Assessing neglect in stroke patients.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Stone.
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We studied the morphology and center-surround organization of Lucifer Yellow injected OFF- and ON-center bipolar cells in the light-adapted Xenopus retina and the effects of glycine and GABA on their cone-mediated light responses. In both classes of cell, prominent antagonistic surround responses up to 20 mV in amplitude could be evoked without first suppressing the center responses with steady illumination. An additional feature of the light-evoked bipolar cell response was a pronounced (up to -24 mV) delayed hyperpolarizing after potential (DHAP) which followed the depolarizing responses of both classes of bipolar cell. The morphological features of dye-injected bipolar cells conformed to the general idea of segregation of ON and OFF pathways in the inner and outer interplexiform layer, however, the morphology of axonal arborizations was different for both classes. OFF-center cells ramified symmetrically around the primary branchpoint, whereas ON-center cells had a strongly asymmetrical arrangement of their axonal tree. The center and surround responses were differentially sensitive to glycine and GABA. Glycine eliminated the antagonistic surround responses in both OFF and ON cells; the center responses were reduced to some extent but were not eliminated. In contrast, GABA affected the hyperpolarizing responses much more strongly than the depolarizing response components. That is, the amplitude of the center response in the OFF cell and the surround response in the ON cell was reduced 80-90% during exposure to GABA, whereas the surround and center depolarizations of OFF and ON cells, respectively, were reduced only 0-10%. Our findings implicate a role for GABAergic and glycinergic pathways in the center-surround organization of bipolar cells in Xenopus retina. In addition, the results suggest that the pathways mediating center-surround antagonism may be different in OFF-bipolar cells vs. ON-bipolar cells.
In the female rat immunoreactive prolactin (IR-PRL) has been identified in the hypothalamus and in other brain regions. Brain IR-PRL is not of pituitary origin and, based on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and peptide mapping, shares a high degree of sequence homology with its pituitary counterpart. We have previously shown that hypothalamic tissue can release IR-PRL in vitro when depolarized by potassium. In this study, we examined the release of IR-PRL from hypothalami obtained from intact and ovariectomized rats and incubated in the presence of veratridine (an alkaloid which depolarizes excitable membranes), angiotensin II, or thyrotropin-releasing hormone. Hypothalamic tissue spontaneously released IR-PRL, and this release was significantly increased by veratridine or angiotensin II in a dose-dependent manner. The specificity of the angiotensin-II-evoked IR-PRL release was demonstrated by the inhibitory effect of saralasin, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, on hypothalamic IR-PRL release. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (100 microM) had no effect on hypothalamic IR-PRL release. Ovariectomy decreased hypothalamic IR-PRL content and IR-PRL release in response to veratridine and angiotensin II. The effect of estradiol on hypothalamic IR-PRL content and release was also examined by obtaining hypothalami from ovariectomized rats injected with estradiol (1 microgram/day) or vehicle for 5 days. When compared with vehicle injected rats, administration of estradiol significantly increased the hypothalamic IR-PRL content (46 +/- 4 vs. 81 +/- 16 ng/mg protein).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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1. We identified a chromatic-type horizontal cell (C-cell) in the Xenopus retina by intracellular dye injection with Lucifer yellow or horseradish peroxidase (HRP). C-cells hyperpolarized in response to blue light and depolarized in response to red light. 2. In either photopic or mesopic states, moderate-intensity blue and red stimuli evoked responses that were inverted with respect to each other but of similar waveform and latency. In the presence of a bright green adapting field, the maximal voltage (Vmax) of the hyperpolarizing and depolarizing response component approached 30 mV; the kinetics of both waveforms were fast, and the hyperpolarizing response was followed by a small depolarizing overshoot at light OFF. Thus the blue-sensitive photoreceptor is capable of initiating large visual signals under photopic conditions when transmission from green-sensitive rods is suppressed. Under mesopic conditions (no adapting field) the kinetics of both waveforms were slower. The Vmax of the hyperpolarizing response reached 30-40 mV, whereas the cone-mediated depolarization saturated at 15 mV. 3. Both response components of the C-cell showed large receptive fields with no center-surround antagonism. 4. The C-cell perikaryon was located in the distal inner nuclear layer. It emitted four to seven long, tapering processes that ran horizontally for 90-100 microns. Two kinds of terminal dendrites, short and long, extended from the tapering processes toward the layer of photoreceptor bases. 5. Glycine (5-10 mM) completely eliminated the depolarizing response of the C-cell, whereas the hyperpolarizing component was unaffected. In contrast, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA; 5-10 mM) had no obvious effect on either component. 6. The C-cell light response was modified in two stages by cis-2,3-piperidine dicarboxylic acid (cis-PDA; 0.5-5 mM): first the depolarizing response disappeared; then the membrane potential hyperpolarized concomitant with a large reduction or elimination of the hyperpolarizing light response. In contrast, DL-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (APB) had no obvious effect on either response component or the membrane potential of the cell. 7. Our pharmacological findings are consistent with the view that the hyperpolarizing response in the C-cell is mediated by direct synaptic input from a blue-sensitive photoreceptor. The depolarizing response mediated by the red-sensitive cone could be explained by a direct synapse from the red cone or an indirect pathway involving luminosity (L-type) horizontal cells.
A 71-year-old English lady initially presented with a bulbar paralysis and, six weeks later, developed a generalised sensori-motor neuropathy. Corynebacterium diphtheriae mitis was cultured from her throat swab. Despite a good clinical recovery at one month, nerve conduction velocity was at its lowest. As far as the authors are aware, this is one of the few cases of neurophysiological and clinical follow-up in a British subject with diphtheritic peripheral neuropathy. This case emphasises the importance of giving antitoxin early.
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