Magnetophosphenes: a quantitative analysis of thresholds.
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Retinas of primates (Macaca mulatta) were exposed to oxygen nuclei at the Bevatron, Berkeley, California. Color fundus photographs and fluorescein angiograms were taken of the retinas prior to irradiation and up to 5 weeks post exposure. Animals were sacrificed at post exposure intervals for histopathologic examination of the retinas. A series of animals were exposed to 200 kVp X-ray and examined on the same regime as the first series. The results showed a low rad equivalent dose for retinal damage as compared with the X-ray series, i.e., a high quality factor, and a marked compression of the latency between exposure and onset of the retinal pathology.
This project has developed so as to include the total range of electroretinographic responses under conditions of space flight. We built two special containers which made stratospheric balloon flights. The second prototype carries the following specifications: Immobilisation of two frogs; Light stimulation by flashes; Special corneal electrodes; Amplification and recording system. There is almost no tissue damage after prolonged observation (several days) of the animals and the electroretinographic responses do not show any significant changes. Such an apparatus could be used as the basis for an assembly to be incorporated into Spacelab.
The ALTEA project investigates the risks of functional brain damage induced by particle radiation in space. A modular facility (the ALTEA facility) is being implemented and will be operated in the International Space Station (ISS) to record electrophysiological and behavioral descriptors of brain function and to monitor their time dynamics and correlation with particles and space environment. The focus of the program will be on abnormal visual perceptions (often reported as "light flashes" by astronauts) and the impact on retinal and brain visual structures of particle in microgravity conditions. The facility will be made available to the international scientific community for human neurophysiological, electrophysiological and psychophysics experiments, studies on particle fluxes, and dosimetry. A precursor of ALTEA (the 'Alteino' project) helps set the experimental baseline for the ALTEA experiments, while providing novel information on the radiation environment onboard the ISS and on the brain electrophysiology of the astronauts during orbital flights. Alteino was flown to the ISS on the Soyuz TM34 as part of mission Marco Polo. Controlled ground experiments using mice and accelerator beams complete the experimental strategy of ALTEA. We present here the status of progress of the ALTEA project and preliminary results of the Alteino study on brain dynamics, particle fluxes and abnormal visual perceptions.
A long-standing problem for vision researchers is how our perception of the world remains stable despite the continual motion of our eyes. Three recent studies begin to shed light on how the visual system suppresses the motion generated by these eye movements.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of a device using extraocular electrodes as a retinal prosthesis by evaluating the responses evoked in the visual cortex to electrical stimulation. METHODS: In anaesthetised cats, a lateral orbital dissection and ipsilateral parietal craniotomy was performed. Two extraocular retinal prosthesis (ERP) disc electrodes were sutured to the sclera on the lateral and superior aspects of the globe. Retinal stimulation was performed with charge-balanced constant-current pulses. Potentials evoked in the visual cortex were measured with a ball electrode placed on the lateral gyrus after removal of the dura. RESULTS: Stable attachment of the ERP electrodes to the globe was achieved with scleral sutures. Visual cortex responses were recorded with the electrodes in bipolar and monopolar configurations. The evoked response consisted of an early component with a peak around 8 ms, and a late component with a peak after 50 ms. Thresholds for evoking a response occurred at current intensities as low as 500 microA. Through extrapolation from evoked response amplitude data, thresholds as low as 300 microA were calculated. Cathodal monopolar stimulation demonstrated lower thresholds than anodal stimulation for evoking cortical responses. CONCLUSIONS: The ERP electrodes can be easily attached to the globe and are effective in electrically stimulating the retina, evoking responses in the primary visual cortex. Threshold charge-density was within safe limits for neural stimulation.
We investigated cortical responses to electrical stimulation of the retina using epi- and sub-retinal electrodes of 20-100 microm diameter. Temporal and spatial resolutions were assessed by recordings from the visual cortex with arrays of microelectrodes and optical imaging. The estimated resolutions were approximately 40 ms and approximately 1 degrees of visual angle. This temporal resolution of 25 frames per second and spatial resolution of about 0.8 cm at about 1m and correspondingly 8 cm at 10 m distance seems sufficient for useful object recognition and visuo-motor behavior in many in- and out-door situations of daily life.
CASE REPORT: To present a case of photopsia resulting from digoxin intoxication brought about by dehydration in a 72-year-old woman. COMMENTS: Ophthalmologists may be the first clinicians to notice the symptoms of digitalis intoxication, which is potentially a life-threatening condition.
It is known that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) administered over the occipital pole suppresses recognition of visual objects. Our aim was to ascertain whether this suppression can be interpreted as a change in visual contrast threshold. Four subjects detected the orientation of an U-shaped hook flashed for 21 ms. Under control conditions, mean contrast threshold was found at 0.88 log units Weber contrast. Thresholds were raised if TMS was applied 40-200 ms after the visual stimulus. Maximum elevation was 1.67 log units under TMS at 120 ms stimulus onset asynchrony. This phenomenon can be interpreted as a reduction in signal-to-noise ratio of the visual stimuli by TMS, which can be compensated for by increasing the contrast of the stimuli.
To identify the retinal origin of a cortical evoked potential elicited by transcorneal electrical stimulation of the visual system (EER), the response properties of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of cats to transcorneal electrical stimuli were studied. The discharge latency of RGCs to transcorneal stimulation had two peaks with a high temporal resolution. The latency of early components of the EER is associated with the discharge latency of RGCs. Some RGCs showed prominent oscillatory discharges after transcorneal stimulation. Discharges of ON-bipolar cells responding to transcorneal stimulation were significantly inhibited by intravitreal injection of DL-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB), which blocks the ON-pathway. These findings indicate that the EER has far-field potentials that might relate to oscillatory discharges of RGCs, and that ON bipolar cells and their related synaptic sites are involved in transcorneal electrical stimuli. The far-field potentials of the EER may have clinical applications, similar to those of somatosensoric evoked potentials and auditory brain stem potentials.
The phenomenon of light flashes (LF) in eyes for people in space has been investigated onboard Mir. Data on particles hitting the eye have been collected with the SilEye detectors, and correlated with human observations. It is found that a nucleus in the radiation environment of Mir has roughly a 1% probability to cause an LF, whereas the proton probability is almost three orders of magnitude less. As a function of LET, the LF probability increases above 10 keV/micrometer, reaching about 5% at around 50 keV/micrometer.
In this work we present preliminary results of nuclear composition measurements on board space station MIR obtained with SILEYE-2 particle telescope. SILEYE-2 was placed on MIR in 1997 and has been working since then. It consists of an array of 6 active silicon strip detectors which allow nuclear and energetic identification of cosmic rays in the energy range between approximately 30 and 200 MeV/n. The device is attached to an helmet and connected to an eye mask which shields the cosmonaut eyes from light and allow studies of the Light Flashes (LF) phenomenon. In addition to the study of the causes of LF, the device is used to perform real time long term radiation environment monitoring inside the MIR, performing measurements in solar quiet and active days.
The ALTEA project participates to the quest for increasing the safety of manned space flights. It addresses the problems related to possible functional damage to neural cells and circuits due to particle radiation in space environment. Specifically it aims at studying the functionality of the astronauts' Central Nervous Systems (CNS) during long space flights and relating it to the peculiar environments in space, with a particular focus on the particle flux impinging in the head. The project is a large international and multidisciplinary collaboration. Competences in particle physics, neurophysiology, psychophysiology, electronics, space environment, data analyses will work together to construct the fully integrated vision electrophysiology and particle analyser system which is the core device of the project: an helmet-shaped multi-sensor device that will measure concurrently the dynamics of the functional status of the visual system and passage of each particle through the brain within a pre-determined energy window. ALTEA is scheduled to fly in the International Space Station in late 2002. One part of the multi-sensor device, one of the advanced silicon telescopes, will be launched in the ISS in early 2002 and serve as test for the final device and as discriminating dosimeter for the particle fluences within the ISS.
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