民航飞行人员视眼动功能试验和前庭眼动反射试验结果分析

目的:分析我国民航飞行驾驶员和乘务员视眼动功能试验和前庭眼动反射试验检查结果的特征,并探讨视眼动功能试验和前庭眼动反射试验检查运用于民航飞行人员日常体检的可能性.方法:应用美国EDI公司的红外视频眼震电图仪,对我国40名民航飞行驾驶员和40名乘务员,进行视眼动功能试验(包括平稳跟踪试验、视动试验和扫视跟踪试验)和前庭眼动反射试验检查,并对检查结果进行比较分析.结果:前庭眼动反射试验结果与视眼动功能试验结果一致性较好,且与视眼动功能试验相比前庭眼动反射试验具有更高的敏感性.结论:前庭眼动反射试验检查技术有高频、宽频和操作方法简便等优点,适合应用到民航飞行人员的年度体检中,对民航飞行人员的前庭功能状态进行初步评定.     

Su-30飞行员在模拟飞行任务中的眼动指标分析

目的：获取战斗机飞行员在模拟飞行任务中的注意力分配情况和工作负荷的变化,为以后的飞行训练提供技术指导。方法：让十八名SU-30飞行员在模拟飞行器上完成爬升和翻转任务,同时使用眼动仪记录下飞行员的眼动数据,将数据源划分为外景、地平仪、高度表、速度表和综合电子屏显五个区域,并对这五个区域的眼动的数据进行分析对比。结果：在两种任务下,飞行员均在在座舱仪表分配更多的注视点和注视时间;在翻转任务中,飞行员在各个兴趣区的瞳孔直径都小于爬升任务中的直径;扫视幅度随着任务难度的加大而减小。结论：眼动技术可以作为测量飞行员注意力分配的有效方法;不同的任务下飞行员有不同的注意力分配模式,飞行员注意力主要集中在座舱仪表内;翻转任务比爬升任务在仪表上分配了更多的注意力,获取飞行员的注意力分配模式可以为飞行学员训练提供参考。     

正弦偏心旋转诱发的豚鼠前庭眼动反射特点

目的:观察豚鼠于不同频率和偏心半径正弦旋转时相对于轴心旋转的前庭眼动反射变化特点,以提取反映前庭耳石器功能的指标,为建立其功能检测方法提供依据。方法:采用频率0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4,0.5,0.6Hz,峰速60°/s的正弦旋转刺激,分别将豚鼠置于轴心,头向外偏心半径330mm,660mm,990mm处诱发其眼震,分析不同刺激条件下的眼震增益变化规律。结果:频率和偏心半径都对眼震的增益有显著影响:同一偏心半径条件下,眼震增益随频率增加而增大;同一频率条件下,眼震增益随偏心半径增加而增大,以在0.3Hz,0.4Hz最为明显,超过此频率范围后增益随半径变化不明显。结论:提取眼震增益的增强率(enhancementratio,ER)可以表达眼震增益随偏心半径增加而增大的增强效应,并作为反映豚鼠前庭耳石器功能的指标,以0.4Hz,半径990mm的正弦旋转模式作为耳石器功能评价的刺激模式较好。     

快速眼动睡眠产生的神经机制:蓝斑核神经元停止发放是一个必要的条件

两种类型的神经元参与了快速眼动（rapid eye movement,REM）睡眠的调节：快速眼动一发放（REM-ON）神经元和快速眼动-沉寂神经元（REM-OFF）。快速眼动-沉寂神经元属去甲肾上腺素能神经元,正如名字表示的那样——在快速眼动睡眠期间停止发放。已有研究表明,这些神经元放电活动的停止是导致快速眼动睡眠的前提条件,γ-氨基丁酸（γ-aminobutyric acid,GABA）可使它们停止发放。如果这嗤神经元不停止发放,脑中的去甲肾上腺素水平将升高,不出现快速眼动睡眠。剥夺快速眼动睡眠所引起的去甲肾上腺素增加,至少是快速眼动睡眠丧失引起Na^＋-K^＋ATP酶活性增加的原因,而这可能是导致快速眼动睡眠剥夺所引发的各种效应的主要因素。     

吗啡对猕猴瞳孔光反应能力的影响

光照能明显改变正常人和动物瞳孔的大小,而精神疾病及药物滥用则影响人和动物瞳孔对光的反应性.因此,瞳孔对光反应异常可以用作检测精神疾病和药物滥用的指标.有关药物滥用是如何影响瞳孔对光的反应性的研究还很少.为定量地测量成瘾性药物对瞳孔光反应变化的影响,该文采用猕猴为实验对象,通过在黑暗环境中测量猕猴在吗啡给予前和吗啡给予后的不同时间段,其瞳孔直径大小以及其对光反应能力的变化情况,来系统研究吗啡是如何影响这种非自主性反射系统的.研究发现,吗啡给予降低了猕猴在黑暗环境中的扩瞳反应,并且降低了瞳孔对光反应的收缩率.该文为将瞳孔对光反应特征用作鉴定吸毒者的检测手段提供了实验依据.     

Circadian Rhythm of the Pupillary Response to Morphine and to Naloxone

Mice respond to morphine with characteristic mydriasis which is antagonized by naloxone. The present study presents data on the diurnal variation of these responses. The mydriatic response is at its highest level at 0800 and has a nadir at 2400. This effect is not influenced by ambient light conditions. The miotic response to naloxone in the morphine-dilated pupil is maximal between 1200 and 1600 and minimal at 0400. The curves of the responses to the two drugs, therefore, differ as do their acrophases. Pharmacokinetic factors are probably not responsible for the observed variations. It is speculated that these diurnal changes may reflect cyclic alteration in the affinity of the opiate receptors to agonists and antagonists, respectively, or in the number of available receptors.     

Mean Figures and Mean Shapes Applied to Biological Figure and Shape Distributions in the Plane

Fundamental propositions for mean figures and mean shapes in the plane are proved by using complex numbers. A test of equality of two figure or shape distributions is introduced and applied to data from larvae of mussels and from saurian heads.     

Risk Perception and Chronic Exposure to Organochlorine Pesticides in Maya Communities of Mexico

In order to analyze risk perception related to the use and handling of organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in agricultural and livestock activities among Maya communities of Yucatan, Mexico, and to study their impact on public health and the environment, we conducted an analytical study applying 274 semi-structured interviews in 11 municipalities in the zone called “Ring of Cenotes.” The harmful effects of agrochemicals on water supplies, soils, air, and human health were considered, including the indoor use of pesticides to preserve harvest products. Recent studies showed high levels of OCP in groundwater. A generalized low risk perception related to human health and the environment due to pesticide use was found. Likewise, social parameters were analyzed, including the educational level, as well as risk factors related to groundwater karst vulnerability. Pesticides that have been banned by international conventions are still in use. The occurrence of some diseases such as cervical cancer, with a very high prevalence at the national level, and the practice of obtaining drinking water from polluted wells and sinkholes, may be associated with this low risk perception and with poor social conditions. Establishing programs on health education, agro-ecological production alternatives, and water chemical quality monitoring is recommended.     

Pupillary behavior during wakefulness,non-REM sleep,and REM sleep in birds is opposite that of mammals

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Interaction between the Postactivation Depression of H Reflex and Long-Lasting Inhibition,Evoked by Stimulation of a Nerve to the Antagonist Muscles,in Humans

In a study on healthy humans, we examined interaction of the inhibitory influences on the H reflex recorded from the m. soleus (the respective EMG discharge, evoked by stimulation of the n. tibialis comm.). Postactivation depression of the reflex was evoked by a preceding conditioning stimulation of the same nerve, while conditioning stimulation of a nerve to the antagonist muscles (n. peroneus comm.) evoked long-lasting inhibition of the reflex, which included two consecutive waves of depression, D ₁ and D ₂. When the intensity of conditioning stimulations slightly exceeded the threshold for the development of inhibitory effects, interaction between postactivation depression and both the D ₁ and D ₂ waves demonstrated mutual facilitation of these effects. When the intensity of conditioning stimuli was increased, facilitation was changed by occlusion. We conclude that afferent impulsation, evoked by homo- and heteronymous conditioning stimulations of the peripheral nerves, converges on common interneuronal populations providing long-lasting suppression of the H reflex, which develops due to depolarization of primary afferent Ia terminals.     

Laypeople's Health Concerns and Health Beliefs in Regard to Risk Perception of Mobile Communication

The consensus scientific view is that there is an absence of convincing scientific evidence for health risks of exposures to electromagnetic fields (EMF) at levels below those recommended in international guidelines. Nevertheless, some citizens are worried about EMF emitted by mobile communication and its consequences for health. The present study explored, by means of a mail survey, health concerns and the prevalence of health beliefs related to EMF in the general population. A random sample (n = 765, response rate 41%) of the German-speaking population in Switzerland was asked to assess various health beliefs. Results suggest that health concerns are widespread but lower than health concerns in regard to other hazards. About two-thirds of the respondents believed that some people suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). Health beliefs items were analyzed using the Mokken scale. This scale was related to respondents' health concerns and showed that health beliefs differed in regard to sociodemographic variables. For example, analyses showed that females, younger respondents, and respondents who believed that some people are affected by EHS endorsed significantly more health beliefs than males, older respondents, and non-EHS respondents. Results indicate that it is important for policy-makers to develop a clear understanding of the possible effects of health beliefs on health concerns and risk perception. These findings may provide guidance for the further development of information materials and strategies.     

Transient Synchrony of Distant Brain Areas and Perceptual Switching in Ambiguous Figures

We studied the relationship between perceptual switching in the Necker cube and long-distance transient phase synchronization in EEG. Transient periods of response related synchrony between parietal and frontal areas were observed. They start 800–600, ms prior to the switch response and occur in pairs. Four types of pairs could be distinguished, two of which are accompanied by transient alpha band activity in the occipital area. The results indicate that perceptual switching processes involve parietal and frontal areas; these are the ones that are normally associated with various cognitive processes. Sensory information in the visual areas is involved in some, but not in all, of switching processes. The intrinsic variability, as well as the participating areas, points to the role of strategic cognitive processes in perceptual switching.     

Short-Term Effects of a Brief Respiratory Training on Baroreceptor Cardiac Reflex Function in Normotensive and Mild Hypertensive Subjects

Baroreceptor cardiac reflex sensitivity is reduced in hypertension and is considered a powerful prognostic factor in cardiovascular health. This study analyzes the acute effects of a brief respiratory training on baroreceptor sensitivity and on two new proposed baroreflex parameters: baroreceptor power (i.e., the percentage of cardiac beats regulated by the baroreflex) and effectiveness (i.e., the frequency in which the baroreflex responds to transient alterations in blood pressure). Twenty-two participants, 10 primary mild hypertensives and 12 normotensives, learned and practiced a respiratory pattern characterized by breathing at 6 bpm, with time of expiration being twice time of inspiration, predominantly abdominal, and with pursed lips. Baroreceptor parameters are differentiated in terms of increases (“up” sequences) or decreases (“down” sequences) in blood pressure. Irrespective of the groups, the breathing manipulation increased baroreceptor sensitivity (only in the “up” sequences), power, and effectiveness (only in the “down” sequences). These results suggest that this type of respiratory training could be used as a promising intervention to increase baroreceptor cardiac function in primary hypertension.     

Imagine that: elevated sensory strength of mental imagery in individuals with Parkinson's disease and visual hallucinations

Visual hallucinations occur when our conscious experience does not accurately reflect external reality. However, these dissociations also regularly occur when we imagine the world around us in the absence of visual stimulation. We used two novel behavioural paradigms to objectively measure visual hallucinations and voluntary mental imagery in 19 individuals with Parkinson''s disease (ten with visual hallucinations; nine without) and ten healthy, age-matched controls. We then used this behavioural overlap to interrogate the connectivity both within and between the major attentional control networks using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients with visual hallucinations had elevated mental imagery strength compared with patients without hallucinations and controls. Specifically, the sensory strength of imagery predicted the frequency of visual hallucinations. Together, hallucinations and mental imagery predicted multiple abnormalities in functional connectivity both within and between the attentional control networks, as measured with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. However, the two phenomena were also dissociable at the neural level, with both mental imagery and visual misperceptions associated with specific abnormalities in attentional network connectivity. Our results provide the first evidence of both the shared and unique neural correlates of these two similar, yet distinct phenomena.