Biomedical subjects

M Mamelak

Publications and source records attributed to M Mamelak.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of aging on the useful field of view.

Previous research has shown that the useful field of view (UFOV) is a useful tool in predicting driving ability, and the UFOV also seems to decline with age. The goals of the current study were first, to examine UFOV changes systematically as a function of age (15-84), and, second, to determine the effect of dividing attention on the UFOV. Our results show that the deterioration in the UFOV begins early in life (by 20 years, or younger). This deterioration is best conceptualized as a decrease in the efficiency with which observers can extract information from a cluttered scene, rather than by shrinking of the field of view per se. The diminished efficiency among elderly observers is exacerbated when conditions require the division of attention between central and peripheral tasks.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A perspective on narcolepsy.

Neurochemical analyses were performed on brains obtained at post mortem from 3 patients with narcolepsy. The salient findings were an increase in noradrenergic and serotonergic neuronal activity, a decrease in dopaminergic neuronal activity, and, in 2 of the 3 brains, a decrease in the number of alpha-1-noradrenergic receptors in the frontal cortex and amygdala. A pathophysiological model for narcolepsy is developed on the basis of these findings. The neurobiology of narcolepsy is compared with that of depression. The role of MHC--class II gene products in the genesis of narcolepsy is discussed. Some treatment implications follow.

Brain Chemistry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cardioprotective effects of sodium gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) on brain induced myocardial injury.

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) was evaluated as a protective agent in a gerbil model of non-lethal myocardial injury that follows brain ischaemia. The accumulation of fat droplets in myocardial fibers following brain infarction was measured by electron microscopic morphometry and expressed as a percentage of the area of the sarcoplasm. GHB treatment significantly reduced the area occupied by lipid droplets compared with that found in saline treated controls measured both 10 hours (p less than .005) and 24 hours (p less than 0.05) after unilateral carotid ligation. GHB did not affect the ischaemic swelling of the brain.

Animals↗