Tobacco and evoked potential

Significant changes were found in two indices of the averaged visual evoked potentials in nine smokers after 12 and 36 hours of abstinence and after resumption of smoking. There was a decrease of the amplitude envelope accompanying withdrawal and an increase with resumption of smoking. These changes are consistent with the contention that tobacco increases arousal. Amplitude changes were found in a specific component of the evoked potential occurring between 100 and 125 milliseconds after the onset of the flash. The latter changes suggest the possibility that smoking selectively enhances the perceptiont of weak stimuli.     

Visual stimuli and evoked responses in the rat

Rats were presented with a series of visual stimuli, each described by shape, size, and position. Cortical recordings were made in medial and lateral positions of rat visual cortex. Average responses were calculated and correlated. This analysis revealed that information regarding size was contained in electrical activity from medial areas, and informtion regarding shape in electrical activity from lateral areas.     

Electronarcosis and evoked cortical responses

Evoked response data and electrocorticograms were recorded in macaque monkeys under the influence of electronarcosis currents sufficient to render the animals unresponsive to peripheral nerve stimulation. The data were obtained from chronically implanted electrodes in the sensory cortex as well as depth electrodes directed to thalamic and reticular loci. At the levels of current used, the amplitude characteristics of the evoked response data were not appreciably modified.     

Perceived number and evoked cortical potentials

Evoked cortical potentials and the numsber of flashes perceived were compared when subjects were presented with short trains of flashes under conditions where each presented flash could not be counted individually, but the train of flashes appeared to be flickering (1 to 14 flashes at 33.3 flashes per second). The rate at which each successive perceived flash was added appeared to correspond with the rate at which the successive components of the evoked response pattern were added. The temporal nature of this pattern was similar for both single flashes and trains of flashes. The results suggest that the onset of stimulation triggers a process whlich has a marked effect on both the cortical and perceptual response to subsequent stimulation.     

Chromatic specificity of the visual evoked response

The temporal alternation of red and green stripes in a structured field produces successive contrast, which can elicit cortical potentials recorded from the scalp. Amplitudes of the major frequency components of the potentials correspond to the relative intensities of red and green producing the contrast. The amplitude variations are color-specific, since total luminance and structure are held constant.     

Phototaxis and sensory transduction in Euglena

The accumulation of Euglena gracilis in an illuminated region is brought about by two main mechanisms: orientation and subsequent directed movement (positive phototaxis) toward light scattered from particles in the illuminated zone; and by the trapping of cells in this region because of shock reactions experienced upon the cells encountering a sudden decrease of light intensity at the light-dark boundary (inverse photophobic responses).Phototactic orientation is mediated by inverse photophobic reactions which occur when the shadow of the stigma periodically falls upon the photoreceptor proper. Euglena also exhibits shock reactions when an already high light intensity is increased further (direct photophobic responses). The expression of both types of phobic responses depends upon stimulus intensity and adaptation of the sensory system in a seemingly complex way. A definition of the minimum components of the stimulus transduction system and a systems analytical approach to the study of input-output relationships enables one to construct an electronic analog of the cell's signal processing system that converts the photoreceptor input to commands which activate or inhibit flagellar reorientation. Computer simulation studies show that this model has considerable predictive value. It is hoped that with the approach presented in this article, a generalized model has become available for dealing with the questions of sensory transduction in aneural systems. Certainly, at this point more questions have been raised than have been answered. Where is the processing device located? Are its kinetic properties determined by electrical processes or by the rates of chemical reactions? Is the processor, and thereby the behavior of the orgamism, modulated by natural environmental parameters, and can it be modified permanently through more drastic chemical treatment of the cell? Is the system capable of permanent or transitory modification through repeated response, that is, does it exhibit phenomena analogous to learning and memory in higher organisms? These are only a few of the problems that require study in the future.     

Metacontrast and evoked potentials: a reappraisal

Stimulation of the parafoveal retina may give rise to visual evoked responses generated in large part by stray light impinging upon the fovea. This effect appears to account for the absence of changes in the visual evoked response to parafoveal stimulation during metacontrast suppression. When the central retina is directly stimulated, the spatiotemporal interactions associated with brightness suppression during metacontrast may be readily demonstrated in a late component of the visual evoked response.     

Effects of visual form on the evoked response

The average visual evoked potentials elicited from relaxed human subjects are different for a blank visual field and one containing a geometric form, are different for different geometric forms of equal area, are similar for versions of the same geometric fortn of unequal area, and are different for two printed words equated for total letter area. These findings suggest that the waveform of evoked responses is not determined solely by the set of peripheral receptors which is stimulated, but it also reflects the perceptual content of the stimulus.     

农业信息技术与信息化农业

在阐述农业信息、信息化农业、农业信息技术的特点基础上,介绍了我国信息化农业的现状,并提出了有待解决的问题.     

Somatically evoked magnetic fields of the human brain

The human brain is found to produce a magnetic field near the scalp which varies in synchrony with periodic electrical stimulation applied to a finger. Use of a highly sensitive superconducting quantum interference device as a magnetic field detector reveals that the brain's field is sharply localized over the primary projection area of the sensory cortex contralateral to the digit being stimulated. The phase of the response at the stimulus frequency varies monotonically with the repetition rate and at intermediate frequencies yields a latency of approximately 70 milliseconds for cortical response.     

烤烟烟叶石油醚提取物与感官舒适度的关系

为了研究卷烟感官质量与烟叶石油醚提取物之间的相互关系,以烤烟为研究对象,运用相关分析和广义可加模型分析方法对两者之间的关系进行了分析.结果表明,石油醚提取物对口腔感受、喉部感受和余味整体感受均呈负面效应,且达到显著水平.也即石油醚提取物与卷烟感官口腔尖刺、口腔毛刺、喉部呛刺、喉部尖刺、鼻腔感受、干燥感均呈显著负相关,但是与卷烟劲头呈显著的正相关关系.因此,在卷烟配方设计中,可以考虑选择石油醚提取物含量适宜的原料以保证卷烟的感官质量.     

Coordinate regulation and sensory transduction in the control of bacterial virulence

Genes and operons that encode bacterial virulence factors are often subject to coordinate regulation. These regulatory systems are capable of responding to various environmental signals that may be encountered during the infectious cycle. For some pathogens, proteins that mediate sensory transduction and virulence control are similar to components of other bacterial information processing systems. Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing global regulation of pathogenicity is essential for understanding bacterial infectious diseases.     

Resistance shifts accompanying the evoked cortical response in the cat

Clicks and flashes that evoke an electrical response from the auditory or visual cortex also evoke a resistance shift in the tissue. The resistance shift, a drop followed by a rise in resistance, closely follows the temporal pattern of the electrical response recorded simultaneously through the same electrodes. While several experimental manipulations produce corresponding changes in the amplitudes of both electrical response and resistance shift, the resistance shift is more sensitive to alterations in cortical temperature and anesthetic level. The two responses behave distinctly differently as a function of the depth of the electrode in the cortex.     

农业信息技术与信息化农业

在阐述农业信息、信息化农业、农业信息技术的特点基础上,介绍了我国信息化农业的现状,并提出了有待解决的问题.