriously as a priority in a co-ordinated disciplined manner by all of us and completed in a given period of time, the younger generation will not forgive us. We hope that as true citizens of India we will not spare any efforts on our part in attaining this objective for a bright future.     

Changes of the e.e.g. during a c.n.v. paradigm

An experimental set-up and a method of analysis are described which permit the performance of e.e.g. analysis under contingent negative variation (c.n.v.) conditions with repeated stimulation. Investigations of six subjects showed a significant reduction in the average power in the alpha band immediately after the imperative stimulus, which lasted only about 1 second. In the interstimulus interval during the c.n.v. a less marked power reduction could be observed. Since the reduction of the average power in the alpha band was approximately the same for both hemispheres and since it was also dependent on the modality of the stimulus, an interrelation-ship is assumed between the directed attention and the reduction observed. This appears to allow the possibility of objectively analysing cortical functions by means of an analysis of scalp recordings under c.n.v. conditions.