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Biomedical subjects

J C Saunders

Publications and source records attributed to J C Saunders.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Aldosterone induced changes in colonic sodium transport occurring naturally during development in the neonatal pig.

1. Serum concentrations of aldosterone in later fetal, 3-6 week old and adult pigs are of the order of 300 pg ml.-1. This increases to about 2000 pg ml.-1 in the period immediately after birth. 2. Canrenoate injected into pigs from birth onwards stops the increase in colonic short-circuit current, seen to take place normally during early postnatal development. Amiloride has little or no effect on the short-circuit current of colons taken from canrenoate injected pigs. 3. Canrenoate stops the post-natal increase in colonic Na influx (and therefore net transport) seen to occur under normal conditions. 4. There is in the neonatal pig distal colon a portion of Na transport which appears to be resistant to inhibition by amiloride or canrenoate. 5. There is a second portion of Na transport, increasing in importance as the piglets become older, which is electrogenic and which is electrogenic and which is inhibited by prior injection of canrenoate. It is assumed that this fraction of Na transport is influenced by aldosterone. 6. There is a third part of Na transport, maximal in colons taken from one day old animals, which appears to be non-electrogenic. This is also blocked by prior injection of canrenoate. 7. The physiological relevance of these findings is discussed.

Aging↗

The development of middle-ear admittance in the hamster.

A high-frequency admittance meter was developed and used to study the maturation of physiological function in the middle ear of neonatal golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). The middle-ear input admittance in the frequency range of 0.8-1.8 kHz was measured in animals ranging in age from 6 to 69 days postpartum. Admittance magnitude was found to increase steadily with age, beginning on day 16, to asymptotic values at each test frequency. There were no obvious differences in admittance growth rates within the range of frequencies tested. However, an analysis of the slopes of the admittance ma;nitude frequency response curves revealed an increase from 4.6 dB/octave for animals 25 days old or younger, to 6.3 dB/octave for all older animals. This difference between younger and older subjects indicates that the development of the middle ear in the golden hamster is more complex than a simple increase in pure compliance.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗

Middle ear gas exchange in isobaric counterdiffusion.

Nitrous oxide entry into the middle ear gas space was studied in cats in relation to anesthesia and the vestibular dysfunction caused by isobaric inert gas counter-diffusion in diving. A catheter implanted in the auditory bulla was used for direct gas sampling and pressure measurements. Experiments were designed to evaluate the participation of the eustachian tube, mucosal blood vessels, and tympanic membrane in middle ear gas exchange. The eustachian tube did not contribute to N2O entry and the mucosal blood supply only contributed about one-third of the total N2O accumulation. Diffusion across the tympanic membrane accounted for most of the N2O entering the middle ear from ambient and respiratory environments containing N2O.

Animals↗

Frequency selectivity in the parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus) studied with psychophysical tuning curves.

Seven parakeets were trained to avoid shock during pure-tone stimulation. A modified method of limits was used to measure detection thresholds of the pure tones. The intensity of masker tones, at numerous frequencies, was varied in order to measure the masked threshold of a probe-tone signal set at a fixed frequency and intensity. Masking curves were obtained for three probe tones (.63, 1.6, and 2.5 kHz) at each of five sensation levels (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 dB). The masking curves from this procedure are frequently referred to as "psychophysical tuning curves" and provide an indication of frequency selectivity. The results are compared with analogous data in other species and suggest that frequency analysis in the parakeet ear is somewhat less accurate than in the mammalian ear.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Frequency selectivity in the parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus) studied with narrow-band noise masking.

Narrow-band noise masking was studied in the parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus) using a modified method of limits and an instrumental avoidance-conditioning procedure. Masked thresholds were obtained from five subjects at 10 frequencies between 0.5 and 5.0 kHz for each of four sensation levels (26, 46, 66, and 86 db) of a 1/3-octave band noise masker centered at 1.6 kHz. The amount of masking was found to be linearly related to noise level, and the shape of the masking curve was symmetrical on both sides of the center frequency of the masker. In all cases, the greatest threshold shift occurred at the center frequency of the masker. The relative symmetry of the parakeet narrow-band masking curves contrasts with masking results reported in mammals.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Changes in cochlear microphonic sensitivity after priming C57BL/6j mice at various ages for audiogenic seizures.

Groups of mice were briefly exposed to a one-octave band of noise at 14, 18, 28, 38, or 58 days of age. Five days later the groups were divided, and some mice were behaviorally tested for audiogenic seizures by reexposing them to the same sound. The round window cochlear microphonic potential was measured in the remaining animals and compared with that observed in unprimed control subjects. Seizure behavior occurred in all animals primed on Day 18 but rarely for subjects in the other age groups. Cochlear microphonic threshold curves in mice primed on Day 18 showed a 30-dB loss in sensitivity, while all other primed groups showed little change. These data were discussed in terms of the "disuse-supersensitivity" hypothesis previously proposed to account for the physiological effects of priming in mice.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Hearing in the parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus): absolute thresholds, critical ratios, frequency difference limens, and vocalizations.

Avoidance conditioning and the method of limits were used to measure absolute auditory thresholds, masked thresholds, and critical ratios in 4 parakeets. The same procedure was then used to study frequency difference limens in 6 additional animals. The power spectrum and "constancy of intonation" of the parakeet call were also measured and related to the absolute and differential frequency sensitivity. The mechanism of frequency analysis in the parakeet ear was considered in relation to the present results and to the anatomical and functional differences between the avian and mammalian auditory systems.

Acoustic Stimulation↗