Biomedical subjects

E S Wolf

Publications and source records attributed to E S Wolf.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Central circuits controlling locomotion in young frog tadpoles.

The young Xenopus tadpole is a very simple vertebrate that can swim. We have examined its behavior and neuroanatomy, and used immobilized tadpoles to study the initiation, production, coordination, and termination of the swimming motor pattern. We will outline the sensory pathways that control swimming behavior and the mainly spinal circuits that produce the underlying motor output. Our recent work has analyzed the glycinergic, glutamatergic, cholinergic, and electrotonic synaptic input to spinal neurons during swimming. This has led us to study the nonlinear summation of excitatory synaptic inputs to small neurons. We then analyzed the different components of excitation during swimming to ask which components control frequency, and to map the longitudinal distribution of the components along the spinal cord. The central axonal projection patterns of spinal interneurons and motoneurons have been defined in order to try to account for the longitudinal distribution of synaptic drive during swimming.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Disruptions of the therapeutic relationship in psychoanalysis: a view from self psychology.

The progression of the therapeutic process in clinical psychoanalysis is, characteristically, punctuated by a series of breaches in the otherwise collaborative analytic relationship of analyst and analysand. In this paper, these disruptions are conceptualised from the point of view of self psychology. A focus on the subjective aspects of the analytic relationship, i.e. the selfobject experiences in the transference, illuminates the vicissitudes of the emergence, maintenance and transformation of the self. The analytic process proceeds against an unconscious conflict between the fears of repeated injury and the longing for needed selfobject experiences. Disruptions occur when analysands perceive the analyst to be less attuned to their issues and more involved in the analyst's own agenda. Acknowledgement of the analysand's subjective view as a valid experience must precede the interpretation of the relational dynamics before it can effectively lead to a restoration of the process.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Impact of antenatal dexamethasone administration on respiratory distress syndrome in surfactant-treated infants.

Neonatal lung disease is primarily responsible for the perinatal morbidity and mortality associated with preterm birth. Recently exogenous surfactant replacement therapy has been used to prevent or treat respiratory distress syndrome. As part of a multicenter, preventive trial between February 1986 and December 1988 using calf-lung surfactant extract, we treated 147 infants with single dose calf-lung surfactant extract. We analyzed this experience to evaluate the possibility that antenatal steroids may be additive (with calf-lung surfactant extract) in reducing both the incidence and severity of respiratory distress syndrome. Although a reduction in the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome was observed among the 33 neonates exposed to antenatal dexamethasone when compared with the 114 infants given calf-lung surfactant extract alone, the difference was not significant (37.7% vs. 24.2% p = 0.15). However, comparison of neonatal subsets previously shown to benefit most from steroid use revealed an additive effect between calf-lung surfactant extract and dexamethasone in reducing both the incidence and severity of respiratory distress syndrome. Of the 99 singleton pregnancies, only 2 of 16 infants treated with calf-lung surfactant extract and dexamethasone developed respiratory distress syndrome, compared with the 33 of 83 calf-lung surfactant extract cases (p less than 0.05). A similar reduction was observed in infants between 28 and 32 weeks' gestation (calf-lung surfactant extract, 21 of 79 vs. calf-lung surfactant extract and dexamethasone, 0 of 24; p less than 0.05). A reduction in disease severity was observed in male offspring (moderate or severe respiratory distress syndrome only; 22 of 63 vs. 2 of 22; p less than 0.05). Potential confounding variables (e.g., gestational age at birth, birth weight, exposure to tocolytics before delivery, fetal pH at birth) were similar in all comparisons. We conclude that an additive effect between dexamethasone and calf-lung surfactant extract is observed in selected cases. It may therefore be appropriate to maximize antenatal steroid use in centers where exogenous surfactant is available.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

PubMed1984