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Results for “sensory function”

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PubMed1997

Anatomy and histology of joint innervation.

Joint diseases are mostly accompanied with hyperalgesia and/or pain in the joint region. As about 60% of the knee joint innervation may be classified as nociceptive, the structure of joint afferents became a matter of interest. The function of a sensory nerve fibre may be defined by its location, its morphology and its biochemical composition. This review is therefore focused on the composition of articular nerves, the morphology of sensory endings, their content of mitochondria and neuropeptides, and the plasticity of neuropeptide synthesis during joint inflammation. As the knee joint of the cat belongs to the best examined articular tissue concerning the sensory function of its afferent innervation, most of the morphological data have also been determined in this model. The histological studies revealed a dense afferent innervation of all parts of joints. Most of the afferents terminate in non-corpuscular endings. Although the ultrastructure of these endings has been examined in great detail, up to now no morphological and biochemical details can be used to discriminate between mechanosensitive and nociceptive afferents. Only the differences in the content of mitochondria in single nerve fibres may be related to different sensory functions. The content of different neuropeptides in joint afferents highlights an additional efferent function of a proportion of joint afferents. The dense innervation with peptidergic joint afferents indicates an important, but up to now mainly unknown role of neuropeptides in a normal joint. Pathological conditions like joint inflammations lead to an enhanced release of neuropeptides into the joint tissue and a specific upregulation of neuropeptide biosynthesis in articular afferents.

Cartilage, Articular↗

PubMed2003

Marshall Parks lecture. Binocular sensory outcomes in accommodative ET.

PURPOSE: To review what is known about the normal maturational sequence for fusion and stereopsis and the binocular sensory deficits associated with accommodative esotropia (ET) and to explore the clues that accommodative ET provides about critical periods for binocular sensory function. METHODS: Studies of binocular sensory function during infancy and early childhood are presented. RESULTS: Most of the maturation of binocular sensory function occurs during the first year of life, yet a later abnormal visual experience-such as the onset of accommodative ET--can profoundly and permanently disrupt fusion and stereopsis. CONCLUSIONS: Some binocular sensory deficits may exist before the onset of accommodative ET, but others may result directly from abnormal binocular experience. The functional organization of the maturing visual system appears to be maximally sensitive to disruption by abnormal visual experience during the first months of life, but susceptibility continues until at least 4 years of age.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1990

[Sensory sphere function in children with enuresis].

The kinesthetic and acoustic analyzers were investigated in 62 enuretic and 50 healthy children. In patients, the sensitivity thresholds of the analyzers were substantially increased. The fall in function of the sensory sphere is a major pathogenetic factor of the disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Factors in prostate cancer metastasis.

Death related to prostate cancer is invariably due to the tumor metastasis (to lungs, skeleton and lymph nodes). Tumor cell metastatic behaviour is still poorly understood. The R3327 prostate tumor model in the male Copenhagen rat offers an opportunity to investigate the different aspects of metastatic processes in vivo and to evaluate effects of current and new treatment approaches. Lymphatic spread of cancer cells can be measured by determining volume of local load in successive draining lymph node stations. Surgical removal of primary tumor and inguinal lymph node shows that lymphatic metastasis in the R3327-MATLyLu tumor variant is a continuous progressive phenomenon, which starts already in early stages of tumor growth after subcutaneous transplantation. Spread to the lungs can be quantified by enumeration of macroscopically visible pleural lung colonies. Metastatic spread to the lungs can be mimicked by intravenous injection of monodispersed tumor cell suspension. Within 10 days pleural tumor colonies become visible. Effects of different agents and treatments like chemotherapeutic drugs, heparin, surgery and high energy shock wave (HESW) treatment have been described using these methods. Recently, metastasis to the vertebral column was induced by temporal occlusion of venous blood flow through the caval veins while injecting tumor cells in the lateral tail vein. The resulting osteoblastic metastatic lesions in the lumbar vertebrae and the concomitant spinal cord compression led in time to the loss of motoric and sensory function of the hind legs. These observations permit investigation of the mechanisms of bone metastasis based on biological functions, i.e. sensory and motoric function of the hind legs. Finally, it can be said that the various variants of the R3327 rat prostate tumor offer an appropriate model to study various aspects of prostate cancer and metastasis.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Constructs underlying measures of sensory-motor functions.

Many pathognomonic indicators of brain damage are characterized by deficits in sensory and/or motor functions. The strength of these pathognomonic signs has led to reliance on clinical administration and interpretation in the assessment of sensory and motor functions. Subsequently, the majority of measures designed to assess sensory and motor functions lack adequate reliability and psychometric confirmation of their utility. The Dean-Woodcock Sensory-Motor Battery (DWSMB) was designed to standardize the administration and interpretation of sensory-motor functions and has demonstrated satisfactory reliability. The present study further examined the psychometric properties of the DWSMB through factor analysis. It was hypothesized that at least two factors would emerge representing sensory and motor functions, respectively. A third possible factor that would reflect subcortical functioning was also hypothesized. Principal components analysis on data from over 600 participants supported a three-factor solution which accounted for 50.9% of the total variance. However, factor loadings revealed more dual loadings than expected, and factors emerged according to complexity rather than basic sensory, motor, and subcortical factors. Regardless, these data provide empirical evidence for the conceptualization of sensory-motor skills in a manner that incorporates subcortical abilities. These data also provide support for the underlying constructs of the DWSMB.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Numb rats walk - a behavioural and fMRI comparison of mild and moderate spinal cord injury.

Assessment of sensory function serves as a sensitive measure for predicting the functional outcome following spinal cord injury in patients. However, little is known about loss and recovery of sensory function in rodent spinal cord injury models as most tests of sensory functions rely on behaviour and thus motor function. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate cortical and thalamic BOLD-signal changes in response to limb stimulation following mild or moderate thoracic spinal cord weight drop injury in Sprague-Dawley rats. While there was recovery of close to normal hindlimb motor function as determined by open field locomotor testing following both degrees of injury, recovery of hindlimb sensory function as determined by fMRI and hot plate testing was only seen following mild injury and not following moderate injury. Thus, moderate injury can lead to near normal hindlimb motor function in animals with major sensory deficits. Recovered fMRI signals following mild injury had a partly altered cortical distribution engaging also ipsilateral somatosensory cortex and the cingulate gyrus. Importantly, thoracic spinal cord injury also affected sensory representation of the upper nonaffected limbs. Thus, cortical and thalamic activation in response to forelimb stimulation was significantly increased 16 weeks after spinal cord injury compared to control animals. We conclude that both forelimb and hindlimb cortical sensory representation is altered following thoracic spinal cord injury. Furthermore tests of sensory function that are independent of motor behaviour are needed in rodent spinal cord injury research.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Associations of sensory-motor functions with poor mobility in 75- and 80-year-old people.

This study investigated the associations of sensory-motor functions with mobility in elderly people. All 75- and 80-year-old residents of the city of Jyväskylä, Finland, were invited to take part in the study. A total of 617 (93%) persons were interviewed, and 500 (75%) took part in laboratory examinations. Self-reported mobility was recorded during the interview. Basic mobility functions (maximal walking speed and stair-mounting ability) and sensory-motor functions (maximal isometric muscle strength, standing balance, reaction time and visual acuity) were measured in the laboratory. Multivariate analyses showed that poor sensory-motor functions were significantly associated with poor performance in basic mobility functions and that poor performance in basic mobility functions was associated with self-reported disability in mobility. The associations discovered were consistent with models of the disablement process. Muscle strength, balance, reaction time and vision all have individual significance for mobility, underlining the need for multifactorial approaches in prevention and rehabilitation.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Behavioral phenotyping of mice in pharmacological and toxicological research.

The evaluation of behavioral effects is an important component for the in vivo screening of drugs or potentially toxic compounds in mice. Ideally, such screening should be composed of monitoring general health, sensory functions, and motor abilities, right before specific behavioral domains are tested. A rational strategy in the design and procedure of testing as well as an effective composition of different well-established and reproducible behavioral tests can minimize the risk of false positive and false negative results in drug screening. In the present review we describe such basic considerations in planning experiments, selecting strains of mice, and propose groups of behavioral tasks suitable for a reliable detection of differences in specific behavioral domains in mice. Screening of general health and neurophysiologic functions (reflexes, sensory abilities) and motor function (pole test, wire hang test, beam walking, rotarod, accelerod, and footprint) as well as specific hypothesis-guided testing in the behavioral domains of learning and memory (water maze, radial maze, conditioned fear, and avoidance tasks), emotionality (open field, hole board, elevated plus maze, and object exploration), nociception (tail flick, hot plate), psychiatric-like conditions (porsolt swim test, acoustic startle response, and prepulse inhibition), and aggression (isolation-induced aggression, spontaneous aggression, and territorial aggression) are described in further detail. This review is designed to describe a general approach, which increases reliability of behavioral screening. Furthermore, it provides an overview on a selection of specific procedures suitable for but not limited to behavioral screening in pharmacology and toxicology.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Structural basis for sensory rhodopsin function.

The crystal structure of sensory rhodopsin II from Natronobacterium pharaonis was recently solved at 2.1 A resolution from lipidic cubic phase-grown crystals. A critical analysis of previous structure-function studies is possible within the framework of the high-resolution structure of this photoreceptor. Based on the structure, a molecular understanding emerges of the efficiency and selectivity of the photoisomerization reaction, of the interaction of the sensory receptor and its cognate transducer protein HtrII, and of the mechanism of spectral tuning in photoreceptors. The architecture of the retinal binding pocket is compact, representing a major determinant for the selective binding of the chromophore, all-trans retinal to the apoprotein, opsin. Several chromophore-protein interactions revealed by the structure were not predicted by previous mutagenesis and spectroscopic analyses. The structure suggests likely mechanisms by which photoisomerization triggers the activation of sensory rhodopsin II, and highlights the possibility of a unified mechanism of signaling mediated by sensory receptors, including visual rhodopsins. Future investigations using time-resolved crystallography, structural dynamics, and computational studies will provide the basis to unveil the molecular mechanisms of sensory receptors-mediated transmembrane signaling.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Isolated dysarthria due to extracerebellar lacunar stroke: a central monoparesis of the tongue.

OBJECTIVES: The pathophysiology of dysarthria can preferentially be studied in patients with the rare lacunar stroke syndrome of "isolated dysarthria". METHODS: A single study was carried out on seven consecutive patients with sudden onset of isolated dysarthria due to single ischaemic lesion. The localisation of the lesion was identified using MRI. The corticolingual, cortico-orofacial, and corticospinal tract functions were investigated using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Corticopontocerebellar tract function was assessed using 99mTc hexamethylpropylene amine oxime-single photon emission computerised tomography (HMPAO-SPECT) in six patients. Sensory functions were evaluated clinically and by somatosensory evoked potentials. RESULTS: Brain MRI showed the lesions to be located in the corona radiata (n=4) and the internal capsule (n=2). No morphological lesion was identified in one patient. Corticolingual tract function was impaired in all patients. In four patients with additional cortico-orofacial tract dysfunction, dysarthria did not differ from that in patients with isolated corticolingual tract dysfunction. Corticospinal tract functions were normal in all patients. HMPAO-SPECT showed no cerebellar diaschisis, suggesting unimpaired corticopontocerebellar tract function. Sensory functions were not affected. CONCLUSION: Interruption of the corticolingual pathways to the tongue is crucial in the pathogenesis of isolated dysarthria after extracerebellar lacunar stroke.

Cerebellum↗

PubMed2000

Evidence that nerve growth factor promotes the recovery of peripheral neuropathy induced in mice by cisplatin: behavioral, structural and biochemical analysis.

In this study we investigate the neurotoxic action of Cisplatin (6 micrograms/g body weight for 5 treatment cycles during 15 weeks with a total dose of 30 micrograms/g), an antitumor drug, and its effect on the level of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in peripheral tissues. We found that Cisplatin in adult rodents impairs peripheral sensory function and both sympathetic and sensory peripheral innervation as shown by the hot-plate response, catecholamine distribution and substance P immunoreactivity respectively. These changes are associated with decreased NGF in intestine, paws, and bladder while NGF increased in the spinal cord. Also BDNF decreased in bladder and paws and increased in spinal cord and intestine. To further investigate the role of NGF in the pathogenesis of Cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathies a group of animals was injected with NGF (1 microgram/g every 4 days for 4 times) following Cisplatin treatment and evaluated for sensory function, sympathetic and sensory innervation and BDNF levels. Data demonstrated that exogenous NGF administration is able to restore biochemical, structural and functional changes induced by Cisplatin. These findings suggest that the reduction of NGF availability could be a cause of Cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathies and that NGF exogenous administration could prevent or reduce Cisplatin neurotoxicity also in cancer patients, reducing the side effects of chemotherapy.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

The function of sensory nerve fibers in lumbar radiculopathy. Use of quantitative sensory testing in the exploration of different populations of nerve fibers and dermatomes.

STUDY DESIGN: The function of sensory nerve fibers in patients with lumbar radiculopathy and in control individuals was evaluated using quantitative sensory testing. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of lumbar nerve root compression on different populations of nerve fibers and to explore the function of sensory nerve fibers in neighboring nerve roots not involved in the mechanical compression. BACKGROUND DATA: Results from experimental and clinical studies indicate that chronic compression of lumbar nerve roots affects the large myelinated nerve fibers. The majority of nerve fibers involved in the sensation of pain, however, are small afferent nerve fibers. It is therefore of interest to study the effect of compression on large and small sensory afferent channels. Several authors have elucidated the biochemical interaction between disc tissue and nerve roots. Chemical substances in the epidural space can reach the nerve fibers in nerve roots at the same or neighboring lumbar segments. In this way, fibers not involved in the mechanical compression may be affected. METHODS: The small nerve fibers were studied using tests for thermal thresholds (thermotest), and the large myelinated fibers were studied by vibrametry. Forty-two patients were investigated in the symptomatic and the asymptomatic leg, and the results were compared with those of 21 healthy individuals. RESULTS: The thresholds of cold, warmth, and vibration were significantly increased in the dermatome of the compressed nerve root, indicating that large and small sensory nerve fibers were affected. Further, the thresholds were significantly increased in the neighboring dermatomes in the symptomatic and the asymptomatic leg. CONCLUSION: Large and small sensory afferent nerve fibers are affected in lumbar radiculopathy. The increase in sensation thresholds in the ipsilateral neighboring dermatome and in the dermatomes in the asymptomatic leg indicates that adjacent nerve roots are involved in the pathophysiology of sciatica in patients with lumbar disc herniation.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Insulin sensitivity and sensory nerve function in non-diabetic human subjects.

The direct effect of reduced insulin sensitivity (measured by insulin tolerance test and fasting plasma insulin) on sensory nerve function was examined in non-diabetic human subjects. Thermal sensation (measured by warm and cold perception thresholds) deteriorated with fasting hyperinsulinaemia in the presence of normoglycaemia and normal glucose tolerance. The results suggest a possible role for insulin in sensory nerve function, also that deficits in insulin action per se may adversely affect the function of small sensory nerves independent of glycaemic levels, and may thus be implicated in the aetiology of diabetic neuropathy.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Discrimination strategies in animal psychophysics and their role in understanding sensory receptor function.

Discrimination is defined in a restricted sense here as a precise and specifiable relation between stimuli and responses. Experimenter control of stimulation is one significant feature of this relation. It is suggested that there may be some important differences between discrimination of drugs and exteroceptive stimulation. However, a discussion of current strategies in animal psychophysics might uncover similarities between these two discrimination formats useful in formulating questions and designing future research. Traditionally animal psychophysics has focused on basic questions of acuity and sensitivity (threshold). Beyond their obvious value in the study of comparative sensory function and evolutionary development, these experiments have provided particularly important new insights into the understanding of peripheral sensory transduction and processing and their relation to perception. Our experiments have been carried out in animals whose hearing has been impaired by drugs and cryolesions, and relations have been sought between the subsequent hearing loss and the histopathological changes occurring in the auditory receptor cells of the inner ear. But threshold sensitivity is only one of many perceptual dimensions and tells us nothing of the discriminations that are made among stimuli which are clearly above minimum detectable levels. For example, discriminations occur along stimulus dimensions such as wavelength of light, sound pressure, acoustic frequency, and so on. Sensory systems also permit the accurate location of the source of stimulation at a distance, the selection of certain frequencies or wavelengths and the rejection of others, and finally the discrimination among very complex but biologically useful signals such as speech. Prototypical experiments are described; the results suggest significant and orderly relations with peripheral sensory processing mechanisms. The power of operant behavior to examine perception from a variety of perspectives is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Comparison of functional and sensory attributes of high pH values in Semimembranosus and Longissimus dorsi of bull muscles during aging.

Functional and sensory attributes were evaluated during aging for 96 h of high ultimate pH (pH > 6.2) Semimembranosus (Sm) from bulls. To investigate if type of muscle has an influence on these factors from dark, firm and dry (DFD) meat, the Sm muscle was compared with the Longissimus dorsi (Ld) muscle. Significant changes in pH and water holding capacity (WHC), dominant wavelength, lightness and viscosity were found between these muscles. The remaining functional and sensory properties between these muscles did not change significantly during storage. Bull's Sm muscle had lower pH (after 24, 48 and 72 h), WHC (after 24 and 48 h) and viscosity (after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h). However, the Sm muscles had higher cooking losses, less intensive flavour, less juiciness, tenderness and firmness.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Effects of ibogaine on sensory-motor function, activity, and spatial learning in rats.

Ibogaine, a naturally occurring alkaloid, has been show to reduce naloxone-precipitated withdrawal symptoms from morphine. Given the clinical possibilities, it is important to determine ibogaine's effects on sensory-motor function, activity, learning, and memory. Long-Evans rats injected with doses of 20-60 mg/kg of ibogaine displayed slower response times on sensory and sensory-motor tests and were impaired in performing specific motor reflexes at doses of 40-60 mg/kg. Furthermore, these rats showed a marked reduction in locomotor and nonlocomotor activity, as well as emotionality at doses ranging from 10-40 mg/kg. At the higher doses the rats appeared to be virtually inactive. There were also deficits in learning a spatial location task (a dry-land version of the Morris water-maze). The deficits, however, were probably due to a reduction in locomotor activity and reduction in detection of sensory information. In a final experiment, a single injection of 40 mg/kg of ibogaine had marked deleterious effects on the acquisition of the spatial location task 1 but not 7 days after the injection, even though in this case there were no effects on sensory motor function 1 or 7 days after the injection. Thus, there are severe sensory-motor activity and learning problems while the animal is under the influence of ibogaine (acute effect) as well as long-term consequences on learning without concomitant changes in sensory-motor function.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

General lifestyle activities as a predictor of current cognition and cognitive change in older adults: a cross-sectional and longitudinal examination.

General lifestyle activities were examined as a predictor of current cognition and cognitive change over a 6-year interval in older adults. Participants were drawn from a population-based longitudinal study, and they completed the Adelaide Activities Profile and a battery of tests measuring cognition and sensory functioning. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, after sensory functioning was controlled for, activity was a significant predictor of current levels of speed, picture naming, incidental recall, and verbal fluency, and of cognitive change in speed, picture naming, and incidental recall. Commonality analyses demonstrated that activity accounted for a notable amount of the total variance in cognition, and that there was prominent overlap in shared variance between activity and age, and between sensory functioning and age. These findings suggest that engaging in general lifestyle activities may help to promote successful cognitive aging.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2001

Time course of recovery of the somatosensory map following hindpaw sensory deprivation in the rat.

Hindlimb sensory deprivation is known to induce a decrease in the cortical representation of hindpaw, and an increase in the size of the cutaneous receptive fields. The aim of the present study was to determine (i) the time-course of recovery when the rat retrieves a normal use of its limbs after a 14-day period of sensory disruption and (ii) whether a 1-day period of sensory deprivation is sufficient to induce a plasticity. Our results indicate that the remodelling of the cortical map was not observed after 1 day of sensory deprivation. On the other hand, the recovery was achieved after 6 h. These findings suggest that a procedure reducing sensory function resulted in reversible changes in the somatosensory cortex. The recovery was more rapid than the induction of plasticity.

Animals↗