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PubMedDate not supplied

Rett syndrome management with Snoezelen or controlled multi-sensory stimulation. A review.

Rett syndrome is a neurological disorder resulting from an X-linked dominant mutation. It is characterized by a variety of physical and perceptual disabilities, resulting in a need for constant therapy programs to be administered on a regular basis throughout life. Resistance to physical activity has driven the authors in a search for new intervention techniques which might improve the ability to cope while reducing difficulty in handling an external physical facilitator. Snoezelen, or multi-sensory environment, can provide a soothing environment appealing to the child or adolescent with Rett syndrome while at the same time improving physical abilities. The article reviews Rett syndrome typical phenotype and suggests suitable activities that might take place in the multi-sensory environment.

Environment, Controlled↗
PubMed1981

Shockwave-induced compound action potentials in the peripheral nerve.

To verify a presumed interaction between shockwaves arisen by impacts of high velocity projectiles and nervous tissue an electrophysiological experiment is performed with the following results: In peripheral nerves regular compound action potentials (CAPs) are provoked by shockwaves the amplitudes of which are increased corresponding to the pressure intensity of the shockwaves. The nerve shows no electrical activity below a certain pressure threshold (0.75 bar). Saturation of the CAP amplitude occurs beyond a pressure limit of 8 bar.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The effects of cutaneous mechanoreceptor stimulation on the stretch reflex.

The effects of cutaneous stimulation on tonic and phasic responses to stretch were studied in the triceps surae complex of unanesthetized, decerebrate cats. The tonic response was produced by a maintained stretch of the muscle group to 80-85% of its maximum length. Stretch was applied directly to the isolated tendon at the calcaneus. Phasic responses were elicited by a ramp stretch of 1.0 to 2.0 mm superimposed on the maintained stretch. Mild, brief, electrical or mechanical stimulation of the plantar cushion caused a sequence of inhibitory and excitatory changes in the tonic EMG activity in the soleus muscle. Mild stimuli, applied 0.01 to 5 ms before the start of ramp stretch, decreased the size of the phasic response to stretch and converted it into a biphasic response. It is suggested that stimulation of cutaneous mechanoreceptors may be responsible for variations in the initial burst of EMG activity seen in the agonist muscle during the response to perturbation or fast voluntary movement in animals and man.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Somatosensory and movement-related properties of red nucleus: a single unit study in the turtle.

Extracellular recordings were performed from turtle red nucleus neurons to examine their responsiveness to peripheral somatic stimulation and to study differences between rubral sensory and movement-related responses. In pentobarbital sodium-anesthetized or decerebrate turtles, red nucleus neurons could be divided into two categories based on their response characteristics. The first group, which included 87% of neurons studied, had low spontaneous rates of activity and responded with excitation to electrical stimulation of the spinal cord or the cerebellum, or during active movement of the contralateral limbs. Neurons in this category were likely to be rubrospinal cells. The remaining 13% of cells studied had higher rates of spontaneous discharge and were inhibited by electrical stimulation or during active movement. These cells might be rubral GABAergic interneurons. Single red nucleus neurons responded with excitation and/or inhibition to somatosensory stimulation. Unlike the motor fields, which were restricted to a single contralateral limb, red nucleus sensory receptive fields were wide and often bilaterally distributed. Rubral responsiveness to sensory stimulation was found to be significantly diminished during active limb movements, thereby suggesting that sensory inputs to the red nucleus are not used for the on-line modification of motor commands. Inactivation of the cerebellar cortex enhanced the sensory responsiveness of rubral neurons and expanded the size of red nucleus receptive fields. These results suggest that the red nucleus receives substantial sensory input, and that the cerebellar cortex can modify the flow of sensory information to the red nucleus.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Gain control in the electrosensory system: a role for the descending projections to the electrosensory lateral line lobe.

The responses of E-cells, basilar pyramidal cells, of the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELLL) were studied in normal animals (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) and in fish in which a component of the descending input from the midbrain n. praeeminentialis to the ELLL was interrupted by lesions or by application of local anesthetics. This treatment increased the responsiveness of these neurons by 100 to 300%. A method is described by which the animal's electric organ discharge (EOD) can be increased or decreased in amplitude. Responses of E-cells to a brief stationary electrosensory stimulus and to moving electrolocation targets were studied in normal and in lesioned animals with normal and altered EOD amplitudes. Large reductions in EOD amplitude, approximately 50%, result in no significant changes in the average size of E-cells' responses to either type of electrosensory stimulus in normal animals. Interruption of the descending input, however, results in a loss of the E-cells' ability to maintain constant response size when the EOD amplitude is reduced. Increases in EOD amplitude cause reductions in the size of E-cell responses to the moving electrolocation targets and to the stationary stimulus. The effects of increased EOD amplitude are present in normal animals and in animals in which the descending input is interrupted. The descending input to the ELLL seems to function as a gain control mechanism that is capable of compensating for losses in stimulus strength resulting from reduced EOD amplitude. The component of the descending input studied here does not seem to play a role in the response of the system to increases in EOD amplitude. These results are discussed in conjunction with the known details of the ELLL circuitry and its connections with other brain areas.

Anesthetics, Local↗
PubMed2006

Social stress is as effective as physical stress in reinstating morphine-induced place preference in mice.

RATIONALE: Relapse to drug-seeking in abstinent heroin addicts and reinstatement in experimental animals are observed when exposed to drug-associated stimuli or cues, the drug itself, and stressful events. It has been shown that footshock-induced stress increases the rewarding effects of opiates, delays extinction, and induces the reinstatement of drug-seeking. However, the effects of social stress on the reinstatement of opiate-seeking after extinction has not been studied. OBJECTIVES: The role of physical (restraint and tail pinch) and social (social defeat) stressors on the reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was evaluated. METHODS: Adult male OF1 mice were conditioned with 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg of morphine or saline. Only morphine-conditioned animals acquired CPP. All mice underwent extinction sessions until the CPP was extinguished. Then, the effects of physical or social stress on the reinstatement of CPP were evaluated. Morphine- and saline-conditioned animals were exposed to the respective stressor or control stress condition immediately or 15 min before reinstatement tests. In experiment 1, animals underwent restraint for 15 min. In experiment 2, animals were exposed to tail pinch or placed in a cage without any manipulation for 15 min. In experiment 3, animals performed an agonistic encounter with an isolated or anosmic mouse or were placed in a cage without any social contact or manipulation. RESULTS: Restraint, tail pinch, and social defeat in an agonistic encounter with an isolated mouse produce the reinstatement of CPP in morphine-conditioned animals. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that social stress is as effective as physical stress in reinstating morphine-seeking.

Agonistic Behavior↗
PubMed1982

Physiological Properties of neurons in different parts of the cat trigeminal sensory complex.

The following points emerge from a systematic investigation of the 4 divisions of the cat trigeminal sensory complex. (1) The subnucleus oralis receives a large representation from the oral cavity, a region also represented in the 3 other divisions of the trigeminal sensory complex. (2) Nucleus principalis cells project heavily to the contralateral and to the ipsilateral ventroposterior thalamus. Ipsilateral projections are only from the oral cavity representation. (3) Units responding to noxious mechanical stimulation have been found at two different loci: the subnucleus caudalis for the entire trigeminal area, and subnucleus oralis for the oral cavity alone. (4) The dental pulp projects to the 4 divisions of the trigeminal sensory complex, but the heaviest projection was found in the rostral part (nucleus principalis and subnucleus oralis). (5) Three distinct types of post-synaptic responses were found to be evoked by dental pulp stimulation: (a) short latency, consistent and synaptically secure, (b) strongly variable latency, inconstant and easily fatigued and (c) a class showing progressive enhancement by progressive increase in stimulus intensity and repetition.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Sneeze-evoking region within the brainstem.

The neuronal mechanisms of sneezing were examined in precollicular-postmammillary decerebrate cats. Mechanical stimulation (frequency 20 Hz, peak-to-peak displacement 0.5 mm) of the nasal membrane evoked a series of sneezes. In the same preparation, electrical stimulation (duration 0.2 ms, frequency 10 Hz, 5-50 microA) delivered to the lower brainstem also evoked sneezes. The changes in EMG activity and subglottic pressure during brainstem-induced sneeze were similar to those recorded nasal-induced sneeze. The sneeze-evoking region was located along the ventromedial part of the spinal trigeminal nucleus and the adjacent pontine-medullary lateral reticular formation, and extended rostrocaudally from P4.0 to P14.5 according to the Horsley-Clarke coordinates. These results suggest that the sneeze-evoking region is a distinct structure of the brainstem, having a homogeneous function. This region appears to control the epipharyngeal, intrinsic laryngeal and respiratory muscles. The integrated activity of these muscles underlies the generation of a sneeze.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed1990

The effect of systemic cocaine on spontaneous and nociceptively evoked activity of neurons in the medial and lateral thalamus.

In rats, analgesic doses of cocaine (25 mg/kg, i.p.) suppressed the responses of 20 of 22 medial and lateral thalamic neurons to reticular formation and somatic noxious stimuli. The responses of 7 of 8 lateral thalamic neurons to innocuous somatic stimuli were unaffected or enhanced. The suppression of thalamic responses to noxious stimuli may be part of the mechanism underlying cocaine analgesia.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Response properties of cerebellar neurons to stimulation of the frog glossopharyngeal nerve and tongue.

The cerebellum receives information from many kinds of sensory organs (muscle, somatosensory, auditory, vestibular, visual) as well as from the autonomic system. The cerebellum presumably has a role in the control of tongue movement and salivary secretion. However, the relationship between cerebellar neuron activity and tongue sensation has not been investigated previously. In the present study, negative cerebellar field potentials in the molecular layer and single unit responses of Purkinje cells induced by electrical stimulation of the bullfrog glossopharyngeal (IXth) nerve or tongue surface were investigated. The interaction between IXth nerve stimulation and natural (taste and touch) stimulation of the tongue in their effects on cerebellar neuron activity were investigated. The negative field potentials were potentiated by a brief train of electrical pulses to the tongue or IXth nerve. With electrical stimulation of the tongue surface, several fungiform papillae were needed to elicit cerebellar field potentials. The latency of Purkinje cells following IXth nerve stimulation was 44.4-53.6 msec for complex spikes, whereas for simple spikes two maxima were seen, with mean values at 33.9-36 msec and 96.8 msec. A preceding electrical stimulation of the IXth nerve depressed the negative field potentials or Purkinje cell complex spike responses induced by test stimulation of the IXth nerve. These depressive effects were also seen following a preceding natural stimulation of the tongue and were dependent upon the type of preceding stimulation. The depressive effects were produced by preceding stimulation with NaCl, CaCl2, water, and touch, but not with quinine and acetic acid stimulation. These results clearly demonstrate that gustatory and tactile signals from the tongue can influence cerebellar neuron activity.

Acetates↗
PubMed1997

Facilitation and inhibition of the urethrogenital reflex in spinal cord-transected rats.

It was evaluated in the spinal cord-transected rats whether the urethrogenital (UG) reflex shows some of the features that are present during ejaculation in intact animals. It was found that the UG reflex was facilitated after its first elicitation: the latency of the reflex was shorter than the previous one and low intensity of stimulation was needed to produce the reflex. In addition, a change in the latency of the reflex was found that was correlated with the number of stimulation trials. The latency change showed a J-shaped curve that is similar to that found for the ejaculation latency in a copulatory series. An inhibition of the reflex appeared after several trials: the reflex could not be elicited after three continuous trials. The reflex could be elicited again if the intensity of stimulation was increased. The UG reflex also showed 'exhaustion': it could not be elicited, even with high intensities of stimulation, after 3 h of rest. All these findings were present when the UG reflex was elicited by applying pressure to the urethra or when it was evoked by the electrical stimulation to the pudendal nerve. According to these findings, it can be concluded that the UG reflex maintains some of the features that are found during ejaculation in intact animals. According to this view, it can be speculated that some of the mechanisms that control ejaculation in intact animals can be localized at a spinal level.

Animals↗