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PubMed1990

Multiple slice FLASH imaging: an improved pulse sequence for contrast enhanced MR brain studies.

A multisclice gradient echo sequence (FLASH) was compared with a conventional spin-echo (SE) technique with regard to its value for contrast enhanced brain studies. In 50 patients with contrast enhancing intracranial lesions, MR studies (0.5 Tesla MR tomograph) were performed with SE images (SE 400/30; four images/3.4 min) and FLASH scans (FLASH 315/14, 90 degrees; 15 images/1.4 min) before and after Gd-DTPA. Based on visual and quantitative assessment diagnostic results of postcontrast SE- and FLASH images were equivalent with respect to contrast enhancement, lesion/brain-contrast, lesion/edema-contrast, and lesion delineation. Although image quality generally was excellent on postcontrast FLASH images, susceptibility artifacts were more severe on FLASH scans than on SE images. However, with the exception of postoperative patients with artifacts due to metal remains, diagnostic information was not decreased by artifacts on postcontrast FLASH images. In conclusion, because of the clearly higher efficiency of the multisclice FLASH technique, this pulse sequence offers the opportunity to speed up contrast enhanced brain imaging.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A dynamic fMRI study of illusory double-flash effect on human visual cortex.

Functional MRI (fMRI) combined with the paired-stimuli paradigms (referred as dynamic fMRI) was used to study the "illusory double-flash" effect on brain activity in the human visual cortex. Three experiments were designed. The first two experiments aimed to examine the cross-modal neural interaction between the visual and auditory sensory systems caused by the illusory double-flash effect using combined auditory (beep sound) and visual (light flash) stimuli. The fMRI signal in the visual cortex was significantly increased in response to the illusory double flashes compared to the physical single flash when the inter-stimuli delay between the auditory and visual stimuli was 25 ms. This increase disappeared when the delay was prolonged to approximately 300 ms. These results reveal that the illusory double-flash effect can significantly affect the brain activity in the visual cortex, and the degree of this effect is dynamically sensitive to the inter-stimuli delay. The third experiment was to address the spatial differentiation of brain activation in the visual cortex in response to the illusory double-flash stimulation. It was found that the illusory double-flash effect in the human visual cortex is much stronger in the periphery than the fovea. This finding suggests that the periphery may be involved in high-level brain processing beyond the retinotopic visual perception. The behavioral measures conducted in this study indicate an excellent correlation between the fMRI results and behavioral performance. Finally, this work demonstrates a unique merit of fMRI for providing both temporal and spatial information regarding cross-modal neural interaction between different sensory systems.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2006

Phototoxic effects of commercial photographic flash lamp on rat eyes.

BACKGROUND: To determine whether exposure of the cornea and retina of rats to flashes from a commercial photographic flash lamp is phototoxic. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 10, 100, or 1,000 flashes of the OPTICAM 16M photographic flash lamp (Fujikoeki, Japan) placed 0.1, 1, or 3 m from the eyes. Corneal damage was assessed by a fluorescein staining score, and the retinal damage by eletroretinography (ERG) and histology before and 24 h after exposure. RESULTS: Exposure of the eyes to 1,000 flashes at 0.1 m increased the fluorescein staining score significantly (P = 0.009, the Mann-Whitney test). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the cornea showed a detachment of the epithelial cells from the surface after this exposure. The amplitude of the a-wave was decreased significantly by 23.0% (P = 0.026) of the amplitude before the exposure, and the b-wave by 19.7% (P = 0.0478) following 1,000 flashes at 0.1 m but not by the other exposures. TUNEL-positive cells were present in the outer nuclear layer only after the extreme exposure, but no significant decrease in retinal thickness was seen under any condition. The fluorescein staining score and ERGs recovered to control levels within 1 week. CONCLUSIONS: Light exposure to a photographic flash lamp does not induce damage to the cornea and retina except when they are exposed to 1,000 flashes at 0.1 m.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Peripheral chromatic sensitivity for flashes: a post-receptoral red-green asymmetry.

Thresholds of luminance and red-green chromatic flashes (200 msec) were measured on a yellow adapting field in the fovea and periphery (up to 12 degrees eccentricity for 1 degree flashes and 21 degrees eccentricity for 2 degrees flashes). Chromatic sensitivity (in cone contrast coordinates) is about 7 times higher than luminance sensitivity in the fovea but falls faster with eccentricity, so that luminance and chromatic sensitivities are similar at eccentricities of 20 degrees or less. At eccentricities greater than about 14 degrees, there is a clear asymmetry wherein green chromatic flashes are considerably less detectable than red ones. By measuring complete detection contours for many ratios of incremental and decremental red and green flashes, we isolated the red and green chromatic detection mechanisms, and demonstrated that the red-green asymmetry is not a property of the L- or M-cone response per se, but rather is a property of the post-receptoral, chromatic mechanisms. The peripheral luminance and chromatic mechanisms could be further separated with a suprathreshold luminance flash (a pedestal), since an intense pedestal masks coincident luminance test flashes but facilitates the chromatic flashes. The luminance pedestal approximately linearizes the chromatic detection function (the psychometric function).

Color Perception↗
PubMed2005

Effects of flash mode and intensity on P2 component latency and amplitude.

UNLABELLED: Alzheimer's disease (AD) groups manifest flash visual-evoked potential (VEP) P2 component delays compared to healthy control groups. However, using P2 latency to categorize individual patients and controls yields low accuracy. Additionally, several laboratories have failed to replicate the basic between group P2 latency findings. The sporadic failure to find the P2 delay and, when found, its failure to classify patients and controls accurately may reflect the use of non-optimal stimuli or recording sites. OBJECTIVE: This was a parametric investigation of stimulation and recording methods in healthy college students. METHOD: Using an extended recording montage of 64 electrodes, 10 stimulus conditions (5 flash intensities through open and closed eyes) were evaluated for their P2 effects. RESULT: The optimal recording site (O2) yielded the most reliable latencies and amplitudes across a range of stimulus intensities. Flash intensity did not affect P2 latency or amplitude. Flashes delivered through closed eyelids produced a flash VEP but delivery through open eyes produced a pattern VEP lacking a flash P2 component. CONCLUSION: This accounts for the failure of some laboratories using open eyes to replicate the P2 delay in AD groups. SIGNIFICANCE: Optimal flash VEP conditions include closed eyes and recording from O2. Flash intensity is unimportant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Effects of SOA and flash pattern manipulations on ERPs, performance, and preference: implications for a BCI system.

P3 brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are synchronous communication systems that allow users to communicate interest in a target event by choosing to attend to it while ignoring other events. In such a system, a cogneme refers to the user's response to: "/attend to the event/" or "/ignore the event/". The present study examined subjects' ability to generate more cognemes per minute (by varying stimulus onset asynchrony or SOA), or requiring fewer cognemes to convey a message (by varying the pattern of stimulus presentation). Both of these have implications for improved information throughput in a P3 BCI. SOAs of 125, 250, and 500 ms were used. Additionally, the conventional "single flash" approach was compared to a new "multiple flash" condition in which half of the stimuli in an 8 x 8 grid were flashed simultaneously. In both conditions, P3-like component amplitudes decreased with faster SOAs at low target probabilities, but the trend did not hold for higher probabilities. The multiple flash condition produced more robust ERPs at the faster speeds. The results also indicate that attend/ignore differences were more apparent following multiple flashes for low target probabilities, but less apparent for high target probabilities. Although information throughput alone does not support the superiority of one approach over the other, only six cognemes are needed in the multiple flash conditions to identify a character, compared to sixteen cognemes in the single flash condition. This suggests that the former approach could operate more rapidly. Thus, the present results suggest that the multiple flash approach may be a more efficient and faster basis for a P3 BCI system.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Flashing liquid jets and two-phase droplet dispersion II. Comparison and validation of droplet size and rainout formulations.

Loss of containment often results in flashing releases of hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere. Rainout of these chemicals reduces airborne concentrations, but can also lead to extended cloud duration because of re-evaporation of the rained-out liquid. Therefore, for hazard assessment one must use models which accurately predict both the amount of rainout and its rate of re-evaporation. However, the findings of a literature survey reveal weaknesses in the state-of-the-art for modelling the sub-processes of droplet atomisation, atmospheric expansion, two-phase dispersion, rainout, pool formation and re-evaporation. A recent joint industry project has implemented recommendations from this survey, deriving from scaled water experiments droplet size correlations for conditions ranging from negative to high superheat. This experimental programme is reported in more detail in a separate companion paper. As a whole these correlations describe a tri-linear function of droplet size (expressed as Sauter mean diameter) as a function of superheat. This function describes the regimes of non-flashing, the transition between non-flashing and flashing, and fully flashing. The new correlations have been compared with previous correlations recommended by the Dutch Yellow Book and CCPS Books. The correlations are validated against published experiments including the STEP experiments (flashing propane jets), experiments by the Von Karman Institute (flashing R134-A jets), and water and butane experiments carried out by Ecole des Mines and INERIS. The rainout calculations by the dispersion model have been validated against a subset of the CCPS experiments (flashing jets of water, CFC-11, chlorine, cyclohexane, monomethylamine).

Aerosol Propellants↗
PubMed2004

Differential latencies and the dynamics of the position computation process for moving targets, assessed with the flash-lag effect.

To investigate the dynamics of the position computation process for a moving object in human vision, we measured the response to a continuous change in position at a constant velocity (ramp-response) using the flash-lag illusion. In this illusion, flashed and moving objects appear spatially offset when their retinal images are physically aligned. The steady-state phase of the ramp-response was probed using the "continuous-motion" (CM) paradigm, in which the motion of the moving object starts long before the occurrence of the flash. To probe the transient phase of the ramp-response, we used the "flash-initiated cycle" (FIC) paradigm, in which the motion of the moving object starts within a short time window around the presentation of the flash. The sampling instant of the ramp-response was varied systematically by changing the luminance or the presentation time of the flashed stimulus. We found that the perceived flash misalignments in the FIC and CM paradigms were approximately equal when sampling of the ramp-response occurred after a relatively long delay from the onset of motion and, were significantly different when sampling of the ramp-response occurred at a relatively short delay. The systematic variations in the perceived misalignment between the moving and flashed stimuli as a function of stimulus parameters are compared to the predictions of our differential latency and to alternative models of position computation.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Motion extrapolation is not responsible for the flash-lag effect.

To achieve perceptual alignment between a flashed target and a moving one, subjects typically require the flashed target to be aligned with a position that the moving target will only reach some time after the flash (the flash-lag effect). We examined how the magnitude of this misalignment changes near an abrupt change in velocity. The magnitude of the misalignment turns out to depend on the target's velocity after, rather than before, the flash. Thus, the misalignment cannot be caused by motion extrapolation. Neither can it be the inevitable consequence of a difference between the time it takes to process flashed and moving stimuli, because the magnitude of the misalignment is influenced by the extent to which subjects can anticipate the flash. We propose that it is the consequence of having to 'sample' the moving target's position in response to the flash.

Humans↗
PubMed2001

Perception of relation of stimuli locations successively flashed before saccade.

Based on localization error for a single perisaccadic flash, eye position signal is supposed to change more slowly than physical eye position. Nevertheless, a flicker is not perceived as moving in accordance with localization error for a single flash. We carried out two experiments to investigate this problem. Experiment 1 examined how a single flash or a flicker presented before saccade was perceived. The results showed that the flicker was not perceived as moving, although mislocalization for the single flash increases gradually before saccade. Experiment 2 was a vernier test of two stimuli successively flashed before the saccade. The results showed that the point of subjective equality shifted in accordance with the mislocalization for a single perisaccadic flash when the interstimulus interval (ISI) was about 2 s; however, it did not shift when the ISI was 78 ms. Comparison between these results and previous studies suggests that the relation of the locations of successive flashes before saccade is perceived exocentrically when the ISI and stimulus onset asynchrony between flashes was short.

Humans↗
PubMed1998

Functional MRI of the motor cortex using a conventional gradient system: comparison of FLASH and EPI techniques.

Gradient echo (GE) and echo planar imaging (EPI) techniques are two different approaches to functional MRI (fMRI). In contrast to GE sequences, the ultra short EPI technique facilitates fMRI experiments with high spatial and temporal resolution or mapping of the whole brain. Although it has become the method of choice for fMRI, EPI is generally restricted to modern scanners with a strong gradient system. The aim of our study was to evaluate the applicability of EPI for fMRI of the motor cortex using a 1.5 T scanner with a conventional gradient system of 10 mT/m (rise time: 1 ms). Therefore, EPI was compared with a well-established high-resolution fast low-angle shot (FLASH) technique (matrix size 1282). The FLASH technique was applied additionally with a 64(2) matrix size to exclude influences caused by different spatial resolution, because the EPI sequence was restricted to a 64(2) matrix size. A total of 35 healthy volunteers were included in this study. The task consisted of clenching and spreading of the right hand. FLASH and EPI techniques were compared regarding geometric distortions as well as qualitative and quantitative fMRI criteria: Mean signal increase between activation and rest and the area of activation were measured within the contralateral, ipsilateral, and supplementary motor cortex. The quality of subtraction images between activation and rest, as well as the quality of z-maps and time course within activated regions of interest, was evaluated visually. EPI revealed significant distortions of the anterior and posterior brain margins; lateral distortions (relevant for the motor cortex) could be neglected in most cases. The mean signal increase was significantly higher using FLASH 1282 compared to FLASH 64(2) and EPI 64(2), whereas the activated areas proved to be smaller in FLASH 1282 functional images. Both results can be explained by well-documented partial volume effects, caused by different voxel size. Similar quality of the subtraction images and of the time courses in different regions of interest were found for all techniques under investigation, but slightly reduced quality of z-map in FLASH 1282. Within the limits of reproducibility and measurement accuracy, the location of contralateral activation was similar using FLASH and EPI sequences. In conclusion, EPI proved to be a reliable technique for fMRI of the motor cortex, even on an MR scanner with a conventional gradient system.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Prognostic value of flash visual evoked potentials in preterm infants.

This paper investigates the prognostic value of flash visual evoked potentials (VEPs) recorded in preterm infants at birth and at term age with respect to severe neurological outcome. Flash VEPs were recorded in 81 preterm infants at birth (i.e. <35 weeks' gestation) and repeated in 56 of these infants at term age. The preterm infants were assigned to either a healthy or at-risk subgroup based on clinical birth factors. Normal ranges of flash-VEP latencies, amplitudes, and number of components present were obtained from the subgroup of healthy preterm infants and from 68 term infants tested postnatally. The flash-VEP results of the entire preterm group were compared with the normal ranges and any abnormalities noted. Seven preterm infants in the at-risk group died, six of whom had abnormal flash VEPs before term age. Of the five infants from the at-risk group diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP), three had abnormal flash VEPs before term age. Thus the sensitivity and specificity of the flash VEP with respect to survival was 86% and 89% respectively, and with respect to the development of CP was 60% and 92%. The abnormal features of the flash VEP associated with adverse outcomes comprised a delayed N3 component before term age and the absence of a positive component (P2) at term age.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed1999

Electron transfer kinetics in purified reaction centers from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum studied by multiple-flash excitation.

Reaction center preparations from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum, which contain monoheme cytochrome c, were studied by flash-absorption spectroscopy in the near-UV, visible, and near-infrared regions. The decay kinetics of the photooxidized primary donor P840(+), together with the amount of photooxidized cytochrome c, were analyzed along a series of four flashes spaced by 1 ms: 95% of the P840(+) was reduced by cytochrome c with a t(1/2) of approximately 65 micros after the first flash, 80% with a t(1/2) of approximately 100 micros after the second flash, and 23% with a t(1/2) of approximately 100 micros after the third flash; after the fourth flash, almost no cytochrome c oxidation occurred. The observed rates, the establishment of redox equilibrium after each flash, and the total amount of photooxidizable cytochrome c are consistent with the presence of two equivalent cytochrome c molecules per photooxidizable P840. The data are well fitted assuming a standard free energy change DeltaG degrees of -53 meV for electron transfer from one cytochrome c to P840(+), DeltaG degrees being independent of the oxidation state of the other cytochrome c. These observations support a model with two monoheme cytochromes c which are symmetrically arranged around the reaction center core. From the ratio of menaquinone-7 to the bacteriochlorophyll pigment absorbing at 663 nm, it was estimated that our preparations contain 0.6-1.2 menaquinone-7 molecules per reaction center. However, no transient signal due to menaquinone could be observed between 360 and 450 nm in the time window from 10 ns to 4 micros. No recombination reaction between the primary partners P840(+) and A(0)(-) could be detected under normal conditions. Such a recombination was observed (t(1/2) approximately 19 ns) under highly reducing conditions or after accumulation of three electrons on the acceptor side during a series of flashes, showing that the secondary acceptors can stabilize three electrons. From our data, there is no evidence for involvement of menaquinone in charge separation in the reaction center of green sulfur bacteria.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2002

The flash-lag effect and equiluminance.

An object briefly flashed adjacent to the path of another moving object appears to spatially lag the moving object in the direction of its motion: the 'flash-lag effect'. A simple differential lag model account of this effect suggests that it occurs because the moving object activates motion detectors in the faster magnocellular pathway, whereas the flashed object does not. This model was tested by reducing M-pathway involvement using isoluminant stimuli. All four participants, who were university undergraduate students, were exposed to eight conditions, involving all possible combinations of moving and flashing objects coloured either white or green, shown against either a grey or a black background. Green objects were equiluminant with the grey background. The magnitude of the flash-lag effect was found using the method of constant stimuli. No reliable support was found for the hypothesis that equiluminance of the moving object reduces the flash-lag effect. Instead an interaction was found where there was an effect of equiluminance on the flash, but only when the moving object was not equiluminant. Such data is problematic for this and other simple differential lag models of the flash-lag effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Predictability and the dynamics of position processing in the flash-lag effect.

Several models have been proposed to account for the flash-lag effect. One criterion for evaluating alternative models is to consider the separate effects of motion predictability and flash predictability. We first established that flash predictability has an impact on the size of the perceived spatial offset in the flash-lag illusion. We then examined motion predictability by varying the consistency of the motion trajectory. Both manipulations affected the magnitude of the flash-lag illusion. These outcomes suggest that the perception of position is a dynamic process that can be modulated by explicit cues in advance of the flash and by the temporal integration of position information over a consistent motion trajectory. A complete explanation of the flash-lag effect must specify how flash predictability and motion predictability modulate position-processing mechanisms.

Cues↗
PubMed1982

Effects of priming flash parameters and dark interval on red-induced afterpotential in Balanus photoreceptors.

The sequence (a) priming flash, (b) dark interval, and (c) red light induces a long-lasting afterdepolarization (PDA) in Balanus photoreceptors. The inward flow of membrane current associated with the decay of PDA was independent of red test flashes, provided that PDA had plateaued at a particular intensity. The influence of wavelength and duration of the priming flash and their interaction with the dark interval were investigated. Increasing the duration of the priming flash produced a systematic increase in PDA duration. The dark interval plays a crucial role in PDA induction. The priming flash duration and the dark interval were reciprocally related, i.e, short flashes followed by long dark intervals induced as much PDA as long priming flashes followed by short dark intervals. The action spectrum for the priming flash was found to correspond to that of the primary photopigment (VP537).

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The response to monochromatic light flashes of the oxygen consumption of honeybee drone photoreceptors.

Local measurements of the fall in oxygen pressure on stimulation of slices of the retina of the honeybee drone by flashes of light were made with oxygen microelectrodes and used to calculate the kinetics of the extra oxygen consumption (delta QO2) induced by each flash. The action spectrum for delta QO2 was obtained from response-intensity curves in response to brief (40 ms) monochromatic light flashes. The action spectrum of receptor potentials was obtained with the same experimental conditions. The two action spectra match closely: they deviate slightly from the photosensitivity spectrum of the drone rhodopsin (R). The deviation is thought to be due to wavelength-dependent light scattering and absorption in the preparation. In these experiments, the visual pigment was first illuminated with orange light, which is known to convert the bistable drone photopigment predominantly to the R state from the metarhodopsin (M) state. When long (300-900 ms) light flashes were used to elicit delta QO2, the responses to different wavelengths could not be matched in time course (as for the short flashes). Flashes producing large R-to-M conversions produced a prolonged delta QO2. The prolongation did not occur after double flashes, which produced both large R-to-M and M-to-R conversions. Similar changes in the length of afterpotentials in the photoreceptor cells and in a long-lasting decrease in photoreceptor intracellular K+ activity were found after long single or double flashes. The results are interpreted to show that the initial event for stimulation by light of metabolism in the drone retina is the same as that for stimulation of electrical responses (i.e., absorption of photons by R). Absorption of photons by M can produce an inhibitory effect on this stimulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The thermoregulatory effects of menopausal hot flashes on sleep.

Menopausal hot flashes are thought to be a disorder of thermoregulation initiated centrally within the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus. These heat-loss mechanisms appear to be activated in the presence of normal core body temperature. Previous studies have demonstrated that thermal stimuli have the potential to alter sleep stages. We performed 24-hour ambulatory recordings of hot flashes and all-night sleep parameters on 12 postmenopausal women with hot flashes and seven postmenopausal women without flashes to determine whether the presence of hot flashes prior to sleep or during sleep itself would result in alterations in sleep pattern. The results show that hot flashes are associated with increased Stage 4 sleep and a shortened first rapid eye movement period. Hot flashes occurring in the 2 hours prior to sleep onset were positively correlated with the amount of slow-wave sleep. The central thermoregulatory mechanism underlying hot flashes may affect hypnogenic pathways inducing sleep and heat loss in the absence of a thermal load.

Body Temperature Regulation↗