Auditory Perception and the Control of Spatially Coordinated Action of Deaf and Hearing Children

From birth onwards, auditory stimulation directs and intensifies visual orientation behaviour. In deaf children, by definition, auditory perception cannot take place and cannot, therefore, make a contribution to visual orientation to objects approaching from outside the initial field of view. In experiment 1, a difference in catching ability is demonstrated between deaf and hearing children (10-13 years of age) when the ball approached from the periphery or from outside the field of view. No differences in catching ability between the two groups occurred when the ball approached from within the field of view. A second experiment was conducted in order to determine if differences in catching ability between deaf and hearing children could be attributed to execution of slow orientating movements and/or slow reaction time as a result of the auditory loss. The deaf children showed slower reaction times. No differences were found in movement times between deaf and hearing children. Overall, the findings suggest that a lack of auditory stimulation during development can lead to deficiencies in the coordination of actions such as catching which are both spatially and temporally constrained.     

富氧气体防护下暴发性缺氧大鼠大脑超微病理变化

目的 从亚细胞水平观察大鼠在12 000m高度暴发性缺氧及富氧气体防护时大脑顶叶皮质组织超微结构变化，为高空暴发性缺氧的防护和治疗提供理论依据。方法 将24只雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为地面对照组、3000m对照组、12000m暴发性缺氧组、12000m吸90％富氧气体防护组、12000m吸100％氧气防护组、12000m吸50％富氧气体防护组，每组4只。于低压舱内暴露于12000m高度30min，然后将动物即刻处死，取大脑顶叶皮质层组织，制成切片，透射电镜下观察。结果与地面对照组相比，随着吸氧浓度的降低，实验组缺氧程度加重，主要表现为脑组织神经细胞、神经胶质细胞结构模糊不清，核及胞质内线粒体、内质网扩张，突触小泡减少等，以12000m暴发性缺氧组及吸50％氧气防护组明显。结论 吸100％和吸90％富氧气体防护效果是理想的，与地面对照组和3000m对照组的结果无明显差别。     

The effect of the synthetic neuroprotective dipeptide noopept on glutamate release from rat brain cortex slices

The level of spontaneous and K⁺-stimulated release of endogenous glutamate was studied in experiments on slices of brain cortex of Wistar rats. Pronounced spontaneous release of the neuromediator and its increase under conditions of stimulation were registered by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The effect of the nootropic and neuroprotective dipeptide Noopept (GVS-111) on release of glutamate was investigated. The peptide in concentrations of 10^?5 and 10^?6 M caused a statistically significant decrease in spontaneous and K⁺-stimulated glutamate release. This effect could be the basis of the neuroprotective action of the peptide, suggesting that further studies of Noopept as neuroprotector are very promising.     

依托咪酯对大鼠皮层、海马脑片缺氧复氧损伤的保护作用

目的观察依托眯酯对大鼠皮层、海马脑片缺氧复氧损伤的保护作用及其机制。方法雄性SD大鼠10只,体重90-100 g,制备大脑皮质和海马脑片,随机分为对照组、缺氧复氧组、3 μmol ·L-1依托咪酯组、6μmol·L-1依托咪酯组、15 μmol·L-1依托咪酯组和6 μmol·L-1依托咪酯+γ-氨基丁酸 A(GABAA)受体拮抗剂Picrotoxin 50 μmol·L-1组。各组脑片缺氧10 min复氧120 min时,测定经三苯基氯化四唑氮染色的吸光度(A490),Fluo-3荧光染色后计算细胞内Ca2+浓度。结果缺氧复氧可导致大脑皮层、海马A490降低,细胞内Ca2+浓度升高,不同浓度依托咪酯可减弱缺氧复氧导致的上述改变,以 6 μmol·L-1依托咪酯的效果较好,且此作用可被GABAA受体拮抗剂完全拮抗。结论依托咪酯对大鼠皮层、海马脑片缺氧复氧损伤有一定的保护作用,可能通过GABAA受体介导,并降低Ca2+负荷有关。     

慢性鼻窦炎对中耳听阈的影响

目的 探讨慢性鼻窦炎对中耳听阈的影响。方法 对53例慢性鼻窦炎病人、10例健康成人行纯音测听。采用多状态Logistic回归模型，对慢性鼻窦炎可能影响听阈的因素进行评价。结果 ①53例中，正常听阈35例（66．04％），轻度聋16例（30．19％），中度聋2例（3．77％）。②各频率鼻窦炎组与对照组、鼻窦炎各分型之间听阈比较，有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。③慢性鼻窦炎对中耳听阈的影响因素中，经过多状态Logistic回归模型的逐步筛选，显示2项因素可能影响听阈，即筛窦CT分型呈硬化型，鼻窦炎分型分期较重时。结论 ①慢性鼻窦炎可影响听阈，随慢性鼻窦炎分型分期加重，听力损伤加重。②筛窦呈硬化型、鼻窦炎分型分期重时，可能影响最大。     

羟丁酸钠对缺血缺氧性脑损伤新生大鼠大脑皮层神经细胞凋亡的影响

目的 观察羟丁酸钠对缺血缺氧性脑损伤新生大鼠大脑皮层神经细胞凋亡的影响。方法 新生7dSD大鼠随机分为假手术组（S组）、生理盐水对照组（C组）和羟丁酸钠组（71、坦和档组）。每组按Ⅲ（缺血缺氧）后不同时间点进一步分为1h、3h、1d、3d、7d5个亚组（n=6）。按Rice法制作缺血缺氧性脑损伤模型。C、γ1、γ2和γ3组HI后即腹腔分别注射生理盐水0．2ml／10g、羟丁酸钠50、100、200mg／kg，3次／日；S组术后吸空气2h，腹腔注射生理盐水0．2ml／10g，3次／日。TUNEL染色法检测HI后各时间点大脑皮层凋亡神经细胞。结果 HI后1h～7d，C、γ1、γ2、γ3组凋亡神经细胞数高于S组（P〈0．05），且于HI后1d达高峰；HI后3h-3d，C、γ3组凋亡神经细胞数多于γ1、γ2组（P〈0．05），而C组与γ3组之间凋亡神经细胞数差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）；HI后7d，γ1组凋亡神经细胞数多于让组（P〈0．05）。结论 50、100mg／kg羟丁酸钠能抑制缺血缺氧性脑损伤新生大鼠大脑皮层神经细胞凋亡，且100mg／kg效果较好。     

Intensity-dependent regional cerebral blood flow during 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy volunteers studied with H215O positron emission tomography: I. Effects of primary motor cortex rTMS.

BACKGROUND: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) affects the excitability of the motor cortex and is thought to influence activity in other brain areas as well. We combined the administration of varying intensities of 1-Hz rTMS of the motor cortex with simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) to delineate local and distant effects on brain activity. METHODS: Ten healthy subjects received 1-Hz rTMS to the optimal position over motor cortex (M1) for producing a twitch in the right hand at 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120% of the twitch threshold, while regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured using H(2)(15)O and PET. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was delivered in 75-pulse trains at each intensity every 10 min through a figure-eight coil. The regional relationship of stimulation intensity to normalized rCBF was assessed statistically. RESULTS: Intensity-dependent rCBF increases were produced under the M1 stimulation site in ipsilateral primary auditory cortex, contralateral cerebellum, and bilateral putamen, insula, and red nucleus. Intensity-dependent reductions in rCBF occurred in contralateral frontal and parietal cortices and bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus and occipital cortex. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that 1-Hz rTMS delivered to the primary motor cortex (M1) produces intensity-dependent increases in brain activity locally and has associated effects in distant sites with known connections to M1.     

Single unit activity in the auditory cortex of a monkey performing a short term memory task

Summary Short term memory to tones (STMT) was investigated by recording single unit activity in the auditory cortex of a behaving monkey. The activity of each unit was studied in two behavioral conditions: a) During task performance, the monkey had to compare two tones separated by one second of silence (inter-stimulus interval), b) During a nonperforming period; the monkey heard the two tones but did not respond behaviorally. It was noted that the firing rate of many units during the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) was dependent on the frequency of the first tone. Such dependency was observed even towards the end of the ISI, both during task performance trials (50% of the units) and during the nonperforming period (32% of the units). The activity of these units could be the basis of STMT in both of these behavioral states. In 65% of all the units tested, the responses during the ISI were of a higher magnitude in the performance period than were the responses in the non-performance period. The activity of these units may be related either to general processes such as attention and expectation or to short-term memory processes. During task performance, the responses of 23% of the units to the second tone were dependent on whether its frequency was identical to that of the first tone. Such dependency was never observed during the non-performing period. These units may detect similarity or non similarity between two tones presented one second apart. Periodic patterns of firing were not found in the study, thus suggesting that the ISI responses were not generated by reverberatory activity in simple closed loops. On the basis of these results, several alternative mechanisms of STMT are suggested.     

Variation in the ability of neuroleptics to block the inhibitory influence of dopaminergic neurons on the activity of cells in the rat prefrontal cortex

The stimulation of the ventro-medial mesencephalic tegmentum (VMT) induces an inhibition of the spontaneous activity of prefrontal cortical cells and blocks the excitatory responses evoked by the stimulation of the medio-dorsal nucleus of the thalamus (MD). This effect is mediated by the activation of the mesocortical dopaminergic (DA) system. In the present study, the influence of the systemic administration of several neuroleptics on the inhibition of prefrontal cortical cells induced by VMT stimulation has been analyzed in ketamine anaesthetised rats. The acute IP administration of fluphenazine (2 mg/kg), spiroperidol (2 mg/kg) or (+/-)sulpiride (100 mg/kg) reversed the inhibitory responses. Moreover, the number of cortical cells inhibited by VMT stimulation was considerably decreased after these treatments. Surprisingly, neither haloperidol at any dose used (0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg IV or 0.5 to 5 mg/kg IP) nor levomepromazine (25 mg/kg IP) nor the long acting neuroleptic, pipotiazine palmitic ester (32 mg/kg SC) blocked the inhibitory effect of VMT stimulation and in fact they lengthened the duration of the inhibition. Finally, the inhibition of MD evoked spikes in prefrontal cortical cells produced by VMT stimulation was no longer observed after sulpiride but persisted after haloperidol administration. Our findings confirm that the mesocortico-prefrontal DA neurons exert an inhibitory influence on target cells but they reveal differences in the efficacy of neuroleptics in blocking this effect.     

Pharmacological characterization of the receptor mediating the adrenergic inhibition of responses to substance P in the cingulate cortex

The excitatory responses of neurones in the anterior cingulate cortex of the rat to iontophoretically applied substance P (SP) are reduced by noradrenaline (NA) applied iontophoretically or released from noradrenergic pathways. In order to determine the receptor involved in this inhibitory effect we have studied the effects of a number of receptor-specific adrenergic agonists and antagonists on responses of cingulate neurones to SP in rats anaesthetized with chloral hydrate. Low iontophoretic currents (0-15 nA) of NA, adrenaline and the beta-agonist, clenbuterol, all strongly reduced responses to SP. Isoprenaline was also effective but less consistently so, although problems were experienced with its iontophoretic release from micropipettes. The alpha 1-agonists, phenylephrine and methoxamine were also able to reduce responses to SP. However, this reduction required higher iontophoretic currents (15-60 nA) and was associated with depressant effects on baseline firing rate. The alpha 2-agonist clonidine was only weakly active at high currents and this too was associated with depression of baseline firing. Similar weak effects were noted with dopamine. The inhibitory effects of NA on SP responses were convincingly blocked or reversed by the beta-antagonist, practolol, but not by the alpha 1-antagonist, prazosin. The reduction of SP responses by phenylephrine was also blocked by practolol but unaffected by prazosin. Finally, reduction of SP excitations by activation of the coeruleocortical pathway was also blocked by practolol applied iontophoretically to the cortical cells. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the effect of NA on SP responsiveness in the cingulate cortex is mediated by beta-adrenoreceptors.