Norepinephrine-containing neurons: changes in spontaneous discharge patterns during sleeping and waking

Norepinephrine-containing neurons of the locus coeruleus of the cat were recorded with microelectrodes during unrestrained sleeping and waking. The recorded neurons were subsequently defined by combined fluorescence histochemistry of catecholamines and production of microlesions at recording sites. These pontine units show homogeneous changes in discharge patterns with respect to sleep stages, firing slowly during drowsy periods and slow wave sleep and firing in rapid bursts during paradoxical sleep. These data provide a direct correlation between the activity of defined catecholamine-containing neurons and the spontaneous occurrence of sleep stages.     

Desynchronized electroencephalogram in the deeply sleeping cat

Electroencephalographic patterns of the different stages of sleep in the cat are shown, with special reference to a desynchronized deep sleep. This sleep stage is characterized by an increase in reticular stimulation arousal threshold and by the reappearance of 5 to 6 spikes per second on the electroencephalogram immediately after threshold behavioral arousal.     

Gaussian behavior of the electroencephalogram: changes during performance of mental task

The probability distribution of the amplitude of scalp electroencephalogram has been investigated in an adult subject in the idle state, and during performance of a mental arithmetic task. Based on a large sample, the electroencephalogram in this subject in the idle state follows a Gaussian (normal) probability function 66 percent of the time. During performance of the arithmetic task, the portion of Gaussian electroencephalogram decreases to 32 percent. The probability function characterizing gross electroencephalographic activity is determined by the degree of mutual interaction of individual cellular generators of wave activity in the tissue underneath the recording electrode. The data imply an increase in the cooperative activity of cortical neuronal elements during performance of a mental task.     

双谱特征在空中目标识别中的应用

分析了雷达对直升机和固定翼飞机这两类空中目标的识别能力.在识别能力得到满足的前提下,对这两类目标的双谱特征进行了分析,找出了它们之间的不同之处,提出了对这两类目标进行分类识别的方法.通过对18种直升机和固定翼飞机仿真数据进行检验,证明这种方法是有效的.     

Correlates of sleep and waking in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila exhibits a circadian rest-activity cycle, but it is not known whether fly rest constitutes sleep or is mere inactivity. It is shown here that, like mammalian sleep, rest in Drosophila is characterized by an increased arousal threshold and is homeostatically regulated independently of the circadian clock. As in mammals, rest is abundant in young flies, is reduced in older flies, and is modulated by stimulants and hypnotics. Several molecular markers modulated by sleep and waking in mammals are modulated by rest and activity in Drosophila, including cytochrome oxidase C, the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone protein BiP, and enzymes implicated in the catabolism of monoamines. Flies lacking one such enzyme, arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase, show increased rest after rest deprivation. These results implicate the catabolism of monoamines in the regulation of sleep and waking in the fly and suggest that Drosophila may serve as a model system for the genetic dissection of sleep.     

Asynchronous terrestrial and marine signals of climate change during Heinrich events

Tropical regions have been reported to play a key role in climate dynamics. To date, however, there are uncertainties in the timing and the amplitude of the response of tropical ecosystems to millennial-scale climate change. We present evidence of an asynchrony between terrestrial and marine signals of climate change during Heinrich events preserved in marine sediment cores from the Brazilian continental margin. The inferred time lag of about 1000 to 2000 years is much larger than the ecological response to recent climate change and appears to be related to the nature of hydrological changes.     

Quantitative electroencephalogram in smoking and smoking deprivation

After being deprived of cigarettes for 24 hours, eight young males who were heavy smokers showed significant changes in the electroencephalogram analyzed electronically and by digital computer. Compared to their records before smoking deprivation, there was a significant increase in slow frequencies. Resumed smoking reversed these trends.     

母羊3种应激行为下叫声信号的对比分析

为研究母羊在不同应激行为下叫声信号所具有的特征,选择体重相近、年龄在2~3岁的小尾寒羊母羊20只,分别录取其在3种应激行为(产羔、寻羔、饥饿)下的叫声信号。利用LabVIEW软件设计母羊发声信号特征提取与识别系统,对母羊发声信号进行时域分析、频域分析(Yule-Walker法估计功率谱、Welch法估计功率谱、线性坐标功率谱和倒谱分析)和时频域分析,提取发声信号的时间间隔、持续时间、主峰频率、能量集中范围和基音周期等特征参数。结果表明:母羊3种不同类型声音的持续时间以及主峰频率均存在显著差异(P0.05)。母羊在寻羔和饥饿时发声的持续时间是产羔时的1.93和1.82倍,饥饿叫声的主频分别为产羔和寻羔时的34.77和38.81倍,母羊叫声信号Yule-Walker法功率谱在饥饿出现1个峰值,寻羔时出现2个峰值,而产羔时无明显峰值。叫声信号能量在产羔时集中在400~600Hz,寻羔和饥饿时集中在0~900Hz,3种叫声基音周期接近为0.1ms。证明母羊叫声信号在3种应激行为下有明显的不同,因此可以作为评价其健康状况及福利化养殖水平的重要指标之一。     

Alpha and kappa electroencephalogram activity in eyeless subjects

Several reports have cast doubt on the cerebral origin of alpha and kappa electroencephalogram activity by charging that they are artifacts related to eye activity. Data are cited which eliminate the corneoretinal potential of the eyeball, tremor of the extraocular muscles, eye position, accommodation, and eye flutter as sources of alpha and kappa electroencephalogram activity. A subject with both eyes removed showed normal alpha and kappa electroencephalogram activity. Marked left-right differences in alpha activity were not found in one-eyed subjects whose eyes and extraocular muscles were completely removed on one side.     

Variations in alpha voltage of the electroencephalogram and time perception

Human subjects were instructed to respond regularly at 3-second intervals while their brain waves were recorded and analyzed. When subjects were alert the time between two successive responses did not vary greatly; however, as subjects became increasingly drowsy these times lengthened and the mean voltage of the peak alpha frequency decreased.     

打破冬瓜种子休眠试验初报

对冬瓜种子休眠及其发芽条件进行研究。结果表明：浸种前低温处理有利于提高发芽率；有棱种子采用33.3mg/L GA 33.3mg/L 6-BA 0.7% KNO3处理的效果最好，发芽率可提高50％－400％；浸种时间的长短会影响冬瓜种子的发芽率，以浸种时间8小时左右的发芽率最高。     

Changes of simple and complex spike activity of cerebellar purkinje cells with sleep and waking

Action potentials of cerebellar Purkinje cells were observed in intact monkeys during sleep and waking. Purkinje cells exhibit two sorts of action potentials, called simple and complex spikes, and these two sorts of spikes were differently affected by sleep. Simple-spike activity (generated by the parallel fiber inputs to the Purkinje cell) was highest during sleep with rapid eye movements as compared with both waking and sleep with electroencephalographic slow waves. In contrast, complex-spike activity (generated by the climbing fiber inputs to the Purkinje cell) was lowest during sleep with rapid eye movements. The complex action potential of the Purkinje cell consists of an initial large spike followed by one or more smaller secondary spikes, and the number of these secondary spikes was found to be independent of the background discharge frequency of the simple spike. This independence suggests a possible role of presynaptic factors rather than the excitability level of the Purkinje cell itself in determining the number of secondary discharges occurring in the complex spike.     

牡蛎酶解产物改善睡眠作用效果研究

为探究香港牡蛎Crassostrea hongkongensis酶解产物 (enzymatic products of oysters, EPO) 改善睡眠的作用效果, 将试验小鼠分为阴性对照组 (灌胃等体积蒸馏水)、阳性对照组 (灌胃地西泮2 mg/kg体质量)及EPO低、中、高剂量组 (分别灌胃250、 500、 ...     

牡蛎酶解产物改善睡眠作用效果研究

为探究香港牡蛎Crassostrea hongkongensis酶解产物(enzymatic products of oysters, EPO)改善睡眠的作用效果,将试验小鼠分为阴性对照组(灌胃等体积蒸馏水)、阳性对照组(灌胃地西泮2 mg/kg体质量)及EPO低、中、高剂量组(分别灌胃250、500、1 000 mg/kg体质量,分别记为EPO-L、EPO-M、EPO-H),每天灌胃一次,连续灌胃30 d后进行直接睡眠试验、延长戊巴比妥钠睡眠时间试验、戊巴比妥钠阈下剂量催眠试验和戊巴比妥钠潜伏期试验,并采用ELISA试剂盒检测小鼠下丘脑和大脑皮层中5-羟色胺(serotonin, 5-HT)、γ-氨基丁酸(gamma aminobutyric acid, GABA)、褪黑素(melatonin, MT)、去甲肾上腺素(norepinephrine, NE)和多巴胺(dopamine, DA)的含量。结果表明:牡蛎酶解产物3个剂量组均无直接睡眠作用,但与阴性对照组相比,均能显著延长小鼠睡眠时间(P<0.05),缩短睡眠潜伏期(P<0.05),且EPO中剂量组能显著提高小鼠入睡率(P<0.05);与阴性对照组相比,EPO低、中剂量组均能显著提高下丘脑5-HT、GABA含量(P<0.05),且显著降低下丘脑DA、NE含量(P<0.05),高剂量组能显著降低下丘脑DA含量(P<0.05);EPO低剂量组能显著提高大脑皮层GABA含量(P<0.05),中剂量组能显著提高大脑皮层GABA、MT含量(P<0.05),且显著降低大脑皮层DA含量(P<0.05),高剂量组能显著提高大脑皮层MT含量(P<0.05),且显著降低大脑皮层DA、NE含量(P<0.05)。研究表明,牡蛎酶解产物通过提高脑内抑制性神经递质5-HT、GABA、MT含量,降低兴奋性神经递质DA、NE含量,缩短睡眠潜伏期,提高睡眠发生率,延长睡眠时间,起到改善睡眠的作用,且灌胃EPO中剂量500 mg/kg体质量时改善睡眠效果最佳。     

Prolonged immobilization of the body: changes in performance and in the electroencephalogram

Subjects who were immobilized for a week but otherwise were exposed to a normal and varied sensory environment showed intellectual and perceptual deficits similar in many respects to those occurring after prolonged visual and auditory deprivation. A significant change in the electroencephalogram was also observed.     

Traffic signals and depth perception

Automobiles approaching red traffic signals at night appear to go beyond them when viewed from some distance to the rear. The phenomenon is doubly illusory because the higher of two objects has been presumed to appear more distant. The illusion is probably limited to small visual angles (about 2 degrees).