Cortical activation during retrieval of arithmetical facts and actual calculation: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the neural substrates involved in mental recitation of the single-digit multiplication table and serial subtraction were studied. The former depends mostly on well-learned arithmetical facts, while the latter requires arithmetic processing. Activation during each task was compared with that in a number counting control. During the recitation of single-digit multiplication, the activated regions included the area lying along the left intraparietal sulcus, the premotor and supplementary motor areas, and the posterior portion of the left inferior frontal gyrus. The areas activated during serial subtraction included these areas as well as the bilateral prefrontal and right parietal areas. From the results obtained during retrieval of the multiplication table in this study and previous studies, it was concluded that semantic memory of the multiplication table is stored in the area lying along the intraparietal sulcus and that the frontal areas play an executive role in utilizing the semantic memory of arithmetical facts. It was assumed that the arithmetical facts requiring actual calculation are also stored in the same region. The additional activation during serial subtraction compared with the activation during retrieval of the multiplication table is probably due to the processes of actual calculation. These processes include proper alignment of digits, which may have caused the right parietal activation, and maintaining digits needed for the mental serial subtractions, which may have caused the bilateral prefrontal activation.     

Facilitating effect of histamine on spatial memory deficits induced by dizocilpine as evaluated by 8-arm radial maze in SD rats

AIM: To investigate whether or not histamine is involved in spatial memory deficits induced by dizocilpine (MK-801) as evaluated by 8-arm radial maze of rats. METHODS: 8-Arm (4-arm baited) radial maze was used to measure spatial memory in rats. RESULTS: Bilaterally intrahippocampal (ih) injection of MK-801 (0.3 μg/site) impaired working memory and reference memory in rats. Both histamine (50, 100 ng/site, ih) and intraperitoneal (ip) injection of histidine (100, 200 mg/kg) markedly improved the spatial memory deficits induced by MK-801. On the other hand, the ameliorating effect of histidine (100 mg/kg, ip) was completely antagonized by α-fluoromethylhistidine (α-FMH, 5 μg/site, ih), a potent and selective histidine decarboxylase (HDC) inhibitor, and H_1-antagonist pyrilamine (1 μg/site, ih), but not by H_2-antagonist cimetidine, even at a high dose (2.5 μg/site, ih). CONCLUSION: The hippocampal histamine plays an important role in the ameliorating effect on MK-801-induced spatial memory deficits,     

生命1号健脑强身及促骨生长的实验研究

采用水迷宫法、穿梭箱法、避暗法、跳台法观察了生命1号对小鼠学习、记忆、巩固的影响。灌胃给生命1号可改善东莨菪碱、樟柳碱致小鼠记忆获得障碍。生命1号能明显提高单核细胞吞噬功能，显著增加小鼠血清溶血素的含量，促进T淋巴细胞的转化。除此之外，还能明显地增加阳虚大鼠股骨的重量、长度、直径及皮质厚度；提高血清钙、磷水平；降低血清碱性磷酸酶的含量，具有促进骨骼生长的作用。     

Familiar Face and Voice Matching and Recognition in Children with Autism

Relatively able children with autism were compared with age- and language-matched controls on assessments of (1) familiar voice-face identity matching, (2) familiar face recognition, and (3) familiar voice recognition. The faces and voices of individuals at the children's schools were used as stimuli. The experimental group were impaired relative to the controls on all three tasks. Face recognition and voice recognition correlated significantly with voice-face identity matching, but not with each other, suggesting that the recognition impairments jointly cause the matching impairment. Neither chronological age nor verbal mental age were consistently related to the recognition and matching impairments.     

Remote memory in epilepsy

PURPOSE: There is now a considerable amount of research relating to memory functioning in epilepsy. The majority of studies have focused on the retention of new information, and few reports have measured memory for past events. This study aims to redress this and measure the efficiency of remote memory in epilepsy. METHODS: A remote memory questionnaire was prepared and administered to three groups of patients with epilepsy and a control group without epilepsy. The questionnaire assessed knowledge of public events that occurred between 1980 and 1991, inclusive. The epilepsy groups comprised 33 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), 33 with extratemporal epilepsy (ExTE), and 10 with primary generalized epilepsy (PGE). Thirty control subjects were tested. RESULTS: Patients with TLE performed significantly less well on the questionnaire than all other groups (p = 0.001), but no effect of laterality was recorded; patients with extratemporal or primary generalised epilepsy did not differ from controls. Performance on the questionnaire was not determined by verbal IQ, educational achievement, social class, or drug treatment, but was related to the number of generalised convulsions that had occurred since 1980. The strongest neuropsychological predictors of performance on this questionnaire were measures of verbal memory. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated weak memory for past events in patients with TLE, thereby providing evidence of a broader memory disturbance in this group than has been previously highlighted. A test of remote memory, such as the one designed for this study, is easy to administer and provides clinically important information not available from conventional neuropsychological tests.     

用金属磁记忆方法进行缺陷检测

介绍了金属磁记忆检测的原理及其应用方法。铁磁性工件在载荷的作用下,应力和变形集中区会产生最大的漏磁场变化,对漏磁场法向分量的测定可以准确地推断工件的应力集中区。通过对14块对接焊缝钢板分别用磁记忆、超声波方法进行实际检测,验证了磁记忆检测方法的有效性,取得了一些有益的经验。     

ZDY102对拟痴呆大鼠脑M受体的影响

目的　观察知母活性成分ZMS的异构体ZDY10 2对拟痴呆大鼠脑M受体及学习记忆功能的影响。方法　大鼠单侧脑基底核部位定位注射 β 淀粉样肽 (2 5～ 35 )和鹅蕈膏酸造成拟痴呆模型 ,设立不同剂量ZDY10 2治疗组、模型组和对照组 (注射生理盐水 ) ,分别用Y 迷宫测定学习记忆能力及放射配基结合分析法测定注射同侧脑内M胆碱受体密度。结果　拟痴呆模型大鼠学习和记忆成绩和脑M受体密度明显低于对照组。连续两个月喂服ZDY10 2的模型大鼠学习和记忆能力显著好于对照组 ,脑M受体密度也显著提高 ,而且脑M受体密度与动物的学习记忆能力呈显著正相关。结论　ZDY10 2能明显改善拟痴呆大鼠的学习记忆能力 ,同时能显著提高脑内M受体密度 ,从两者的显著正相关来看 ,提高脑M受体密度可能是ZDY10 2改善拟痴呆模型学习记忆的重要机制。和以往对知母活性成分的研究结果相比较可以看出 ,2 5位甲基的立体异构对上述效果无明显影响     

The space-time profiles of sleep spindles and their coordination with slow oscillations on the electrode manifold

Sleep spindles are important for sleep quality and cognitive functions, with their coordination with slow oscillations (SOs) potentially organizing cross-region reactivation of memory traces. Here, we describe the organization of spindles on the electrode manifold and their relation to SOs. We analyzed the sleep night EEG of 34 subjects and detected spindles and SOs separately at each electrode. We compared spindle properties (frequency, duration, and amplitude) in slow wave sleep (SWS) and Stage 2 sleep (S2); and in spindles that coordinate with SOs or are uncoupled. We identified different topographical spindle types using clustering analysis that grouped together spindles co-detected across electrodes within a short delay (±300 ms). We then analyzed the properties of spindles of each type, and coordination to SOs. We found that SWS spindles are shorter than S2 spindles, and spindles at frontal electrodes have higher frequencies in S2 compared to SWS. Furthermore, S2 spindles closely following an SO (about 10% of all spindles) show faster frequency, shorter duration, and larger amplitude than uncoupled ones. Clustering identified Global, Local, Posterior, Frontal-Right and Left spindle types. At centro-parietal locations, Posterior spindles show faster frequencies compared to other types. Furthermore, the infrequent SO-spindle complexes are preferentially recruiting Global SO waves coupled with fast Posterior spindles. Our results suggest a non-uniform participation of spindles to complexes, especially evident in S2. This suggests the possibility that different mechanisms could initiate an SO-spindle complex compared to SOs and spindles separately. This has implications for understanding the role of SOs-spindle complexes in memory reactivation.     

异氟烷对幼小鼠自主活动和学习记忆行为的影响

目的观察异氟烷(Iso)对幼小鼠自主活动和学习记忆行为的影响,探讨其与γ-氨基丁酸A受体(GABAA)的关系。方法 360只小鼠分为3大组,分别进行自主活动实验、避暗实验和跳台实验,每大组按分层随机区组设计分为正常对照组,Iso 0.05,0.1和0.2 ml·kg-1组、GABAA受体特异性阻断剂一叶萩碱(Sec)2,4和8 mg.kg-1组和Iso 0.2 m.lkg-1+Sec 2,4和8 mg.kg-1组。小鼠sc给予Sec 10 min后,再ip给予Iso,测试给药后15,30,45和60 min小鼠5 min内活动次数;跳台仪和避暗仪记录小鼠步入、跳下的潜伏期和错误次数。结果与同一时间点的正常对照组相比,Iso可减少小鼠自主活动次数,给予Iso后1 d小鼠避暗实验和跳台实验的步入和跳下潜伏期缩短以及错误次数增加(P<0.05)。正常小鼠单独给Sec(除Sec 8 mg·kg-1组15 min外)对小鼠自主活动、步入和跳下潜伏期和错误次数无明显影响,但Sec可改善Iso导致的小鼠自主活动次数,拮抗Iso对小鼠自主活动的影响,但随着时间延长拮抗作用逐渐减弱,明显低于正常对照组(P<0.05)。Sec延长Iso小鼠的跳下和步入潜伏期,减少错误次数,基本恢复至正常对照组水平,明显改善Iso对幼小鼠学习记忆的影响(P<0.05)。结论 Iso可降低幼小鼠自主活动次数,损害学习记忆能力,GABAA受体可能部分参与了以上作用。