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Biomedical subjects

F Baldissera

Publications and source records attributed to F Baldissera.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Evidence for mutual inhibition of opposite Ia interneurones in the human upper limb.

The H-reflex technique was used to collect indirect evidence for changes in excitability of the interneurones mediating reciprocal Ia inhibition between wrist extensors and flexors. Stimulating the radial nerve results in an inhibition of the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) H-reflex and evidence has previously been presented that the early phase of inhibition is mediated by extensor-coupled Ia interneurones (Ext Ia INs), i.e. by inhibitory interneurones fed by muscle spindle Ia afferents from wrist extensors. Variations in the level of this inhibition were used to assess changes in excitability of Ext Ia INs. Stimulation of group I fibres from flexors was shown to depress the "reference" Ia inhibition, i.e. to inhibit the Ext Ia INs. The central latency of this interneuronal inhibition was compatible with a disynaptic linkage between flexor Ia afferents and Ext Ia INs. Its threshold and time course profile could almost exactly be superimposed on those of reciprocal Ia inhibition from flexors to extensor carpi radialis (ECR) motoneurones (MNs). This suggests that the Ia inhibitions to extensor MNs and extensor Ia INs are collateral effects mediated by the same flexor-coupled Ia interneurones. In two subjects, in whom it was possible to elicit an H-reflex in the ECR, inhibition of flexor-coupled Ia interneurones by activation of extensor Ia interneurones could similarly be demonstrated.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The dynamic response of cat gastrocnemius motor units investigated by ramp-current injection into their motoneurones.

1. The isometric force developed by single motor units in response to injection of ramp-and-hold currents into their motoneurones was recorded from the common tendon of the gastrocnemius muscles of the cat. The average rate of rise of the force (force-slope) produced by the ramp-evoked discharge, was found to grow almost linearly with the rate of current injection (current-slope) up to a saturation value (maximal force-slope). 2. The slope of the function which links the force slope to the current-slope is the gain (dF/dI) of the motor unit under dynamic conditions. The value of the dynamic gain, measured in the linear region of growth, displays a large variability, i.e. for each nanoampere of current injected, the force developed is as much as 40 times larger in the strongest than in the weakest motor units. Such large gain differences, however, are drastically reduced if the force is expressed as a percentage of the maximal tetanic tension, Ft: per nanoampere injected, most of the units deliver from 1.0 to 3.0% of Ft. 3. The maximal force-slope which each unit could reach exhibits a large variability, ranging from 0.06 to 4.0 g ms-1. Like the dynamic gain, the maximal force-slope is positively related to Ft. 4. It was found that the dynamic sensitivity of the motoneurone, i.e. the increase of the firing rate per unitary increase of the current-slope, governs the fractional growth of the force-slope, whereas the motor unit contraction time determines the firing rate at which maximal force-slope is reached. Together, the two factors co-operate in defining, for each motor unit, the range of input-slopes within which the force-slope is regulated. 5. The motoneurones which supply the weak motor units, those with the lowest dynamic gain, have higher dynamic sensitivity and lower rheobase than those innervating the strong motor units. This suggests that weak motor units need less synaptic current both to be recruited and to reach the maximal speed of force development when their input is supraliminal.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1986

Restoring abduction of paralyzed vocal cords in the cat using selective laryngeal reinnervation by phrenic motoneurons.

The aim of this work was to reestablish the respiratory function of the paralyzed larynx through reinnervation of the posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle by phrenic motoneurons. In nine adult cats the adductor branch of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) of one side was cut and ligated, while the abductor branch was left intact. The whole RLN was then transected lower in the neck and its distal stump anastomosed to the upper branch of the phrenic nerve. Periodical laryngoscopies under ketamine anesthesia assessed that the inspiratory abduction of the paralyzed vocal cord recovered within 45 days to 60 days in all cats. Abduction was caused by reinnervation of the PCA muscle from phrenic motoneurons, as demonstrated by electrophysiological and anatomical (retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase) testings.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The dynamic sensitivity of pyramidal tract neurones is influenced by previous activity.

The dynamic sensitivity of Pyramidal Tract (PT) neurones has been examined in silent cells and after pre-activation with an action potential evoked at different intervals before the discharge onset. In the resting conditions the dynamic sensitivity increases after the first interspike interval of the repetitive discharge. When a conditioning spike precedes the discharge onset by 50 ms (i.e. of a time sufficient for its afterhyperpolarization, AHP, to fade out) the dynamic sensitivity becomes uniform throughout the ramp. This linearizing effect progressively declines when the conditioning interval is increased to 100 and 150 ms and is attributed to the "depression" induced by the conditioning spike on the AHP of the first spike of the ramp discharge. In natural conditions, the effect would be entirely developed when the neurones fire at their minimal discharge rate (1/AHP duration).

Animals↗
PubMed1984

The dynamic response of cat alpha-motoneurones investigated by intracellular injection of sinusoidal currents.

Sine-wave currents intracellularly injected into spinal alpha-motoneurones were found to modulate sinusoidally the regular rhythmic firing (carrier frequency) evoked by a current step. Cycle histograms of the instantaneous frequency could be accurately fitted by sinusoidal functions. Those functions were treated as the cell output. For a given modulation frequency between 2 and 14-18 Hz, the amplitude of the cell output was linearly related to the amplitude of the sine-wave current, all over a wide range of current intensities. The sensitivity (gain) and the phase relationships were estimated by varying the modulation frequency of a given sine-wave. When modulation frequency varied from 1-2 Hz to 14-18 Hz, there was a progressive increase of the gain and a phase advance. The experimental gain curve closely conformed to the response of an ideal linear transducer sensitive to both the intensity and the velocity of the input. The phase advance was instead less than that predicted by the model. No "carrier dependent" variations of gain and phase were detected. Differences among motoneurones regarded both the static gain and the "corner frequency" (a measure of the dynamic sensitivity). In 10 motoneurones, the corner frequency ranged between 5 and 10 Hz.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Impulse frequency encoding of the dynamic aspects of excitation.

Like receptors, neurones of the mammalian CNS react to both the static and the dynamic features of the input signals. The quantitative aspect of the current-to-frequency transduction during input transients were analyzed in spinal motoneurones and in corticospinal neurones by the technique of injecting intracellularly either ramp of sine-wave currents. It was found that, in both types of neurones, the instantaneous firing frequency is linearly correlated, within definite ranges, both to the intensity and to the velocity of change of the input currents. By recording the isometric mechanogram of the muscle units innervated by the impaled motoneurones, it was disclosed that the motoneurones discharges produced by the ramp currents develop tension changes, whose average velocity is proportional to the ramp slope. For both types of neurones, results are consistent with the hypothesis that the major determinants of the double sensitivity, to the intensity and to the velocity, are the kinetics of the potassium conductance system responsible for the spike afterhyperpolarization.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Properties of the spike afterhyperpolarization in pyramidal tract neurons.

Features of the spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP) recorded intracellularly have been analyzed in fast pyramidal tract neurons of cats. Cell input conductance increases during the AHP, possibly because of a change in potassium conductance, as suggested by an AHP equilibrium potential 10--15 mV negative to the resting membrane potential. When more spikes are evoked in succession, AHPs following the first one are strongly reduced in amplitude. The effect is virtually maximal (30--50% of the control) after a single spike and fades out by 200-400 ms after the last spike. At short interspike intervals the initial time course of the depression is hidden by summation occurring between consecutive AHPs.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Circulating glucagon after total pancreatectomy in man.

In five totally pancreatectomized human subjects the secretion of gut-derived glucagons was stimulated by ingestion of a meal rich in fat and carbohydrates. Glucagon-like immunoreactivity in plasma, measured with an antiserum against the 6-15 sequence, increased fivefold in response to the meal. Glucagon like immunoreactivity measured with a antiserum against the C-terminal sequence was initially normal (12-13 pmol/l), increased slightly (to 20 pmol/l), and then decreased (to approximately 6 pmol/l). The chromatographic profile of glucagon-like immunoreactivity in plasma at maximum stimulation was studied after concentration by affinity chromatography. Both assay systems identified two peaks (at Kd-values of 0.30 and 0.60-0.65, and 0.30 and 0.70, respectively). The position at Kd 0.70 corresponds to that of glucagon 1-29. The same components may be identified in plasma from normal subjects. It is concluded that the human intestine is capable of generating all of the molecular forms of glucagon which normally are present in plasma.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Preferential coupling between voluntary movements of ipsilateral limbs.

Single or cyclical voluntary movements of flexion and extension of the hand, performed in a parasagittal plane, are immediately and naturally coupled with the same movements of the foot only if the extremities follow simultaneously the same direction. Instead, great care and attention are required to move the two segments in opposite directions, an association which tends to reverse spontaneously to the 'easy' pattern. This rule is followed independently of the muscles employed, since it holds both when the hand is prone and when it is supine. The same principle also applies to many other couples of voluntary movements of the ipsilateral limbs or of different segments in the same limb.

Ankle Joint↗
PubMed1982

Impulse coding of ramp currents intracellularly injected into pyramidal tract neurones.

Relationships between the repetitive discharge and dynamic aspects of the input were analyzed in pyramidal tract neurones of the cat. Inputs were intracellularly injected currents reaching a steady level after ramps of different slopes (from 0.02 to 1.5 nA ms-1). Output was the instantaneous frequency of the discharge. During the transient phase, instantaneous frequency appeared to be related both to the velocity of rise and to the intensity of the stimulating current. The dynamic component of the cell response was estimated by subtraction of the intensity-bound component (derived from the steady-state response to current steps). After subtraction, the instantaneous frequency of interspike intervals following the first one became proportional to the ramp slope. The instantaneous frequency of the first interval also increased with the current slope, but at a lower rate than the frequency of other intervals. Moreover its dynamic component virtually stopped growing when the ramp slope exceeded 0.3-0.5 nA ms-1.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Neural encoding of input transients investigated by intracellular injection of ramp currents in cat alpha-motoneurones.

1. Input-output relations were analysed in spinal alpha-motoneurones during current transients reaching a steady level after a linear growth of different slopes. The motoneurone output considered in the analysis was the instantaneous frequency of the cell discharge.2. In all motoneurones firing frequency during the ramp exceeded that of the final steady level and it was related to the velocity of rise of the current. In the majority of motoneurones the instantaneous frequency grew during the ramp stimulus, as if it were dependent on current intensity as well as on its rate of rise. Only in a few cells was firing frequency constant over the first two interspike intervals during the ramp, as would be expected if this response depended solely on the rate of rise.3. Frequency-velocity (f/v) plots for different rates of rise of the injected current showed a linear relation for each interspike interval. Presence or absence of an intensity component was revealed in these plots by divergence or, respectively, overlapping of the f/v relations for the first and second intervals. Divergence was eliminated by subtraction of the estimated intensity component. The slope of the f/v relation for the first interval did not change significantly after subtraction of the intensity component and was taken as an index of the dynamic sensitivity of the motoneurones. The slope of the f/v relation varied greatly (from 47 to 330 impulses s(-1). (nA ms(-1))(-1)) in the population examined and was higher in motoneurones with a long-lasting afterhyperpolarization (a.h.p.) than in those where it was short-lasting.4. It is proposed that the ability of the motoneurones to encode both the steady level and the rate of change of input signals depends on the conductance changes responsible for the a.h.p. and their accumulation. A positive correlation was found between the size of the a.h.p. potassium current, estimated as a.h.p. peak voltage/cell input resistance, and the slope of the f/v relation for the first interval.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1979

After hyperpolarization conductance time-course and repetitive firing in a motoneurone model with early inactivation of the slow potassium conductance system.

Early inactivation of the slow potassium conductance system (GK), responsible for the spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP) in spinal alpha motoneurones, has been introduced in a motoneurone model whose GK kinetics give rise to an exponentially decaying AHP conductance. After this modification, the model displays a plateau shaped time-course of the AHP conductance and a faster shortening of the first interval during repetitive firing induced by current steps of increasing intensities. Both features increase the resemblance between the model and the motoneurone behaviour. Comparison with real motoneurones also suggests that GK inactivation may be more developed in "slow" than in "fast" motoneurones.

Electric Conductivity↗
PubMed1978

Saturating summation of the afterhyperpolarization conductance in spinal motoneurones: a mechanism for 'secondary range' repetitive firing.

Summation of the potassium conductance (GK) changes underlying the spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP) has been studied in cat spinal motoneurones. Cells were directly activated by one to five short current pulses at constant rate, each evoking an action potential. The analysis was restricted to cells displaying an approximately exponential decay of the AHP conductance. In these neurones the AHP conductances given by successive spikes were found to summate in a non-linear manner. This nonlinear summation seemed well described by a neurone model based on modified Hodgkin-Huxley equations. From the model equations the total AHP conductance in motoneurones could be calculated from values of GK measured experimentally at different times during the summation process. Adaptation and steady-state firing in motoneurones are assumed to be governed by summation of AHP conductance. The same model was then utilized for simulating neuronal repetitive firing in response to current steps. Such simulations were performed after substitution of the model parameters with values measured in individual motoneurones which had also been fired repetitively by intracellular injection of long-lasting current steps. The amount of adaptation and the shape and slopes of the steady-state frequency-to-current relation were found to coincide in the model and in the corresponding motoneurones.

Action Potentials↗