Amplitude,latency, and habituation of the electrodermal response to acoustic stimuli in the frog

The electrodermal response (EDR) of frogs to various acoustic stimuli was measured in the form of the skin potential response (SPR). There was no correlation between the polarity of the SPR and the intensity of the stimuli. When different frequencies were presented at the same intensity, the amplitude of the SPR to each was inversely proportional to the sound pressure at which that frequency just elicited an SPR. The amplitude of the sound-induced SPR increased monotonically with increasing sound pressure. The latency of the SPR decreased with increasing intensity of the acoustic stimulus. Acoustic stimuli repeated at intervals of 1 and 2 min elicited responses with progressively decreased amplitude and increased latency; with 4 min intervals there was little habituation. Fatigue participates to only a very slight extent in reducing the amplitude of the SPR and increasing its latency. The results are compared with the published data on frogs and mammals, including humans.     

Sensitization and desensitization to allyl isothiocyanate (mustard oil) in the nasal cavity

The aim of this study was to investigate the response, acute effects and time-course of sensitization and desensitization to allyl isothiocyanate (mustard oil) nasal stimuli in healthy subjects. Sixty subjects participated in the experiment, which employed psychophysical (intensity ratings) and psychophysiological (skin conductance response) measurements. Nasal stimuli were delivered three times with different inter-stimulus intervals. The results showed that the psychophysical and psycho-physiological data were correlated and that the successive nasal stimuli after a short period of time (<2 min) produced increased intensity of irritation, whereas the stimuli delivered after >3 min produced a markedly decreased intensity of irritation. These findings are in agreement with those obtained with capsaicin, the most frequently used irritant molecule.     

Interpretation of the Repetitive Firing of Nerve Cells

Eccentric cells of Limulus respond with repetitive firing to sustained depolarizing currents. Following stimulation with a step of current, latency is shorter than first interval and later intervals increase progressively. A shock of intensity twice threshold can evoke firing 25 msec. after an impulse. But in the same cell, a current step twice rheobase evokes a second impulse more than 50 msec. after the first, and current intensity must be raised to over five times rheobase to obtain a first interval of about 25 msec. Repetitive firing was evoked by means of trains of shocks. With stimuli of moderate intensity, firing was evoked by only some of the shocks and intervals between successive impulses increased with time. This is ascribed to accumulation of refractoriness with successive impulses. Higher frequencies of firing are obtained with shocks of intensity n x threshold than with constant currents of intensity n x rheobase. It is concluded that prolonged currents depress the processes leading to excitation and that (in the cells studied) repetitive firing is controlled both by the after-effects of firing (refractoriness) and by the depressant effects of sustained stimuli (accommodation). Development of subthreshold "graded activity" is an important process leading to excitation of eccentric cells, but is not the principal factor determining frequency of firing in response to constant currents.     

Dependence of behavioral responses form during shake-off conditional reflex on laterality of the neocortex

Pattern of discharges and interhemispheric interaction of parietal neurons (somatosensory presentation of the ear) were compared in interstimulus intervals before active shake-off and passive freezing reactions at stimuli after elaboration defensive avoid reflex. Before passive reactions in contrast to active right-side influences on left-side neurons were reinforced with delay to 100 ms, it result in appearence of asymmetry in interhemispheric interaction with right-side dominance. Before passive reactions intensity of delta-frequencies was increased in impulsation of single neurons and in interaction of cells pair. On this evidence the pattern of interhemispheric asymmetry before stimuli can be one of a number of factors, determinant active or passive form of behavioral reactions and also reflective of activation level of neocortex.     

Reactions to Potential Predators in Captive-Born Marmosets (Callithrix penicillata)

We describe the behavioral repertoire of captive-born black tufted-eared marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) elicited by brief exposures to three potential mounted taxidermized predators (caracara hawk, Polyborus plancus; rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus; oncilla, Leopardus tigrina), and a stuffed toy. For each of the four stimuli, we submitted the subjects to a 9-min trial divided into three consecutive intervals: a 4-min pre-exposure baseline observation, a 1-min stimulus exposure, and a 4-min postexposure observation period. We positioned stimuli in front of each subject's home cage, and video-taped trials for behavioral analysis. During exposures to the potential taxidermized predators, we heard tsik-tsik vocalization and alarm behavior. After exposures, only the cat induced these reactions. All stimuli elicited observational reaction, albeit only during exposure intervals. Further comparisons between the three trial intervals indicated a decrease in the time spent in proximity to the cat during exposures, while an increase in proximity occurred when subjects were exposed to either the hawk or snake for the same period. Taken together, the behavioral responses during and after exposures to the taxidermized oncilla suggest that this stimulus is capable of inducing strong and persistent emotional reactions in Callithrix penicillata.     

Effects of Auditory Stimuli in the Horizontal Plane on Audiovisual Integration: An Event-Related Potential Study

This article aims to investigate whether auditory stimuli in the horizontal plane, particularly originating from behind the participant, affect audiovisual integration by using behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) measurements. In this study, visual stimuli were presented directly in front of the participants, auditory stimuli were presented at one location in an equidistant horizontal plane at the front (0°, the fixation point), right (90°), back (180°), or left (270°) of the participants, and audiovisual stimuli that include both visual stimuli and auditory stimuli originating from one of the four locations were simultaneously presented. These stimuli were presented randomly with equal probability; during this time, participants were asked to attend to the visual stimulus and respond promptly only to visual target stimuli (a unimodal visual target stimulus and the visual target of the audiovisual stimulus). A significant facilitation of reaction times and hit rates was obtained following audiovisual stimulation, irrespective of whether the auditory stimuli were presented in the front or back of the participant. However, no significant interactions were found between visual stimuli and auditory stimuli from the right or left. Two main ERP components related to audiovisual integration were found: first, auditory stimuli from the front location produced an ERP reaction over the right temporal area and right occipital area at approximately 160–200 milliseconds; second, auditory stimuli from the back produced a reaction over the parietal and occipital areas at approximately 360–400 milliseconds. Our results confirmed that audiovisual integration was also elicited, even though auditory stimuli were presented behind the participant, but no integration occurred when auditory stimuli were presented in the right or left spaces, suggesting that the human brain might be particularly sensitive to information received from behind than both sides.     

不同刺激方式对在体和离体蛙腓肠肌单收缩影响的定量分析*

目的: 自编程定量分析不同电刺激方式对在体和离体蛙腓肠肌单收缩的影响。方法: 实验分为四个组:间接刺激在体标本组(n=12),直接刺激在体标本组(n=8),间接刺激离体标本组(n=12),直接刺激离体标本组(n=8)。分别制备在体和离体蛙腓肠肌标本, 施以间接电刺激(经坐骨神经)或直接电刺激(细针灸针刺激电极直接刺入腓肠肌中):强度从0 V开始,周期3 s,增量0.02 V,刺激150次;用生物机能实验系统(BL-420F)实时记录不同强度刺激对肌肉收缩的影响。后续通过自编程辅助处理分析肌肉收缩数据,对单收缩特征参数进行定量比较分析。 结果: ①对在体标本,与直接刺激比较:间接刺激的阈强度、半高强度和最适强度均更小(P＜0.05);最大单收缩幅度更大,收缩期更长,上升斜率更小(P＜0.05)。②对离体标本,与直接刺激比较:间接刺激的阈强度、半高强度和最适强度也均更小(P＜0.05);最大单收缩幅度更大,收缩期更长,上升斜率更小(P＜0.05)。③均采用间接刺激或直接刺激时,与离体标本比较,在体标本单收缩的各项参数均无差异(P＞0.05)。 结论: 不论使用间接刺激或是直接刺激,在体标本和离体标本的单收缩功能特点均无显著差异; 但间接刺激比直接刺激更容易触发腓肠肌产生单收缩,且单收缩幅度更高。     

Optomotor responses of the fly Musca domestica to transient stimuli of edges and stripes

The fly's optomotor response to transient stimuli was studied under open loop conditions. The stimuli used were moving edges and stripes. A comparison of the fly's responses to these stimuli bends to the result that progressive moving patterns (from front to back with respect to the fly) elicit stronger responses than regressive moving ones (from back to front). Edges followed by darkness elicit a stronger response than those followed by light. A narrow, bright or dark stripe and a single edge evoke a similar response, whereas a broad stripe elicitis a stronger response than a single edge.     

Stress response to acoustic stimuli in an aphid: A behavioral bioassay model

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), feeds consistently and regularly throughout all stages of nymphs and adult. That is, honey dew production, which indicates a state of feeding, occurs at regular intervals within a given stage, and moving, which interrupts feeding, tends to occur rarely. We used these behaviors to test whether sound stimuli acted as a stress in this species. We conducted the playback experiment in which acoustic stimuli with a combination of five frequencies (100, 500, 1000, 5000, and 10000 Hz) and three intensity levels (66, 78, 90 dB SPL) were presented to all stages of aphids. Under all acoustic stimuli, honey dew production occurred less often, and moving occurred more often and for longer. The results of two‐way multivariate analysis of variance showed that the stimulus frequency was a significant factor for variation in aphid behaviors in the playback experiment. However, there was no intensity effect on the aphid's behavior. Based on the electrical penetration graph experiment, aphid feeding stopped frequently and lasted only for short durations under acoustic stimuli. The results of both experiments demonstrated that the acoustic stimuli were effective in inducing feeding suppression in this species. Thus, the acoustic stimuli may be a stressor in the green peach aphid. Furthermore, the behavioral bioassay employed in this study may be used to assess the effect of various stressors on aphids.     

Differential effects of empty and filled intervals on duration estimation by pigeons: tests of an attention-sharing explanation

Pigeons were trained in a within-subjects design to discriminate durations of an empty interval and a filled interval. Even when different stimuli were used to mark empty intervals and to signal filled intervals, pigeons judged empty intervals to be longer than equal-length filled intervals. This timing difference was not a result of pigeons timing marker duration on empty interval trials. Increasing marker duration did not produce an overestimation of the empty time intervals. It was suggested that this timing difference could be due to a reduction in attention to temporal processing on filled interval trials when visual stimuli are used. Consistent with this hypothesis, it was found that empty intervals were judged longer than filled intervals when testing occurred in a darkened test room, but not when the test room was illuminated. In addition, no timing difference was observed when different auditory stimuli were used as markers for empty intervals and as signals for filled intervals.     

崇明东滩盐沼植被扩散格局及其形成机制

长江河口盐沼植被的形成和演化是生物与其生长环境相互作用的结果。以崇明东滩盐沼植被典型扩散前沿为研究对象,2011至2012年期间调查了盐沼植被扩散前沿实生苗扩散、定居以及形成的扩散格局,同时测定了盐沼植被扩散前沿的潮滩冲淤动态和水文动力条件。研究结果表明,崇明东滩盐沼植被在扩散前沿形成了互花米草-光滩(Spartina alterniflora-Mudflat,SM)和互花米草-海三棱藨草-光滩(Spartina alterniflora-Scirpus mariqueter-Mudflat,SSM)两种典型的扩散格局。冲淤动态和水文动力条件是影响盐沼植被扩散格局的重要因子,尤其是在4—6月盐沼植物实生苗传播和定居的关键阶段。在此基础上,分析了东滩盐沼植被扩散前沿的生物-物理相互作用以及盐沼植被扩散格局的形成机制。研究结果不仅有助于理解长江河口地区盐沼植被扩散的生物物理过程,并对全球气候变化和海平面上升条件下滨海生态系统动态预测与湿地保护与管理具有重要的意义。     

Unit responses of the sensomotor cortex to paired electrical stimuli

Unit responses of the sensomotor cortex to paired electrical stimulation and visual cortex, applied either simultaneously or after various delays (from 0 to 200 msec) depend on the order of application of the stimuli and on the interval between them. If stimulation of the sensomotor cortex was used in a conditioning role the response continued unchanged when the intervals between stimuli were increased to 200 msec. If, however, stimulation of the sensomotor cortex had a testing role interaction was observed between the stimuli so that responses to both first and second stimuli were blocked; this was exhibited most clearly for intervals of 40–80 msec between stimuli. The blocking effect persisted on some neurons with delays of up to 200 msec between stimuli, while the response of others to both the first and the second stimulus was restored.Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 628–635, November–December, 1973.     

Reactivity of the sleeping human brain: motor and electro-encephalographic correlates of evoked reactions

Human brain reactivity during sleep has been studied. Complex stimuli: auditory stimulus 1 s--interstimulus interval 4 s--verbal instruction to clench one's fist were presented to human subjects at equal 30-second intervals throughout all night's sleep. Conditioned motor and EEG responses were elicited during the second and the third experimental nights by repeating only auditory stimuli at 30- or 15-second intervals respectively. It has been suggested that a short-term memory store functions during sleep for at least 30 s after presenting stimuli.     

Intensity Characteristics of the Noctuid Acoustic Receptor

Spiking activity of the more sensitive acoustic receptor is described as a function of stimulus intensity. The form of the intensity characteristic depends strongly on stimulus duration. For very brief stimuli, the integral of stimulus power over stimulus duration determines the effectiveness. No response saturation is observed. With longer stimuli (50 msec), a steady firing rate is elicited. The response extends from the spontaneous rate of 20–40 spikes/sec to a saturated firing rate of nearly 700 spikes/sec. The characteristic is monotonic over more than 50 db in stimulus intensity. With very long stimuli (10 sec), the characteristics are nonmonotonic. Firing rates late in the stimulus decrease in response to an increase in stimulus intensity. The non-monotonic characteristics are attributed to intensity-related changes in response adaptation.     

雨强对黄土坡面土壤水分入渗及再分布的影响

基于典型黄土的坡地人工降雨实验,对比研究了降雨、入渗及再分布规律;以雨强为主要影响因素,分析了降雨入渗及水分再分布过程中水土物质迁移的定量关系．结果表明,雨强变化对黄土坡面降雨入渗及土壤水分再分布的微观水分运动过程具有重要影响．雨强增大时,入渗和再分布湿润锋均随降雨历时延长而逐渐增加,但水分再分布过程的湿润锋增加速率比入渗慢得多;入渗湿润锋与时间关系可用幂函数表示,同时可表示为雨强的幂函数关系．再分布湿润锋与时间也存在定量关系．雨强越大,初始和稳定的土壤水分入渗率越高,累积入渗量随降雨时间增加得越快．此外,雨强越大,坡顶与坡脚湿润锋深度差异越小,坡面再分布过程的土壤含水量在各层的差异和递减趋势越明显．     

雨强对黄土坡面土壤水分入渗及再分布的影响

基于典型黄土的坡地人工降雨实验,对比研究了降雨、入渗及再分布规律;以雨强为主要影响因素,分析了降雨入渗及水分再分布过程中水土物质迁移的定量关系.结果表明,雨强变化对黄土坡面降雨入渗及土壤水分再分布的微观水分运动过程具有重要影响.雨强增大时,入渗和再分布湿润锋均随降雨历时延长而逐渐增加,但水分再分布过程的湿润锋增加速率比入渗慢得多;入渗湿润锋与时间关系可用幂函数表示,同时可表示为雨强的幂函数关系.再分布湿润锋与时间也存在定量关系.雨强越大,初始和稳定的土壤水分入渗率越高,累积入渗量随降雨时间增加得越快.此外,雨强越大,坡顶与坡脚湿润锋深度差异越小,坡面再分布过程的土壤含水量在各层的差异和递减趋势越明显.     

Interaction between unit responses of the cat cerebellar cortex during paired stimulation of the forelimbs

Interaction between spike responses of 41 cerebellar cortical neurons to electrical stimulation of the two forelimbs with different intervals between stimuli were studied in cats anesthetized with chloralose and pentobarbital. The responsiveness of neurons with a phasic type of discharge to testing stimulation of the limb was reduced for 300–500 msec or longer after conditioning stimulation of the other limb. Interaction between the responses was less clear in neurons with a tonic type of response. Interaction was absent or was summating in character if the stimuli were applied at the same times. Only if the intertrial intervals were 50–150 msec was regular inhibition of the responses of tonic type to the testing stimulus observed. It is postulated that the nucleus of the inferior olive participates in the interaction between phasic unit responses during simultaneous stimulation of the two limbs or to stimulation separated by short intervals (under 30 msec). With longer intervals between stimuli, interaction between responses of either type is connected with involvement of the lateral reticular nucleus. In the process of interaction competitive relations may develop between responses caused by impulses reaching neurons of the cerebellar cortex along climbing and mossy fibers.     

Thermosensory intensity and affect throughout the perceptible range

The thermosensory system was evaluated psychophysically in 12 healthy volunteers, spanning the full range of tolerable temperatures. Subjects provided ratings of (1) perceived thermal intensity, (2) perceived pleasantness or unpleasantness, and (3) perceived pain intensity after placing either one hand or foot in a temperature controlled water bath. Of particular interest were the interrelationships among the three perceptual measures, and differences between heat and cold. The relationship between perceived intensity and (un)pleasantness was different for hot vs cold stimuli. Specifically, for a given perceived thermal intensity, cold stimuli were rated as less pleasant or more unpleasant than hot stimuli. Similarly, for a given pain intensity, cold stimuli were rated as more unpleasant than hot stimuli. As warm temperatures increased and as cold temperatures decreased, stimuli were perceived as being unpleasant before they were perceived as being painful. The difference in transition temperatures for unpleasantness vs pain for heat averaged 1.4 degrees C, while the same difference for cold averaged 5.6 degrees C. Thus, there was a fourfold difference in the range of unpleasant but non-painful cold vs hot temperatures. Pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings were significantly higher for heat stimuli applied to the foot vs hand. In contrast, there was no significant body site difference for pain intensity or unpleasantness ratings of cold stimuli. All of these results reveal important differences in the processing of cold vs hot stimuli. These differences could be exploited to differentiate processing relevant to discriminative vs affective components of somesthetic perception, in both the innocuous and noxious ranges.     

Habituation of mechanoreceptive interneurons in the crayfish.

The effect of repetition of sensory stimuli was studied on the responses of mechanoreceptive interneurons in the optic tract of the crayfish (Procambarus bouvieri (Ortmann)). The number of spikes recorded from a given unit gradually decreased during a train of stimuli. The decrease showed a negative exponential time course, with a curvature dependent upon the frequency of stimulation, the intensity of stimuli, and the hour of the day. Habituation is selective for the intensity and rate of stimulation, and the particular spot of receptive field stimulated. Locomotor excitation results in a dimminution of the rate of decay. The effect of a single train of stimuli when leading to pronounced habituation may persist for periods longer than 24 hr.     

Influence of segmental and extra-segmental conditioning stimuli on cortical potentials evoked by painful electrical stimulation

This study evaluated the effects of two different types of segmental/extra-segmental conditioning stimuli (tonic muscle pain and non-painful vibration) on the subjective experience (perceived pain intensity) and on the cortical evoked potentials to standardized test stimuli (cutaneous electrical stimuli). Twelve subjects participated in two separate sessions to investigate the effects of tonic muscle pain or cutaneous vibration on experimental test stimuli. The experimental protocol contained a baseline registration (test stimuli only), a registration with the test stimuli in combination with the conditioning stimuli, followed by a registration with the test stimuli only. In addition, the effects of the conditioning stimuli were examined at two anatomically separated locations (segmental and extra-segmental). Compared with the test stimulus alone, the perceived pain intensity and peak-to-peak amplitudes of the evoked potentials were unchanged in the presence of non-painful conditioning stimuli at either location. In contrast, a significant decrease of the perceived pain intensity and peak-to-peak amplitudes was found in the presence of painful conditioning stimuli at the extra-segmental sites. Moreover, the topographic maps of the 32-channel recordings suggested that the distribution of the scalp evoked potentials was almost symmetrical around the vertex Cz in the baseline registration. The evoked potentials were generally decreased during hypertonic saline infusion at the extra-segmental sites, but the distribution of the topographic maps did not appear to change. Vibration has previously been shown to inhibit pain, but in the present study the perceived intensity of phasic painful electrical stimuli was unchanged. The reduced perceived pain intensity and the smaller peak-to-peak amplitude of the evoked potential in the presence of extra-segmental conditioning pain are in accordance with the concept of diffuse noxious inhibitory control.