Biomedical subjects

Lee T Robertson

Publications and source records attributed to Lee T Robertson.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Vibration perception thresholds of human maxillary and mandibular central incisors.

Tactile information from dental mechanoreceptors contributes to the perception of food bolus textures and the control of mastication. While numerous studies have measured the light-touch sensory thresholds of teeth, little information is available about the vibrotactile perception thresholds of teeth. This study uses an adaptive psychophysical procedure to determine thresholds of vibratory stimulation of maxillary and mandibular central incisors in 16 healthy human subjects. An electromechanical vibrator delivered labiolingual forces perpendicular to the long axis of the maxillary and mandibular incisors at 10 stimulation frequencies between 40 and 315 Hz. The median thresholds ranged between 44 and 104 mN. A linear regression analysis revealed a significant increase in the vibrotactile thresholds with increasing frequencies for stimulation of the maxillary and mandibular incisors. No significant differences were found between regression slopes of the thresholds of the maxillary and mandibular incisors. These results indicated that maxillary and mandibular incisors should be able to discriminate effectively among a variety of textures based on their ability to encode a wide range of vibration frequencies.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Memory and the brain.

This review summarizes some of the recent advances in the neurobiology of memory. Current research helps us to understand how memories are created and, conversely, how our memories can be influenced by stress, drugs, and aging. An understanding of how memories are encoded by the brain may also lead to new ideas about how to maximize the long-term retention of important information. There are multiple memory systems with different functions and, in this review, we focus on the conscious recollection of one's experience of events and facts and on memories tied to emotional responses. Memories are also classified according to time: from short-term memory, lasting only seconds or minutes, to long-term memory, lasting months or years. The advent of new functional neuroimaging methods provides an opportunity to gain insight into how the human brain supports memory formation. Each memory system has a distinct anatomical organization, where different parts of the brain are recruited during phases of memory storage. Within the brain, memory is a dynamic property of populations of neurons and their interconnections. Memories are laid down in our brains via chemical changes at the neuron level. An understanding of the neurobiology of memory may stimulate health educators to consider how various teaching methods conform to the process of memory formation.

Amygdala↗