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Biomedical subjects

E Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to E Gordon.

234 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Selective attention and auditory event-related potentials in somatization disorder.

Janet suggested a disorder of attention was fundamental to hysteria. This idea was investigated in this study by examining mismatch negativity (MMN), which depends upon a subtraction of cortical potentials evoked by background stimuli from those evoked by target stimuli. Ten patients with somatization disorder (SMD) were compared with ten normal individuals. MMN was smaller in somatizers, particularly at the central recording site. One interpretation of this observation is that somatizers respond more similarly than normals to "relevant" and "irrelevant" stimuli. This finding of an impairment in attentional processing in somatization disorder suggests a subtle neurophysiological disturbance.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The relationship between quantified EEG and skin conductance level.

Electroencephalographic measures (EEG) and skin conductance level (SCL) respectively reflect cerebral cortical activity and sympathetic autonomic activity. Such central and autonomic activities associated with arousal generally have been studied separately, despite their potential to reflect complementary dimensions of reticular-thalamo-hypothalamo-cortical activating networks. In this study, we examined the relationship between cortical (19 EEG sites) and autonomic (SCL) activities recorded simultaneously in 10 normal adults. Two second pre-stimulus EEGs and SCLs were assessed from an habituation paradigm which presented 22 trains of 7 tones in an 'ignore' condition. The mean SCLs of the epochs across subjects showed an initial rise (sensitization) followed by an exponential decline (habituation). Although EEG associated with the tones did not demonstrate such a distinct profile, EEG total power and band powers (beta, alpha and theta) associated with the trains showed a systematic increasing response profile. In the group data the mean SCLs within trains showed a significant correlation with alpha and beta band powers. Finer EEG band analyses indicated that beta 3 at Fz and alpha 2 at Cz showed the strongest separate linear correlations with SCL. beta 3 and alpha 1 at Fz were found to jointly covary with SCL. The findings indicate a substantive relationship between measures of cerebral function and autonomic arousal.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethanol feeding can produce secondary alterations in aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes.

Depressed hepatic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity levels have been observed in alcoholics, but whether the deficit is primary or secondary in nature remains controversial. In this study, we examined liver ALDH in rodent (rat) and primate (baboon) animal models pair-fed nutritionally adequate ethanol or isocaloric carbohydrate containing liquid diets. Both species show qualitative changes in ALDH isozymes after ethanol consumption. The changes include alterations in isozyme patterns seen upon electrofocusing and decreased responsiveness to the ALDH inhibitor, disulfiram. The subcellular locus of most of the changes is cytosolic in the baboon and mitochondrial in the rat. Study of partially purified (enriched) baboon cytosolic ALDH confirmed changes seen in the original cytosols and kinetic characterization of the enriched enzyme revealed a 9-fold higher Km for acetaldehyde in ALDH from an ethanol treated animal. We note that qualitative and quantitative changes secondary to ethanol treatment in the primate model closely parallel those described in human alcoholics.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toward an integrated continuum model of cerebral dynamics: the cerebral rhythms, synchronous oscillation and cortical stability.

Continuum models of cerebral cortex with parameters derived from physiological data, provide explanations of the cerebral rhythms, synchronous oscillation, and autonomous cortical activity in the gamma frequency range, and suggest possible mechanisms for dynamic self-organization in the brain. Dispersion relations and derivations of power spectral response for the models, show that a low frequency resonant mode and associated travelling wave solutions of the models' equations of state can account for the predominant 1/f spectral content of the electroencephalogram (EEG). Large scale activity in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands, is accounted for by thalamocortical interaction, under regulation by diffuse cortical excitation. System impulse responses can be used to model Event-Related Potentials. Further classes of local resonance may be generated by rapid negative feedbacks at active synapses. Activity in the gamma band around 40 Hz, associated with large amplitude oscillations of pulse density, appears at higher levels of cortical activation, and is unstable unless compensated by synaptic feedbacks. Control of cortical stability by synaptic feedbacks offers a partial account of the regulation of autonomous activity within the cortex. Synchronous oscillation occurs between concurrently excited cortical sites, and can be explained by analysis of wave motion radiating from each of the co-active sites. These models are suitable for the introduction of learning rules-most notably the coherent infomax rule.

Cerebral Cortex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of age on late components of the ERP and reaction time.

The effects of age on late component (N100, P200, N200, and P300) event-related potentials (ERP) and reaction time (RT) were investigated in 50 normal subjects, 18 to 70 years of age. A conventional auditory oddball paradigm was employed. An equal number of subjects, as well as an equal number of males and females, were examined in each decade. There were no significant associations found between ERP amplitude and age. A significant positive correlation was found between age and N200/P300 latency. There were no significant effects of age on RT in the overall group. However, females had slower RT and decreased P200 and N200 amplitude as compared with males. Moreover, males had significant correlations between N200 latency and RT, whereas females showed significant correlations between P300 amplitude and RT. ERP/RT effects should be further explicated between gender, as well as across age.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A stochastic interpretation of thallium myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

A method is presented for the quantitative interpretation of thallium-201 myocardial perfusion studies. The data are planar images collected immediately following the stress injection, and 4 to 6 hours later. Data analysis consists of preprocessing, including thresholding of the original data, and data reduction using a variant of the circumferential profile methods. The profiles are subdivided into segments, and for each segment the difference between the norm and the actual data is computed. This difference is a quantitative symptom, whose size is assumed to be related to the probability of having the disease. The relationship between the size of the symptom in each of nine segments (three segments/view in three views) and the probability of disease is expressed in a table in which for 30 diseases (combinations of vascular lesions) the sensitivity for each of the nine symptoms is described as a Gaussian function whose average and standard deviation are computed from previous validated cases. Using an arbitrary prevalence, the post-testing probability can then be computed using Bayes' formula sequentially. The sensitivities, however, are not expressed as a binary function of the presence or absence of a symptom, but as a distribution function defined by experience. The method is sensitive for the detection of isolated left anterior descending disease (100%) and triple vessel disease (96%). When specific combinations of vascular lesions are recognized the specificity increases from 79% (when unspecified abnormalities are recognized) to 87% when left anterior descending disease or triple vessel disease is recognized.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Principles and microscopic confirmation of surface quality of two new waterjet-based microkeratomes.

PURPOSE: The HydroBlade and the HydroBrush keratomes are waterjet-based devices for corneal surgery that operate at normal intraocular pressure in two different modes: removal of parallel or shaped lenticules or hinged flaps with a small diameter, high speed waterjet; and removal of the epithelium with a waterjet sheet. The operating principles as well as histology of the cut surfaces are described. METHODS: A flap was made in one cadaver eye with a Chiron ACS keratome and in the second eye with the HydroBlade keratome. The epithelium was removed in one cadaver eye with a surgical blade and in the second eye by the HydroBrush keratome. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy and light microscopy was obtained. RESULTS: The HydroBlade keratome cleaved only cross-linking fibrils and left intact keratocytes. Shape and dimensions of the flap were accurate. There was no observable hydration or significant heating of the tissue. Mechanical forces on the cornea were small. The HydroBrush keratome removed the epithelium quickly, left no epithelial debris, and did not damage Bowman's layer. CONCLUSION: With the HydroBlade keratome, the cuts are ideal blunt dissections. Epithelial removal with the HydroBrush keratome is effective and quick.

Cornea↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hydroepithelial keratectomy in rabbits with a waterjet-based instrument.

BACKGROUND: Corneal epithelial removal finds multiple applications in ophthalmic surgery (epithelial herpes infections, recurrent epithelial erosion, corneal ulcers and plaques, and intraoperative epithelial clouding). Photorefractive keratectomy is initiated by removal of the epithelium. Current techniques for epithelial removal are suboptimal. We studied the safety and effectiveness of a new technique, hydroepithelial keratectomy, performed with the HydroBrush keratome on live rabbits. METHODS: Eighteen rabbits (18 eyes) underwent hydroepithelial keratectomy and 18 rabbits (18 eyes) underwent epithelial removal with a surgical blade (blade group). Twelve rabbits were euthanized immediately after the procedure. Twenty-four rabbits were followed for up to 120 hours after treatment. Ultrastructural analysis was performed with light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: The hydroepithelial keratectomy group healed a mean 53 hours after treatment; the blade group healed a mean 78 hours after treatment. The HydroBrush keratome exposed the basement membrane and the basal cell membrane of the epithelium. The blade exposed patches of basement membrane, as well as stroma and cell debris. CONCLUSIONS: Hydroepithelial keratectomy with the HydroBrush keratome is effective and safe. Wound healing after hydroepithelial keratectomy is faster than after blade removal. Unlike the blade, the HydroBrush keratome exposed a smooth surface, devoid of debris, with well-defined edges and round shape without hydration nor dehydration of the tissue.

Animals↗