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Biomedical subjects

F R Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to F R Robinson.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Limb specific connections of the cat magnocellular red nucleus.

Afferent and efferent connections of the limb specific divisions of the cat magnocellular red nucleus (RNm) were traced using the bidirectional transport of wheatgerm agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase complex (WGA-HRP). Injection sites within forelimb or hindlimb RNm regions were identified by microelectrode recording and confirmed by the position of labeled rubrospinal terminals. Additional injections into structures that project to, or receive input from, RNm confirmed the somatotopic organization of these pathways. The forelimb region of RNm receives input from the posteriolateral part of the anterior interpositus nucleus (NIA) and the intermediate part of the posterior interpositus nucleus (NIP). The hindlimb region of RNm receives input from anteriomedial NIA and medial NIP. Terminals of NIA cells densely fill all of RNm, but terminals of NIP cells form a half shell on the medial, ventral, and posterior borders of RNm without encroaching on RNm's lateral edge or central core. Forelimb and hindlimb RNm are reciprocally connected with the caudal cuneate and gracile nuclei respectively. There is little or no input to RNm from the medial or lateral cerebellar nuclei. Forelimb RNm, which also contains a face representation, projects to the lateral reticular nucleus, cell group f of the inferior vestibular nucleus, the facial nucleus, the main sensory nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, the caudal cuneate nucleus, the parvicellular reticular formation, and cervical segments of the spinal cord. A few fibers from forelimb RNm project directly to motor neurons in the lower cervical cord. Hindlimb RNm projects to only the lateral reticular nucleus, gracile nucleus, and lower spinal segments. Forelimb and hindlimb RNm project to different regions of the lateral reticular nucleus with some overlap.

Afferent Pathways↗

Simultaneous opposing adaptive changes in cat vestibulo-ocular reflex direction for two body orientations.

The specificity of adaptation of vestibulo-ocular reflex direction was examined by exposing cats to combined pitch vestibular rotation and horizontal optokinetic motion at 0.25 Hz, while alternating body position between lying on the left side and lying on the right. The direction of optokinetic motion relative to head motion was reversed when the cat's body posture was changed so that, for example, if head upward rotation was coupled to leftward visual world motion when the cat was lying on its left side, then head upward rotation was coupled to rightward visual world motion when the cat was on its right side. Body position and optokinetic motion direction were changed every 10 min for a total of 2 h of adaptation on each side. Horizontal and vertical electrooculographic recordings were made during pitch rotations in darkness before and after adaptation. Saccades were removed from the records and vestibulo-ocular reflex gain was measured in the direction of optokinetic motion. In every case, the adaptation procedure produced a directional change in the vestibulo-ocular reflex specific to the posture during measurement and appropriate to reduce the retinal image motion caused by the combined vestibular and optokinetic stimuli. That is, adaptive horizontal eye movements measured on the two sides were in opposite directions for the same direction of head motion. This specificity suggests that adaptation of vestibulo-ocular reflex direction involves specific neural pathways that are controlled by body orientation signals which most likely arise from the otolith organs.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Cat vestibular neurons that exhibit different responses to active and passive yaw head rotations.

Neurons in the vestibular nuclei were recorded in alert cats during voluntary yaw rotations of the head and during the same rotations delivered with a turntable driven from a record of previous voluntary movements. During both voluntary and passive rotations 35% (6/17) of neurons tested responded at higher rates or for a larger part of the movement during voluntary movements than during the same rotations delivered with the turntable. Neck sensory input was evaluated separately in many of these cells and can account qualitatively for the extra firing present during active movement.

Animals↗

Gain and phase of cat vertical eye movements generated by sinusoidal pitch rotations with and without head tilt.

Vertical EOGs were recorded in cats during sinusoidal head pitch from 0.01 to 4.0 Hz with peak velocities of 50 degrees X s-1. The purpose of the experiments was to determine whether dynamic response properties of the vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) elicited by pitch with the animal lying on its side (on-side pitch) differ from those resulting from normal (upright) pitch. During on-side pitch (not changing head position with respect to gravity), the vertical VOR gain was 13.5% less than during upright pitch. Thus, the vertical VOR was more compensatory than during on-side pitch. Phase did not differ between the two conditions. The results indicate the importance of interactions between otolith and vertical canal stimulation for vertical eye movement control. The results imply that in micro-gravity, where head tilt does not lead to otolith stimulation as regards gravity, vertical head and eye movements may not be controlled appropriately, leading to vestibular-visual conflicts at the same time that horizontal eye movement controls are normal.

Animals↗

An analysis of asymmetries in cat vertical eye movements generated by sinusoidal pitch.

Asymmetries in the fast and slow components of nystagmus in the cat vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VVOR) were analyzed. Sinusoidal pitch stimuli were used in two experimental conditions, one with the animals on their sides and the other with the animals upright. The half-periods of upward and downward slow component position were generally not of equal duration in the on-side condition. Such was not the case for upright pitch where the slow component was symmetric. In addition, the number of fast components in the two directions was not equal with downward-directed predominating regardless of pitch condition. These two results led to the conclusions that gravity plays an essential role in the normal VVOR and fast component asymmetries may be inherent in the reflex.

Animals↗

Cerebellar targets of visual pontine cells in the cat.

The cerebellum receives visual mossy fiber input from the cerebral cortex via visual cells in the pons. We identified the regions of cat cerebellum that receive cerebral visual input by injecting orthograde tracers among physiologically identified visual pontine cells. Cerebellar labeling following these injections indicates that the contralateral paraflocculus and the rostral folium of the uvula (vermal lobule IX) receive the heaviest projection from cortically activated pontine visual cells. Lighter visual input reaches much of the rest of the contralateral posterior lobe. A second experiment combined, in the same animal, orthograde tracing of the visual corticopontine pathway with retrograde tracing of the pontocerebellar projection. The results of this experiment confirm that the paraflocculus and uvula receive more cortical visual input than do other regions of the cerebellum. This experiment also shows that uvula-projecting and paraflocculus-projecting cells occupy different parts of the ventromedial pons. Uvula-projecting cells cluster immediately adjacent to the ventral and medial borders of the pyramidal tract and near the midline. Paraflocculus-projecting cells lie ventral and medial to the pyramidal tract but displaced from its border. There are few paraflocculus-projecting cells near the midline.

Animals↗

In utero exposure of bovine fetuses to polychlorinated biphenyls.

Pregnant mature beef cows more than 6 mo from parturition were fed whole plant corn silage from either a silo (contaminated) that had been coated with a plastic containing polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1254) or from a silo (clean) that had not been coated with the plastic. In addition, a third group of cows was fed silage from the clean silo plus 200 mg Aroclor 1254 per head daily (added polychlorinated biphenyls). After 30 days on treatment, one cow from each of the three treatments had her fetus removed by Caesarean section for assay of liver, thyroid, and fat for polychlorinated biphenyls content. Tissue content of polychlorinated biphenyls for fetuses from cows fed clean silage, contaminated silage, or added polychlorinated biphenyls was (microgram/g): liver, 3.6, 4.7, and 54.1; thyroid, 2.3, 19.4, and 121.1; fat, .65, 18.1, and 130.6, indicating polychlorinated biphenyls cross the placenta readily. Cow milk (colostrum) contents of polychlorinated biphenyls on the 1st day following parturition for the three respective treatments were .54, 8.5, and 96.4 micrograms/g (clean silage, contaminated silage, and added polychlorinated biphenyls). Fetuses taken from cows that had been removed from polychlorinated biphenyl exposure for 6 mo reflected previous treatments of dams by increased fetal fat stores of polychlorinated biphenyls.

Adipose Tissue↗

Dietary Aroclor 1254 in the milk fat of lactating beef cattle.

Excretion in milk fat of Aroclor 1254 (a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyl) by mature beef cows (Hereford and Hereford cross) was studied. Three groups of 6 cows each were fed primarily a corn silage diet characterized by 1) clean silage (stored in an uncontaminated silo), 2) silage stored in a silo coated with a sealant containing Aroclor 1254, and 3) clean silage to which 200 mg Aroclor 1254 per head daily was added (approximately 2 to 3 mg/kg body weight per day). Treatments were started approximately 3 mo prior to parturition and extended 1 mo after parturition, at which time treatments were discontinued, and cows and nursing calves were placed on pasture. Milk was sampled in the period between parturition and 132 days after discontinuance of treatments. Fat from the milk of cows fed silage from the silo which had not been sealed with the Aroclor 1254 product contained .69 to 1.59 ppm Aroclor 1254 throughout the 164-day lactation. Fat from cows fed silage from the silo treated with the Aroclor 1254 sealant contained more than ten times as much Aroclor 1254 (15.7 to 18.4 ppm) for 32 days as compared with the controls and then dropped to one-half that figure through the 164th day. Fat from the milk of cows fed 200 mg Aroclor 1254 per day contained from 119 to 150 ppm through the first 32 days and then dropped to 39 to 51 ppm through day 164.

Animals↗

Neoplasms of Equidae.

In a retrospective study of neoplasms in Equidae pre;ented to the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Purdue University, from Jan 1, 1970, to Dec 31, 1974, data were compiled on numbers and anatomic sites of neoplasms as well as on age, sex, and breed of subjects from which the neoplasms were taken. During this 5-year period, 21 neoplasms were diagnosed from 687 equine necropsies (3.1%) and 215 from 635 biopsies (33.9%), totaling 236 neoplasms from 1,322 cases (17.9%). The most common neoplasms were sarcoids (43.6%) and squamous cell carcinomas (24.6%). Papillomas (5.5%), nerve sheath tumors (4.2%), melanomas (3.8%), lipomas (3.0%), granulosa cell tumors (2.5%), fibromas (2.1%), cholesteatomas (1.3%), and lymphosarcomas (1.3%) were less common.

Animals↗

Glossitis of military working dogs in south Vietnam; histopathologic observations.

Glossitis, known clinically as "redtongue," was studied in tissues from 34 military working dogs (MWD) in the Republic of Vietnam. This condition was manifested grossly by loss of lingual papillae on the dorsal margins of the rostral third of the tongue. Microscopically, the principal lesions consisted of loss of filiform papillae, hemorrhage and edema in the lamina propria, acanthosis, and cellular infiltration. The cause of glossitis remains unknown at this time.

Animals↗

Shrews: a review of the diseases, anomalies, and parasites.

The diseases, lesions, congenital disorders, and parasites of both Insectivora and prosimian shrews were reviewed. Preliminary baseline data provide encouraging prospects for using these animals as research models because few spontaneous diseases and lesions have been reported. It must be pointed out, however, that throughout the literature reviewed, clinical histories were incomplete and histopathologic examinations had seldom been performed, particularly with the parasitic entities.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Tumours of the eye and adnexa.

Most types of epithelial tumour of the eyelids, conjunctiva, and cornea occur in all species; the most common type occurring in any species is bovine squamous cell carcinoma. Iridociliary epithelial tumours and malignant melanomas are the most important intraocular tumours. The histological features of the tumours are described under the following main headings: epithelial tumours of the eyelids, conjunctiva, and cornea; mesenchymal tumours (extraocular, optic nerve and nerve sheath, and uveal tract); neuroectodermal tumours; and melanogenic tumours of the eyelids and conjunctiva and of the uveal tract.

Adenocarcinoma↗