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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Auditory processing deficits in rats with neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury.

Hypoxia-ischemia (HI) refers to reduced blood oxygenation and/or a diminished amount of blood perfusing the brain, and is associated with premature birth/very low birth weight (VLBW). HI represents a common cause of injury to the perinatal brain. Indeed, a significant number of premature/VLBW infants go on to demonstrate cognitive/behavioral deficits, with particularly high incidence of disruptions in language development. Auditory processing deficits, in turn, have been suggested to play a causal role in the development of language impairments. Specifically, the inability to identify fast elements in speech is purported to exert cascading detrimental effects on phonological discrimination, processing, and identification. Based on this convergent evidence, the current studies address auditory processing evaluation in a rodent model of HI injury induced on postnatal days 1, 7, or 10 (which in turn is well accepted as modeling HI-related injury to the perinatal human). Induced injuries were followed by a battery of auditory testing, and a spatial maze assessment, performed both during juvenile and adult periods. Results indicate that rats suffering from these early HI insults performed significantly worse than shams on tasks requiring rapid auditory processing, and on a test of spatial learning (Morris water maze (MWM)), although these effects were not seen on simpler versions of auditory tasks or on a water escape assessment (thus ruling out hearing/motor impairments). Correlations were found between performance on rapid auditory and spatial behavioral tasks and neuroanatomical measures for HI animals such as: the volume of the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, ventricles, and/or the area of the corpus callosum. Cumulative findings suggest that perinatal HI injury in the rat may lead to neurodevelopmental damage associated, in turn, with auditory processing and/or learning and memory impairments. As such, the current model may have critical implications for the study of neurophysiological underpinnings of cognitive deficits in premature/VLBW infants.

Aging↗
PubMed2025

Leveraging structure-informed machine learning for fast steric zipper propensity prediction across whole proteomes.

Predicting the amyloid fold and the propensity of peptide segments to adopt amyloid-like structures remain a challenge. However, recent progress has facilitated structure-based prediction of steric zipper propensity and the use of machine learning to accelerate the calculation of predictive models across many scientific areas. Leveraging these advances, we have developed a new approach for rapid proteome-wide assessment of zipper profiles that is informed by four million steric zipper predictions collected over ten years. This collection is used to build a machine learning model capable of rapidly predicting steric zipper propensity, and allowing for the assessment of zippers at both the protein and proteome level. Our predictions show enrichment for zipper forming segments in proteins involved in cell wall reorganization in yeast, highlighting a potential category of interest for experimental characterization. Overall, our predictive model allows for the exploration of amyloid formation across the tree of life and provides a tool for assessment of both novel and designed sequences for zipper density.

Machine Learning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An innovative solution to assessing staff learning needs.

Traditional needs assessments for continuing education reflect personal interests and perceptions of learning needs rather than actual knowledge deficits. With an influx of new staff in a rapidly expanding neonatal ICU, time constraints made it imperative to accurately assess the learning needs of the novice practitioner. A needs assessment tool, developed by the unit-based education committee, identified gaps in knowledge among NICU staff. The questionnaire consisted of direct questions covering aspects of clinical and professional issues in neonatal care. The respondents were asked to indicate their ability to answer the questions completely, partially, or not at all. The questions were categorized according to patient populations and professional issues, thereby providing curriculum for continuing education specific to identified learning needs.

Critical Care↗
PubMed2005

Executive management studies: the application of real-time science in health administration education.

While sound scientific research, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), has produced findings leading to significant gains in healthcare, real-time science learning gives administrators and providers a way of responding to immediate need and rapid change while improving performance and the quality of care delivered. Real-time science learning is a cycle of team reflection on and exchange of theory and practical knowledge that produces many benefits for the individual, the organization, and the healthcare field. By questioning principles and analyzing information, teams generate recommendations for organizational improvement as well as develop their individual abilities to address other unforeseen demands in differentcontexts. All of this serves as a foundation for more rigorous scientific research that leads to the advancement of the healthcare field. This article shows how the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Missouri-Columbia adapted real-time science into the Executive Management Study (EMS) requirement of the Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) and the Master of Science in Health Informatics (M.S.) curriculums. The process is represented by a cycle of Health Administration Education, experienced through a Practical Application, which leads to the creation and dissemination of information and Research Advancing the Field.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2002

Formative assessment in physiology teaching using a wireless classroom communication system.

Systems physiology, studied by biomedical engineers, is an analytical way to approach the homeostatic foundations of basic physiology. In many systems physiology courses, students attend lectures and are given homework and reading assignments to complete outside of class. The effectiveness of this traditional approach was compared with an approach in which a wireless classroom communication system was used to provide instant feedback on in-class learning activities and reading assignment quizzes. Homework was eliminated in this approach. The feedback system used stimulated 100% participation in class and facilitated rapid formative assessment. The results of this study indicate that learning of systems physiology concepts including physiology is at least, as if not more, effective when in-class quizzes and activities with instant feedback are used in place of traditional learning activities including homework. When results of this study are interpreted in light of possible effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on student learning in the test group, it appears that the modified instruction may be more effective than the traditional instruction.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
PubMed1989

Recognition of food by individual, food-naive, weaning rats (Rattus norvegicus).

To control and observe first feeding experiences, pups were reared without access to food. At weaning age, individual pups received simultaneous access to a palatable, noncaloric diet and a similar diet containing starch. Each diet contained a flavor cue. Within 20 min of sampling both diets pups preferentially ingested the caloric alternative. Further tests indicated that pups learned a preference for flavor cues paired specifically with ingestion of starch. In caloric discrimination tests in which the diets were not distinguished by artificial flavors, pups did not show the rapid preference for the caloric diet seen in earlier experiments. We suggest that recognition and preference for the caloric diet is based on its rapid postingestive effects rather than readily preferred sensory features of the starch. Our findings demonstrate the abilities of individual, food-naive pups to rapidly recognize food and indicate a role for associative learning in the onset of independent feeding.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Rapid development of synaptic connections and plasticity between sensory neurons and motor neurons of Aplysia in cell culture: implications for learning and regulation of synaptic strength.

We describe here the time course of functional synapse formation and of the development of short-term synaptic plasticity at Aplysia sensorimotor synapses in cell culture, as well as the effects of blocking protein synthesis or postsynaptic receptors on the development of synaptic transmission and plasticity. We find that synaptic responses can be elicited in 50% of sensory neuron-motor neuron pairs by 1 h after cell contact and that short-term homosynaptic depression and synaptic augmentation and restoration by the endogenous facilitatory transmitter serotonin are present at the earliest stages of synapse formation. Neither block of protein synthesis with anisomycin nor block of two types of postsynaptic glutamate receptor has any effect on the development of synaptic transmission or synaptic plasticity. The rapidity of synapse formation and maturation and their independence of protein synthesis suggest that changes in the number of functional synapses could contribute to short- and intermediate-term forms of synaptic plasticity and learning.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

The postsynaptic density.

Glutamatergic synapses in the central nervous system are characterized by an electron-dense web underneath the postsynaptic membrane; this web is called the postsynaptic density (PSD). PSDs are composed of a dense network of several hundred proteins, creating a macromolecular complex that serves a wide range of functions. Prominent PSD proteins such as members of the MaGuk or ProSAP/Shank family build up a dense scaffold that creates an interface between clustered membrane-bound receptors, cell adhesion molecules and the actin-based cytoskeleton. Moreover, kinases, phosphatases and several proteins of different signalling pathways are specifically localized within the spine/PSD compartment. Small GTPases and regulating proteins are also enriched in PSDs being the molecular basis for regulated structural changes of cytoskeletal components within the synapse in response to external or internal stimuli, e.g. synaptic activation. This synaptic rearrangement (structural plasticity) is a rapid process and is believed to underlie learning and memory formation. The characterization of synapse/PSD proteins is especially important in the light of recent data suggesting that several mental disorders have their molecular defect at the synapse/PSD level.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

A drug dispenser to measure individual drinking in rat colonies.

This article describes an automated device which substantially facilitates the measurement of oral drug consumption by individual rats housed in a colony with a common drinking source. To drink, each animal enters a Plexiglas runway, triggering a video system which records the rat's identifying dye mark, and its consumption of each of two liquids. Rats learn to operate the device easily and rapidly. Data for 24 hours can be collected on a one-hour videotape.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Modification of EEG asymmetry induced by auditory biofeedback loop during REM sleep in man.

Several studies have emphasized the relationship between (1) rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) and learning, and (2) between REM sleep and asymmetry in EEG activity. Since we have shown that obtaining operant conditioned responses via auditory biofeedback during REM sleep is feasible, we demonstrate here that REM contingent auditory stimulations (white noise stimulation or interruption of a continuous white noise stimulation) lead to differential changes in phasic and tonic components of REM sleep. Whereas during baseline nights a relative right activation is found in the medium bands of EEG frequencies, our procedure seems to induce a systematic interhemispheric change during experimental nights. A new approach to the information processing hypothesis during REM sleep is proposed in terms of functional lateralized modifications of the EEG.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2004

Origin, structure, and role of background EEG activity. Part 2. Analytic phase.

OBJECTIVE: To explain spontaneous EEG through measurements of spatiotemporal patterns of phase among beta-gamma oscillations. METHODS: High-density 8 x 8 intracranial arrays were fixed over sensory cortices of rabbits. EEGs were spatially low pass filtered, temporally bandpass filtered and segmented in overlapping windows stepped at 2 ms. Phase was measured with the cosine as the temporal basis function, using both Fourier and Hilbert transforms to compensate for their respective limitations. Spatial patterns in 2D phase surfaces were measured with the geometric form of the cone as the spatial basis function. RESULTS: Two fundamental state variables were measured at each digitizing step in the 64 EEGs: the rate of change in phase with time (frequency) and the rate of change in phase with distance (gradient). The parameters of location, diameter, duration, and phase velocity of the cone of phase were derived from these two state variables. Parameter distributions including recurrence intervals extending into the low theta range were fractal; the mean values varied with window duration and interelectrode distance. CONCLUSIONS: The formation of spatial amplitude patterns began with state transitions that were documented by phase discontinuities and phase cones. The multiplicity of overlapping cones indicated that sensory neocortices maintained a scale-free state of self-organized criticality (SOC) in each hemisphere as the basis for its rapid integration of sensory input with prior learning stored in cortical synaptic webs. Further evidence came from the fractal properties of the phase parameters and the self-similarity of phase patterns in the ms/mm to m/s ranges. SIGNIFICANCE: These EEG data suggest that neocortical dynamics is analogous to the dynamics of self-stabilizing systems, such as a sand pile that maintains its critical angle by avalanches, and a pan of boiling water that maintains its critical temperature by bubbles that release heat. Beta-gamma oscillations stem from the ability of neocortex to maintain its stability under continuous sensory bombardment. Modeling implies that the critical parameter of neocortex (analogous to angle of repose or temperature) is the mean firing rates of neurons that are homeostatically regulated by refractory periods everywhere at all times in cortex. The advantage of SOC in perception may be the ability it gives neocortex to generate instantaneous global state transitions (avalanches, bubbles) large enough to include the multiple sensory areas that are necessary to form gestalts (multisensory percepts).

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Contrasting single-trial ERPs between experimental manipulations: improving differentiability by blind source separation.

Contrasting event-related potentials (ERPs) generated under different experimental conditions and inferring differential brain responses is widely practiced in cognitive neuroscience research. Traditionally, these contrasts and subsequent inferences have proceeded directly from ERPs measured at the scalp. For certain tasks, it is not unusual that ERPs from a subset of channels are given particular emphasis in data analysis, such as the channels displaying the maximum peak amplitude in regions of interest ("best sensors") or channels showing the largest averaged ERP waveform differences. With the aid of a blind source separation (BSS) algorithm, second-order blind identification (SOBI), which has been recently validated for its ability to recover correlated neuronal sources, we show that single-trial ERPs from previously validated neuronal sources were more distinguishable among different experimental manipulations than the single-trial ERPs measured at the comparable "best sensors". This suggests that by using validated SOBI-recovered neuronal sources, ERP researchers can improve the ability to detect differences in neuronal responses induced by experimental manipulations. Critically, our observations were made at the level of single trials, as opposed to the averaged ERP. Therefore, our conclusions are particularly relevant to phenomena involving trial-to-trial changes in brain activation, for example, rapid induction of brain plasticity and perceptual learning, as well as to the development of brain-computer interfaces. Similar advantages would also apply to analogous situations with magnetoencephalography (MEG).

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Effect of NMDA antagonists on rapid tolerance to benzodiazepines.

We have reexamined the effect of NMDA antagonists [(+)MK-801 and ketamine] on rapid tolerance to chlordiazepoxide. (+)MK-801 and ketamine blocked the development of rapid tolerance to chlordiazepoxide, but this effect was dependent on the dose ratio of the NMDA antagonist to that of the benzodiazepine used to produce rapid tolerance. Furthermore, NMDA antagonists blocked both learned and unlearned tolerance to chlordiazepoxide. It appears that in addition to impairment of memory and learning, NMDA antagonists may also influence some other mechanism involved in the production of drug-tolerance.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The effects of lesions to noradrenergic projections from the locus coeruleus and lateral tegmental cell groups on conditioned taste aversion in the rat.

Lesions of the coeruleo-cortical noradrenergic projections caused marked cortical noradrenaline depletions but were not associated with deficits in the acquisition or extinction of a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Lesions of lateral tegmental noradrenergic projections resulted in marked hypothalamic noradrenaline depletions, enhanced neophobia to the novel taste of saccharin, unimpaired acquisition but prolonged extinction of the CTA. However, when animals with lateral tegmental noradrenergic lesions received extensive preconditioning exposure to saccharin, acquisition of the CTA was attenuated and extinction was more rapid than in controls. Alterations in CTA learning and extinction following lesions of the lateral tegmental noradrenergic system appear to reflect alterations in the way that animals with lesions react toward the hedonic aspects of taste-related stimuli rather than alterations in associational or attentional mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Natural oligomers of the amyloid-beta protein specifically disrupt cognitive function.

A central unresolved problem in research on Alzheimer disease is the nature of the molecular entity causing dementia. Here we provide the first direct experimental evidence that a defined molecular species of the amyloid-beta protein interferes with cognitive function. Soluble oligomeric forms of amyloid-beta, including trimers and dimers, were both necessary and sufficient to disrupt learned behavior in a manner that was rapid, potent and transient; they produced impaired cognitive function without inducing permanent neurological deficits. Although beta-amyloidosis has long been hypothesized to affect cognition, the abnormally folded protein species associated with this or any other neurodegenerative disease has not previously been isolated, defined biochemically and then specifically characterized with regard to its effects on cognitive function. The biochemical isolation of discrete amyloid-beta moieties with pathophysiological properties sets the stage for a new approach to studying the molecular mechanisms of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer disease and related neurodegenerative disorders.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗
PubMed2001

Addiction as excessive appetite.

The excessive appetite model of addiction is summarized. The paper begins by considering the forms of excessive appetite which a comprehensive model should account for: principally, excessive drinking, smoking, gambling, eating, sex and a diverse range of drugs including at least heroin, cocaine and cannabis. The model rests, therefore, upon a broader concept of what constitutes addiction than the traditional, more restricted, and arguably misleading definition. The core elements of the model include: very skewed consumption distribution curves; restraint, control or deterrence; positive incentive learning mechanisms which highlight varied forms of rapid emotional change as rewards, and wide cue conditioning; complex memory schemata; secondary, acquired emotional regulation cycles, of which 'chasing', 'the abstinence violation effect' and neuroadaptation are examples; and the consequences of conflict. These primary and secondary processes, occurring within diverse sociocultural contexts, are sufficient to account for the development of a strong attachment to an appetitive activity, such that self-control is diminished, and behaviour may appear to be disease-like. Giving up excess is a natural consequence of conflict arising from strong and troublesome appetite. There is much supportive evidence that change occurs outside expert treatment, and that when it occurs within treatment the change processes are more basic and universal than those espoused by fashionable expert theories.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed2001

Impulsive testing of individual semicircular canal function.

In order to test the human angular vestibulo-ocular reflex in the dynamic range of normal head movements, we measured 3-dimensional compensatory eye-movement responses to low-amplitude (10-12 degrees), high-acceleration (3000-4000 degrees/s/s), passive, manually delivered head rotations (head "impulses") in the three planes of the semicircular canals in normal subjects, in subjects who had recovered from surgical unilateral vestibular deafferentation, and in patients after acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy, that is, from vestibular "neuritis." We found that canal-plane head impulses away from an intact semicircular canal, that is, toward a lesioned semicircular canal, invariably produce a vestibulo-ocular reflex with permanently low gain, typically less that 0.4 if the lesion is complete. These results are a necessary consequence of primary semicircular canal afferents being driven into inhibitory saturation by rapid angular accelerations. With practice, clinicians can learn to recognize the telltale compensatory saccades that patients with unilateral loss of semicircular canal function will make if asked to look at an earth-fixed target during head impulses in any one of the three semicircular canal planes.

Head Movements↗
PubMed1975

Structural and mechanical properties of tendon related to function.

Tendon normally fulfills its primary role as a flexible force transmitting element very effectively and yet failure of this passive tissue leads to great disability. As a connective tissue its structure is relatively simple and the peculiar helical arrangement of collagen fibres confers highly non-linear as well as time-dependent mechanical properties. Functional significance cannot be attributed to any facet of mechanical response until the physiological pattern of loading is established. In particular the rate of deformation and the minimum force experienced by tendon in normal locomotion have yet to be elicited. Most published values of maximum forces transmitted by tendon fall short of the measured quasi-static rupture strength. The fact that some estimates exceed this ultimate force illustrates the errors incurred in indirect assessment. Direct measurement techniques, which have now been demonstrated to be practicable, should yield valuable information when applied to tendons susceptible to spontaneous rupture. Other proposed mechanical functions of tendon are clearly of secondary importance. Much has yet to be learned of the response of muscle to rapid loading and extension before these hypotheses can be tested fully. With our scant knowledge of normal tendon function it is indeed fortunate that the techniques of repair and treatment of damaged tendon are rapidly advancing.

Animals↗