Biomedical subjects

M Schedlowski

Publications and source records attributed to M Schedlowski.

59 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1992

Lithium chloride and immunomodulation in taste aversion conditioning.

Lithium chloride has been used in many studies of conditioning to induce taste aversion behaviour, and in some experiments investigating conditioning effects on immunity it has been used on the assumption that it is immunologically neutral. The studies reported here, however, indicate that LiCl is not immunologically neutral and when used to endow a UCS with noxious properties to enhance the behavioural response in taste aversion conditioned immunosuppression, it may antagonize the residual immunosuppression following initial UCS administration and also the conditioned immunosuppression occurring after CS reexposure. Therefore, conclusions drawn from studies of behaviourally conditioned immunomodulation where LiCl is used as part of either the CS or UCS may require reevaluation.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Physiological arousal and perception of bodily state during parachute jumping.

Heart rate and respiration rate were recorded with a portable data recording system before and during a parachute jump in 36 male sport parachutists with differing degrees of experience. The recordings were analyzed at 12 psychologically relevant points in time along with the subjective ratings of physical arousal. Novice parachutists showed a higher degree of self-rated arousal during jumps. However, the two groups displayed nearly parallel curves for heart and respiration rates, differing significantly from each other only in the level of their respective heart rates. Furthermore, experienced jumpers seem to be better informed about their state of physiological arousal during the jump than are novice jumpers. These results do not confirm the proposed anxiety inhibition process, postulated by Epstein (1967).

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Behavioral conditioning prolongs heart allograft survival in rats.

Conditioned immunosuppression using a taste aversion paradigm has been demonstrated in a number of laboratory models but few reports have demonstrated changes in immunity sufficient to be of clinical relevance. The experiments reported here demonstrate that the survival of heart allografts in rats can be prolonged by behaviorally conditioned immunosuppression using cyclosporin A (CsA) as an unconditioned stimulus in taste aversion conditioning. Conditioned animals received saccharin as the conditioned stimulus paired with an injection of CsA at 10 and 6 days prior to transplantation. They were reexposed to saccharin alone 1 day prior to and 3 days after transplantation. On these occasions the conditioned group displayed taste aversion behavior when offered saccharin and a significant prolongation of heart graft survival was observed compared to the conditioned and nonconditioned control groups. These experiments suggest that behaviorally conditioned immunosuppression may have important clinical implications as an adjunct to drug treatments in transplantation medicine.

Abdomen↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cardiovascular and endocrine alterations after masturbation-induced orgasm in women.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the cardiovascular, genital, and endocrine changes in women after masturbation-induced orgasm because the neuroendocrine response to sexual arousal in humans is equivocal. METHODS: Healthy women (N = 10) completed an experimental session, in which a documentary film was observed for 20 minutes, followed by a pornographic film for 20 minutes, and another documentary for an additional 20 minutes. Subjects also participated in a control session, in which participants watched a documentary film for 60 minutes. After subjects had watched the pornographic film for 10 minutes in the experimental session, they were asked to masturbate until orgasm. Cardiovascular (heart rate and blood pressure) and genital (vaginal pulse amplitude) parameters were monitored continuously throughout testing. Furthermore, blood was drawn continuously for analysis of plasma concentrations of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH), beta-endorphin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, progesterone, and estradiol. RESULTS: Orgasm induced elevations in cardiovascular parameters and levels of plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline. Plasma prolactin substantially increased after orgasm, remained elevated over the remainder of the session, and was still raised 60 minutes after sexual arousal. In addition, sexual arousal also produced small increases in plasma LH and testosterone concentrations. In contrast, plasma concentrations of cortisol, FSH, beta-endorphin, progesterone, and estradiol were unaffected by orgasm. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual arousal and orgasm produce a distinct pattern of neuroendocrine alterations in women, primarily inducing a long-lasting elevation in plasma prolactin concentrations. These results concur with those observed in men, suggesting that prolactin is an endocrine marker of sexual arousal and orgasm.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Metoclopramide and cellular immune functions during polymicrobial sepsis.

Metoclopramide (MCP) has been demonstrated to restore the depressed cellular immune function after hemorrhage by increasing the release of the immunomodulatory pituitary hormone prolactin. We investigated the effect of MCP on serum prolactin concentrations, on cellular immune functions (immune cell distribution, splenocyte proliferation, apoptosis and cytokine release) and on the survival 48 h after induction of a polymicrobial sepsis in mice. Administration of MCP increased circulating serum prolactin concentrations and splenocyte apoptosis rate and improved cellular cytokine release, but did not affect mortality of septic mice. We therefore conclude that administration of MCP modulated splenocyte apoptosis and cytokine release in a murine model of sepsis without an impact on the survival. Furthermore, this effect may be mediated by an increased endogenous prolactin release.

Animals↗