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PubMed1992

Behavioral and biochemical effects of early postnatal cholinergic lesion in the hippocampus.

The effects of early postnatal (PD 8) intracerebroventricular injection of ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion (AF64A) on development of open-field and cognitive behaviors and cholinergic markers in several brain areas were examined in the rat. The cholinotoxin was bilaterally administered in a dose range of 0.25 to 2.0 nmol. In the open-field tests, the cholinergic lesion caused a dose-dependent increase in activity at 20 days of age, while it resulted in lengthened latency to initiate exploration and decreased rearing activity at adulthood. Hole-board spatial learning was severely inhibited in adult age. The biochemical activity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the hippocampus was markedly decreased in a dose-dependent manner, but was unchanged in the neocortex and striatum. Histochemical staining of AChE-positive fibers revealed a severe cholinergic denervation of the granular and pyramidal cell layers of the hippocampus. The results showed that a selective cholinergic deafferentation of the hippocampus at a critical stage of development leads to long-lasting abnormal open-field and spatial learning behaviors.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2005

Larval sensory abilities and mechanisms of habitat selection of a coral reef fish during settlement.

Sensory abilities and preferences exhibited by mobile larvae during their transition to juvenile habitats can establish spatial heterogeneity that drives subsequent species interactions and dynamics of populations. We conducted a series of laboratory and field experiments using coral reef fish larvae (Chromis viridis) to determine: ecological determinants of settlement choice (conspecifics vs. heterospecifics vs. coral substrates); sensory mechanisms (visual, acoustic/vibratory, olfactory) underlying settlement choice; and sensory abilities (effective detection distances of habitat) under field conditions. C. viridis larvae responded positively to visual, acoustic/vibratory, and olfactory cues expressed by conspecifics. Overall, larvae chose compartments of experimental arenas containing conspecifics in 75% of trials, and failed to show any significant directional responses to heterospecifics or coral substrates. In field trials, C. viridis larvae detected reefs containing conspecifics using visual and/or acoustic/vibratory cues at distances <75 cm; detection distances increased to <375 cm when olfactory capacity was present (particularly for reefs located up-current). We conducted high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses of seawater containing C. viridis juveniles and isolated high concentrations of several organic compounds. Subsequent laboratory trials demonstrated that C. viridis larvae responded positively to only one of these organic compounds. This compound was characterized by a weak polarity and was detected at 230 nm with a 31-min retention time in HPLC. Overall, our results suggest that fishes may use a range of sensory mechanisms effective over different spatial scales to detect and choose settlement sites, and species-specific cues may play a vital role in establishment of spatial patterns at settlement.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of antiepileptic drugs on working memory as assessed by spatial alternation performance in rats.

Patients with epilepsy can have impaired cognitive abilities. Many factors contribute to this impairment, including the adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). However, there are few systematic data on the effects of AEDs on specific cognitive domains, such as working memory. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of AEDs on working memory as measured by delayed spatial alternation behavior in nonepileptic rats. The GABA-related AEDs triazolam and phenobarbital significantly disrupted performance, whereas tiagabine, valproate, and gabapentin did not. The sodium channel blockers carbamazepine and topiramate produced modest but significant disruption of performance, whereas the effects of lamotrigine were not significant and phenytoin produced a modest but significant improvement in performance but at doses that abolished responding in some animals. Levetiracetam had no effect on working memory. In contrast, ethosuximide significantly disrupted working memory. The disruptions produced by triazolam and phenobarbital were similar in magnitude to the effects of the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine. The present results indicate that AEDs can disrupt working memory, but there are differences among AEDs in the magnitude of the disruption that do not appear to be correlated with mechanism of action.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2006

Effect of dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 and D1 agonist A77636 on active allothetic place avoidance, a spatial cognition task.

Central dopamine neurotransmission is implicated in several physiological and pathophysiological neural processes. In the past years, attention was paid to the role of dopaminergic signaling in the cognitive processes. In the present study, we investigate role of dopamine D1 receptors in spatial cognition using systemic administration of D1-specific agonist A77636 and D1 antagonist SCH23390. Subsequently, animals were tested in a spatial cognition behavioral task, active allothetic place avoidance (AAPA), a task which requires rats to separate spatial stimuli from two continuously dissociated subsets. The D1 agonist A77636 at doses 0.1 and 0.5mg/kg improved the task solution, whilst application of D1 antagonist SCH23390 (0.02 and 0.05 mg/kg) caused an impairment in the AAPA task. These findings support the notion that brain dopaminergic D1 neurotransmitter system modulates neural processes underlying spatial cognition.

Adamantane↗
PubMed2002

Mother-infant interactions in western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla): spatial relationships, communication, and opportunities for social learning.

This study investigated mother-infant interactions in lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) with particular focus on the relative role of mothers and infants in creating situations that are potentially conducive to infant social learning. Eleven gorilla mother-infant dyads were focally observed in weekly 1-hr sessions for 12 months. Spatial relationships were affected by age as well as by ambient temperature. Although the youngest infant was encouraged by its mother to walk and climb, mothers showed little or no encouragement in other contexts. In contrast, infants were quite interested in their mothers' activities, on some occasions repeated their mother's behavior, and actively encouraged their mothers to share food, play, or follow them. These findings suggest that gorilla infants are more active than their mothers in creating situations that are potentially conducive to the acquisition of knowledge or skills.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Morris water task impairment and hypoactivity following cysteamine-induced reductions of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity.

The effects of cysteamine-induced reductions of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) on spatial learning, passive avoidance, and locomotor activity were examined in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Cysteamine hydrochloride (100 mg/kg, s.c.) produced 54% and 50% reductions in SLI in cortex and hippocampus, respectively, and impaired escape latencies and spatial probe behavior in the Morris water task. Although cysteamine-treated rats displayed hypoactivity in the activity boxes, their swim speed in the Morris water task was unaffected. Cysteamine did not impair passive avoidance retention when administered immediately following training or prior to daily retention testing. These results suggest a role for somatostatin in spatially-mediated behaviors in rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Spatial learning ability of rats undernourished during early postnatal life.

Experiments to determine whether undernutrition during early life results in deficits in spatial learning behavior has produced conflicting results. It was hypothesized that this may be due to the differing degrees of undernutrition used in the various studies, and/or to the timing of the testing procedures with respect to the period of food deprivation. These possibilities were tested by undernourishing rats between birth and 30 days of age to two different levels (i.e., level-1 and level-2). The degree of undernutrition was greater at level-2 than level-1. Behavioral testing of these rats and well-fed controls was carried out in the Morris water maze when they were between either 35 and 65 or 170 and 200 days of age. Statistical analyses of the escape latency data from these experiments revealed that rats tested almost immediately after the period of undernutrition have alterations in their spatial learning behavior compared with controls. However, even a short period of nutritional rehabilitation removed any differences between control and previously undernourished groups, irrespective of the level of undernutrition.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

The role of large-scale spatially explicit and small-scale localized processes on the population dynamics of cereal aphids.

A field-scale study of the spatially explicit interaction between the carabid Poecilus cupreus Linnaeus, and two common aphid species (Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) and Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker)) in winter wheat was conducted. All three species showed considerable spatial pattern at the field scale. Activity-density of P. cupreus was an order of magnitude higher in the central part of the field compared to its periphery. Where P. cupreus activity-density was highest, S. avenae and M. dirhodum population peaks were delayed. Additionally, in the case of M. dirhodum, lower maximum counts were evident where P. cupreus activity-density was highest. An analysis of the movement of individual P. cupreus using release-recapture indicated that those beetles within the centre of the field exhibited reduced displacement, which may have caused the generation or maintenance of spatial pattern. Crop density was also measured throughout the field. Although crop density had no large-scale spatial pattern, its variability at the small-scale was consistent with an influence on aphid population dynamics. This study demonstrates empirically that both large-scale spatially explicit and small-scale localized processes influenced aphid population dynamics simultaneously.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Space invaders: the moral-spatial order in neighbour dispute discourse.

This paper investigates the interactional construction of neighbour relationships in the context of disputational talk. Neighbour dispute data were recorded in two contexts: community mediation and televised documentaries. The data were transcribed and subsequently analysed using an approach that combined ethnomethodological methods with discursive psychology, focusing on participants' orientations to and constructions of spatial categories and place formulations. Three broad themes emerged from our analysis. First, we found that the construction and regulation of normative neighbour relationships were formulated in a discourse of spatial practice. Second, we found that, through complaints about spatial transgressions and 'good' and 'bad' neighbours, the moral order was reproduced and maintained. Finally, we found that, although participants were oriented to a distinction between 'private' and 'public' spaces, talk about boundaries revealed the highly contingent nature of spatial division. We suggest that in order to better understand neighbour relationships, social psychologists must explore the way people construct and account for the spaces they interact within.

Communication↗
PubMed2000

New aspects of heparin effects.

The effects of a 5-day heparin treatment (10 kD, 64 IU/kg, intraperitoneally) on food-procuring behavior and spatial memory in a 12-arm radial maze were studies on Wistar rats. The maximum reinforcement scores in heparinized rats were attained by day 7 and in control rats only by day 16. In total, 75% heparinized and 45% control rats successfully learned the task for 24 days. On day 25 the contents of major transmitters and their metabolites in various brain structures and in the small intestine of control and experimental rats were determined. The rats treated with heparin showed increased concentrations of norepinephrine in the hypothalamus, homovanillic acid in the striatum, and serotonin in the small intestine. Our findings indicate that heparin exhibits a wide range of activities in addition to its anticoagulant effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Interaction of vestibular, somatosensory and visual signals for postural control and motion perception under terrestrial and microgravity conditions--a conceptual model.

This article considers the intersensory interaction mechanisms and biomechanical aspects of human spatially oriented behavior and asks to what extent these are interrelated on earth by gravity and how they might be affected under microgravity. The interactions between vestibular, somatosensory and visual inputs for postural control are obscured by several complications (biomechanics, multi-body dynamics, multimodal feedback control, cognition etc.). However, they can be revealed in psychophysical studies on human self-motion perception. Based on such studies, we present a conceptual model, which we think is valid also for postural control. It accounts for the multi-segmental structure of the body, allowing local control of inter-segmental joints, but uses one global reference system for all segments, which is derived from the intersensory interactions. We hold that, at a sensory level, the system is tied together by linkages between vestibular, visual and somatosensory information which develop through experience of inertial and gravitational reaction forces. On earth these linkages are established even in the absence of active behavior by gravity, allowing the incorporation of one's body and its support into a notion (Gestalt) of ourselves in the environment. Under microgravity, in contrast, the linkages have to be actively established for postural and perceptual stability in the environment (e.g., by grasping a handle on the wall). From this work we recommend that future research under altered gravity conditions should be guided by models that include biomechanics, considerations of intersensory interaction and dynamic control mechanisms. Such an integrative conceptual framework will be helpful for reaching a general understanding of spatially oriented behavior.

Gravitation↗
PubMed1991

[A study of family communication space (Part I)--A preliminary study on how family communication is actually practiced].

Housing science needs to concern itself with how to improve space for family communication because it plays an important role in human dwelling life. The purpose of this report (Parts I, II & III) is, hence, to elucidate various factors conditioning family communication, and spatial traits of the rooms where it is conducted, based on the survey of the households of students at women's junior colleges. Part I delves into what is specifically communicated within a family and how it is related with other living activities, by grasping how communication is practiced in everyday family life. A basic analysis is made as to how conscious a family members are of their mutual communication, and how rooms are used for it. It has become clear that family communication is closely related with meal-taking both behaviorally and spatially, and that different attitudes among a family members toward family communication cause different modes, and evaluations of it. It has proved to be necessary, for the further studies of family communication, to give an analytical perspective to an in-depth examination of how rooms in the target families are used and how every member views and evaluates their family communication.

Communication↗
PubMed2003

Proximity patterns of female western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) during the six months after parturition.

Studies of wild mountain gorillas have demonstrated strong preferences among new mothers for the silverback. Protection against infanticide has been theorized to be the primary cause for this attraction. We examined social partner preferences in captive western lowland mothers during the 6 mo after parturition and found that juveniles and females were the primary members of the new mothers' social network. Mothers spent significantly more time in close proximity with both of these subgroups than with the silverback. Proximity patterns changed over time: new mothers spent more time near females in the month after parturition than in the month prior to parturition, and spatial proximity increased again in months 2-6 postparturition. These findings differ from those reported for wild mountain gorillas, which may reflect the lack of infanticide risk in captivity. Given current hypotheses that infanticide may be a limited in western lowland gorillas, the social partner preferences observed here may be indicative of patterns in wild populations.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Pattern of spatial distribution in Drosophila melanogaster.

The effect of temperature and sex on spatial distribution of Drosophila melanogaster adults was studied in a specially designed apparatus. It was observed that individuals tend to aggregate in sections of the sphere independently of sex and temperature. Nevertheless, decrease in temperature increase aggregation. The mobility of both males and females indicates a negative geotactic tendency.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Brain activity during visuomotor behavior triggered by arbitrary and spatially constrained cues: an fMRI study in humans.

Rule-based behavior associating nonspatial visual stimuli with learned responses is called arbitrary visuomotor mapping, an ability that enriches behavioral repertoire. To better understand the underlying neural correlates, the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study explored brain activity during visually informed movement involving two different types of cues and two different effectors. After being trained on the tasks, six healthy subjects performed right or left finger tapping tasks according to either arbitrary cues or spatially constrained cues. An event-related fMRI experiment was conducted on a 3-T MRI. The image data were analyzed with statistical parametric mapping. With the aid of the probabilistic architectonic map in the stereotaxic space, we identified three types of task-related brain activity: cue-selective, effector-selective, and nonselective. The left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the rostral part of the right dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) exhibited cue-selective activity, which was greater during the arbitrary condition than the spatially constrained condition. The left ventral prefrontal activity may reflect retrieval of visuomotor association from memory in arbitrary context. The rostral part of the left PMd showed nonselective activity while the caudal part of the PMd on each side showed conspicuous effector-selective activity to the contralateral movement. These findings suggest functional demarcation of the PMd between its rostral and dorsal parts during visuomotor mapping.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A gender- and sexual orientation-dependent spatial attentional effect of invisible images.

Human observers are constantly bombarded with a vast amount of information. Selective attention helps us to quickly process what is important while ignoring the irrelevant. In this study, we demonstrate that information that has not entered observers' consciousness, such as interocularly suppressed (invisible) erotic pictures, can direct the distribution of spatial attention. Furthermore, invisible erotic information can either attract or repel observers' spatial attention depending on their gender and sexual orientation. While unaware of the suppressed pictures, heterosexual males' attention was attracted to invisible female nudes, heterosexual females' attention was attracted to invisible male nudes, gay males behaved similarly to heterosexual females, and gay/bisexual females performed in-between heterosexual males and females.

Adult↗