Biomedical subjects

H L Read

Publications and source records attributed to H L Read.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Analysis of optic flow in the monkey parietal area 7a.

Environmentally relevant stimuli were used to examine the selectivity of area 7a neurons to optic flow using moving, flickering dots. Monkeys performed a psychophysical task requiring them to detect changes in translation, rotational and radially structured optic flow fields consisting of collections of moving dots which are free of form cues. The neurons in area 7a were selectively responsive to all the different types of moving stimuli. Two types of tuning for motion selectivity were found. Some neurons were tuned to distinguish a particular direction of optic flow (e.g. radial expansion versus radial compression), while others were tuned to distinguish between different classes of optic flow (e.g. radial motion versus planar rotation). The latter tuning was unlike that reported for area MST by others and may represent a novel representation of optic flow. The response of these neurons to translating bars was compared to that of optic flow fields. There appeared to be no similarity in the tuning to the two types of motion. Furthermore, there does not appear to be an identity between the neurons that could be classified as opponent vector and those selective for radial optic flow. Area 7a is involved in the further analysis of optic flow beyond the cortical areas MT and MST and provides a novel representation of motion. These results are consistent with the neurons in area 7a utilizing motion for the construction of a spatial representation of extra-personal space.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

The origins of aperiodicities in sensory neuron entrainment.

Aperiodic entrainment to rhythmic sensory input was obtained with either a single neuron or an excitatory network model, without addition of a stochastic or "noisy" element. The entrainment properties of primary sensory neurons were well captured by the dynamics of the Hodgkin-Huxley ordinary differential equations with a quiescent resting state or threshold for spike output. The frequency-amplitude parameter space was compressed and aperiodic regimes were small in comparison to those of periodically activated pacemaker-like neurons. Transitions between phase-locked and aperiodic entrainment patterns were predictable and determined by the equation dynamics, supporting the contention that some aperiodicities observed in situ arise from the inherent membrane properties of neurons. When the rhythmically activated neuron was embedded in an excitatory network of Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with heterogeneous synaptic delays, aperiodic entrainment patterns were more frequently encountered and these were associated with asynchronous output from the network. Embedding the rhythmically activated neuron in a network with synaptic delays greatly reduced the range of entrained spike frequencies and increased the variability in the neuronal firing. The temporal coding of sensory stimuli may be dependent on these findings. Sensory stimuli are signaled in the periphery by a mixture of periodic and irregular interspike intervals. Most models of such temporal codes assume intrinsic rhythmicity arising from the ionic currents, with variations attributed to membrane or synaptic noise. In contrast, we demonstrate irregular neural codes that arise completely in the absence of noise. In the proposed model, the sources of these irregular sensory patterns are the extensive cross-connections and resultant interactions between neurons. The balance between the regular and irregular entrainment of a neuron in situ could uniquely identify a stimulus. Other biological mechanisms of modifying the entrainment properties and promoting aperiodic entrainment are discussed.

Mathematics↗

PubMed1994

Serotonergic suppression of interhemispheric cortical synaptic potentials.

The inhibitory effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) on interhemispheric and intracortical synaptic potentials in layer V neurons of the rat medial prefrontal (MFC) cortex were examined. Low concentrations (1-3 microM) of 5-HT selectively attenuated polysynaptic potentials that were similarly evoked by callosal or white matter stimulation. Maximally effective concentrations of 5-HT blocked interhemispheric transmission by 50-90%, as evidenced by an attention of the short latency callosal depolarizing synaptic potential (e-DPSP). These effects of 5-HT were not associated with a change in membrane potential or input resistance. The e-DPSP was characterized as having an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and a non-NMDA component; the non-NMDA component was attenuated by 5-HT. Attenuation of the synaptic potential was accompanied by an attenuation of a postsynaptic glutamate potential. Suppression of both the e-DPSP and the glutamate potential was concentration dependent with 10-100 microM being maximally effective. The 5-HT1A/2 antagonist, spiperone, antagonized the effects of 5-HT on synaptic and glutamate potentials. Spiperone (1 microM) shifted the concentration-effect curves for suppression of the e-DPSP and the glutamate potential to the right; however, the Kb for the glutamate potential concentration-effect curve was 10 times that for the e-DPSP curve. The differential antagonist sensitivity of synaptic and glutamate potentials was an indication that serotonin acted on more than one receptor subtype to reduce interhemispheric transmission.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

PubMed1993

Temporal processing in the visual brain.

In conclusion these three results taken together--the single-unit data, the Gerstein and Mandelbrot model, and the modeled collection of neurons--suggest that the analysis of the temporal dynamics of neural systems can be furthered by the application of nonlinear dynamical theory. Furthermore, it appears that the range of temporal dynamics possible in visual cortex is quite broad, encompassing simple oscillations and more complex, perhaps chaotic, dynamics. Lastly, it appears that there are powerful principles at work that are leading to the organized behavior of a population of neurons. We suggest that these principles are constrained not only by the biological properties of the nervous system, but by profound mathematical principles that have already been described in many physical nonlinear systems under the aegis of chaos theory. If such constraints exist, we may have available to us mathematical and physical constructs that will allow us to study, model, and predict the behaviors of large collections of neurons that ultimately underlie the neural functioning of the brain.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1989

Glycine potentiates NMDA responses in rat hippocampal CA1 neurons.

When superfused onto rat hippocampal slices, glycine (0.1-0.5 mM) potentiated the depolarization induced by pressure application of NMDA in normal Krebs solution and the synaptic discharge evoked by stimulation of the Schaffer collateral-commissural inputs to the CA1 pyramidal neurons bathed in Mg2+-free media; the effects were not prevented by strychnine. In addition, glycine partially reversed the blocking effect of D-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (AP5) on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced depolarization. These results show that glycine at relatively high concentrations potentiates the NMDA-mediated response in hippocampal slices.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

PubMed1988

AHP reductions in rabbit hippocampal neurons during conditioning correlate with acquisition of the learned response.

Young adult male albino rabbits were conditioned using a free field auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) and periorbital shock unconditioned stimulus (US) in a short delay eye blink paradigm. All rabbits received two 80-trial training sessions. Intracellular recordings were made from hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons within brain slices prepared 24 h following the second training session. All 46 CA1 neurons included in the analysis had stable penetration, at least 70 mV impulse amplitudes and at least 40 M omega input resistance. Recording and initial data analysis were done 'blind' regarding behavioral training performance of the rabbit from which the slices were prepared. The animals were separated into a High (86 +/- 6% CRs, n = 12), and Low (12 +/- 4% CRs, n = 10) Acquisition group based on the number of blink CRs shown on the second training day (P less than 0.001). CA1 pyramidal neurons from the High Acquisition group (n = 20) showed a significant reduction in the afterhypolarization (AHP) response following 4 impulses elicited by intracellular current injection as compared to neurons from the Low Acquisition group (n = 26). The mean maximal AHP amplitudes after 4 spikes were -2.9 +/- 0.34 mV and -4.0 +/- 0.31 mV, respectively, in the High and Low Acquisition groups (P less than 0.01). The size of the AHP examined at 100 ms intervals during the first 1.7 s after the current pulse proved to be reduced in the High group both when evaluated for all points (F = 5.88, df = 1.44, P less than 0.02) and for each of the individual time points (at least P less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of trimethyltin on evoked potentials in mouse hippocampal slices.

The effects of trimethyltin (TMT) on responses to orthodromic stimulation in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer and dentate gyrus were investigated in mouse hippocampal slices. In both regions exposure to 10.0 microM TMT produced an 80 to 90% reduction in population spike amplitude. Smaller decreases in spike amplitude occurred after 5 microM TMT and these effects were reversible in the pyramidial cell layer. The latency of 5.0 microM effects was longer in the dentate gyrus and were preceded by a slight (20%) increase in spike amplitude. The smallest dose of TMT tested (1.0 microM) did not change response amplitude, but did increase the occurrence of multiple population spike potentials. When TMT was applied during paired-pulse stimulation of the perforant path the potentiation of the second response was not selectively reduced. The results indicate that orthodromic excitability of both pyramidal and granule cells in the mouse hippocampus is decreased by TMT with small differences occurring in latency and reversibility at certain doses.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Modulation of responses to optic flow in area 7a by retinotopic and oculomotor cues in monkey.

Perception of two- and three-dimensional optic flow critically depends upon extrastriate cortices that are part of the 'dorsal stream' for visual processing. Neurons in area 7a, a sub-region of the posterior parietal cortex, have a dual sensitivity to visual input and to eye position. The sensitivity and selectivity of area 7a neurons to three sensory cues - optic flow, retinotopic stimulus position and eye position - were studied. The visual response to optic flow was modulated by the retinotopic stimulus position and by the eye position in the orbit. The position dependence of the retinal and eye position modulation (i.e. gain field) were quantified by a quadratic regression model that allowed for linear or peaked receptive fields. A local maximum (or minimum) in both the retinotopic fields and the gain fields was observed, suggesting that these sensory qualities are not necessarily linearly represented in area 7a. Neurons were also found that simply encoded the eye position in the absence of optic flow. The spatial tuning for the eye position signals upon stationary stimuli and optic flow was not the same, suggesting multiple anatomical sources of the signals. These neurons can provide a substrate for spatial representation while primates move in the environment.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of iontophoretic application of trimethyltin on spontaneous neuronal activity in mouse hippocampal slices.

Changes in spontaneous activity in various regions of mouse hippocampal slices were observed following iontophoretic application of trimethyltin (TMT). TMT (0.5 mM) dissolved in 0.15 M NaCl and ejected in 30 sec periods from four barrel micropipettes using anodal ejection currents (3-28 nA) produced dose dependent increases in the spontaneous activity of 67.6% of the 34 dentate gyrus cells tested. Seventy percent of the 25 CA3 cells tested displayed prolonged (30-200 sec) decreases in activity. The majority of CA1 and CA2 cells examined also displayed a decrease in firing rate. Repeated applications of TMT produced increased variability in spontaneous firing rates in all regions tested. When slices were maintained in a low Ca++, high Co++ perfusion fluid to inhibit synaptic activity, the TMT induced increase of dentate gyrus cell firing rate was not observed. The results demonstrate that direct application of TMT produces immediate changes in hippocampal cell activity that is specific for certain regions. Significant increases in firing rate were only observed in the dentate gyrus and these effects were calcium dependent.

Action Potentials↗