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Results for “sensorimotor function”

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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1973

Effects of dibutyryl cyclic AMP on restoration of function of damaged sciatic nerve in rats.

In two experiments, the sciatic nerve of rats was either crushed or hemisected, and N(6),O(2)-dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate or saline was injected intramuscularly near the site of the lesion. In both types of nerve damage, the sensorimotor functions of animals treated with N(6),O(2)-dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate returned earlier than did those of saline-treated control animals.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Comparison of electrolytic and ibotenic acid lesions in the lateral hypothalamus.

Electrolytic lesions in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) seriously affect ingestive behavior and sensorimotor functions in the rat. We here report that bilateral infusions of the neurotoxin, ibotenic acid (IBO) in the LH yield a decrease in body weight, but not to the same extent as electrolytic lesions. The sensorimotor impairments were most severe after electrolytic lesions. When tested in a residential maze on days 5-7 and 18-20 after surgery, both lesioned groups showed no lack of motivation to seek food and water. Histological examination of the LH following IBO exposure revealed extensive degeneration of neuronal cell bodies with little evidence of non-specific damage. Biochemical analysis of the rostral forebrain content of norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) revealed that the fibers passing through the LH remained largely intact in the IBO treated rats. The results suggest that the observed aphagia and adipsia is not due to a lack of motivation, but rather reflects changes in the process which operate to initiate eating and drinking. Furthermore, selective neuronal degeneration induced the same behavioral changes as the electrolytic ones, though not to the same extent.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reflex modification and the detection of toxicant-induced auditory dysfunction.

There are numerous environmental chemicals that adversely impact sensory functioning in exposed populations. Test methods are needed that can rapidly and efficiently assess the potential of chemicals to induce sensory toxicity. Reflex modification of the startle response is a technique that provides rapid, objective and quantitative assessments of sensorimotor function. This procedure has been shown to be sensitive to a variety of neurotoxic compounds. Reflex modification can also provide independent estimates of chemical-induced alterations in both sensory and motor function. Future efforts should focus on expanding the use of this procedure in both the identification and characterization of neurotoxic chemicals.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

A psychobiologic analysis of cognitive failures. Structure and mechanisms.

Impairments in memory, learning, and related cognitive functions can vary in most psychiatric or neuropsychiatric disorders. Although many methods have been used to measure the presence and severity of cognitive symptoms, little progress has been made in defining and contrasting possible determinants of cognitive dysfunction. We propose a theoretical framework that describes impairments of higher mental functions in terms of both "extrinsic" noncognitive processes and "intrinsic" cognitive processes. The latter include effort (capacity) demanding processes; automatic processes; episodic (recent biographical) memory; and processes involved in accessing previously acquired knowledge. Noncognitive processes include sensitivity to reinforcement, activation, sensorimotor function, and mood. Each of these processes can be expressed at the time of information acquisition or retrieval from memory. Findings from clinical studies of patients suffering amnestic disorders, progressive dementias, and mood disorders illustrate the utility of such a model for understanding some of the determinants of cognitive dysfunction, for developing diagnostic tools, and for considering therapeutic strategies that may be useful in treating cognitive dysfunctions.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗

PubMed1990

Effects of temperature on nervous system: implications for behavioral performance.

Temperature change has a major impact on the function of the nervous system and its components, including altering synaptic gain and changing synaptic and conduction delays. Although many animals are subject to changes in body temperature, the degree of temperature change actually experienced by many poikilotherms is not well documented. The fact that many animals continue to exhibit coordinated sensorimotor function during changes in body temperature indicates that some form of temperature compensation has occurred within the nervous system. Compensations may occur automatically (opposing effects of temperature offsetting each other), they may be an inherent property of closed-loop systems, or they may be effected by more sophisticated control mechanisms such as those of the vertebrate cerebellum.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1985

Multiple sclerosis: understanding the psychologic implications.

To effectively care for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) the practitioner must be able to understand the common psychologic sequellae. These include not only those engendered by the patient's reaction to the disease, but also those reflecting alterations in central nervous system function. Although research literature on MS has many pitfalls and the quality of the results is thus uneven, important psychologic aspects of MS that have been consistently reported are depression and anxiety, euphoria, often in association with some degree of dementia, denial of illness or of impairments, irritability and apathy, coexisting psychiatric disorders, and cognitive impairment, particularly involving sensorimotor function, primary memory, and conceptual ability.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Receptor characteristics and recovery of function following kainic acid lesions and fetal transplants of the striatum. I. Cholinergic systems.

The relationship between striatal muscarinic cholinergic receptor development and locomotor activity/T-maze alternation behavior in adult female rats with kainic acid lesions (kal) and fetal transplants of the striatum (str) was examined. Kal led to a number of deficits under conditions of spontaneous locomotion, including: (1) decreased stereotypical and increased horizontal movements during spontaneous overnight locomotion, (2) decreased spontaneous alternation on a T-maze, and (3) deficits on a sensorimotor neurological exam. Lesion-induced deficits following injection with cholinergic agonists (pilocarpine)/antagonists (scopolamine) included: (1) hypoactivity on vertical activity and stereotypical activity following scopolamine injection, and (2) increased stereotypical activity and decreased horizontal activity following pilocarpine injection. Transplants differentially affected the different types of behavioral deficits. Transplants reversed some of the deficits under conditions of spontaneous locomotion, including the hyperactivity noted during the night period, but only partially reversed the sensorimotor neurological exam and had no effect on spontaneous alternations in the T-maze. The transplants did not reverse the lesion-induced deficits following scopolamine injection, but partially reversed the lesion-induced changes in locomotion following pilocarpine injection. The striatal transplants had reduced numbers of M1 but increased numbers of M2 muscarinic cholinergic receptors. Cholinergic receptor density correlated with scores on the sensorimotor functioning and alternation tasks, but not with the locomotor measures. Conversely, the cross-sectional area of the str correlated strongly with the transplant-induced recovery in the lesion group. These results suggest that the development of cholinergic receptor systems within the transplants proceeds abnormally, and that the abnormal development of the transplant may impact on the transplant's ability to remediate lesion-induced deficits.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Anorectal physiology validated: a repeatability study of the motor and sensory tests of anorectal function.

Sixteen subjects (mean (s.d.) age 50.7 (12.8) years, three men) were studied on two separate occasions by two experienced investigators in random order. A standard protocol of anatomical, manometric and electrophysiological assessments of anorectal motor and sensory function was followed. No significant differences were found between the results obtained by the two investigators in the measurements of perineal descent, anal canal length, and canal resting pressure and squeeze pressure, pudendal nerve terminal motor latency, single-fibre electromyography fibre density of the external anal sphincter, and thresholds of mucosal electrosensitivity. This study shows that the standard tests of anorectal sensorimotor function are repeatable by different investigators. In addition, it suggests that comparison of data obtained in different centres using these techniques is valid.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Correction of muscle imbalance in spasticity.

A summary is presented of observations made and results obtained during evaluation and preliminary treatment of twenty-one predominantly spastic cerebral palsied subjects, whose neuromuscular function was studied in each of four positions (supine, prone, kneeling and sitting on the floor) and in three dynamic situations (rising to standing, maintaining standing balance, and ambulating). A description is given of the procedures utilized to; (i) correct the imbalance of muscle tone imposing abnormal "resting" joint positions and limiting the range of their voluntary movements, and (ii) assist them in developing the sensorimotor function requisite for postural stability and voluntary motor control, involving exercises performed in each of the four positions and in transitions between them. Resistance exercises performed with the investigator and independent exercises both were included in the program. Case studies of a six-year-old spastic with "pre-athetoid" tendencies, an 11-year old spastic and a 32-year-old spastic are provided to illustrate typical initial evaluations, therapeutic activities subsequently utilized to improve neuromuscular function, and results thereby obtained.

Adult↗

PubMed1975

The basal ganglia. A brief review and interpretation.

The data reviewed suggest that: 1. The BG are not only concerned with motor functions. 2. The BG are not directly involved in the control of neurophysiological, behavioral or homeostatic functions at a primary, elementary level. Thus, the effects of total ablation of the main component of the system, i,e. the caudate nuclei, demonstrates that the BG are not indispensable for life consciousness or the basic elementary integration of movements or sensory processes. 3. The BG operate at a high level of CNS integration and appears to be involved in two main types of, generally speaking, sensorimotor functions: a) The control of some of the organism-environment inter-relationships, both at a behavioral and neurological levels, a context of regulating the balance between approach and avoidance reactions. Some of the features of the acaudate cats suggest that this regulation might also include affective type reactions. b) The preparation or "setting up" of the organism for performance of both complex motor responses (response set), and of task requiring a high level of cognition (cognitive set). 26 High level of integration means here that, in the above functions, the BG control most probably operates upon performances not triggered reflexy, directly or indirectly, from the periphery but originated internally either "volitionally" or generated by symbolic, e.g. verbal, instructions. 4. The above functions appears to be accomplished by means of a modulatory action upon afferent signals arriving into the telencephalon and triggering efferent activities through forebrain output structures, particularly the neocortex. In normal conditions such modulation is seemingly carried on by means of a selective, flexible play of the intrinsic inhibitory mechanisms of the BG. When such control is disturbed either by pathology or by experimental manipulations, abnormal functional manifestations occur. These can be understood along the general concepts of (a) "release" from the BG inhibitory control ("compulsory approaching", hyperactivity, hyper reactivity, involuntary movements, abnormal postures, rigidity) or (b) "deficit" of the "setting up" for action postulated as a positive effect of striatal modulation (akinesia). The latter is viewed, therefore, as a permissive effect of the modulation, i.e., by selective removal of the inhibition, action is allowed to go through and to be expressed in actual performance. 5. Since lesions to individual BG structures, produced either neurosurgically in man or experimentally in animals, appear not to be capable of reproducing the complete clinical manifestations of any of the BG diseases, it follows that most of the BG syndromes in man must result from involvement of several BG components and often of other brain areas as well. More experimental work using the multiple lesions approach is needed to further ascertain this statement. 6. The literature on the effect of lesions and stimulation experiments, in particular, suggest that the BG are also involved in mental processes...

Acetylcholine↗

PubMed1987

A critical examination of vestibular function in motor-impaired learning-disabled children.

This study examined the role of the vestibular system in balance and coordination problems found in motor-impaired, learning-disabled (LD) children. Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and vestibulo-spinal tests (moving platform posturography) were performed on 15 learning disabled and 54 normal children. Twelve LD children had normal VOR scores suggesting normal peripheral vestibular inputs. All 15 LD children had abnormal posturography. Motor-impaired LD children could not appropriately integrate vestibular information with visual and somatosensory inputs for postural orientation. Results suggest that the best discriminator of abnormal sensorimotor function in LD children are posturography trials requiring orientation to gravity despite absent or inaccurate visual and somatosensory cues, rather than traditionally relied on VOR and Romberg tests.

Child↗

PubMed1992

Protective effects of brain hypothermia on behavior and histopathology following global cerebral ischemia in rats.

The present experiments were designed to assess whether brain hypothermia can reduce the behavioral and histopathological deficits associated with global forebrain ischemia. Animals were subjected to 12.5 min of four vessel occlusion (4VO) with moderate hypotension, and brain temperature maintained at either 37 degrees C (4VO-37) or 30 degrees C (4VO-30). Behavioral tests designed to assess forelimb reflexes and sensorimotor function were given on post-operative weeks 2 and 4. Beginning in week 5, the rats were trained on a variety of navigation problems in the Morris water maze. Histopathological examination of the tissue 2 months following reperfusion revealed that 4VO-37 animals sustained substantial cell death in hippocampal region CA1 and moderate damage to the dorsolateral neostriatum. 4VO-30 animals showed minimal cell death in CA1 and neostriatum. There were no group differences for any of the sensorimotor measures, or for acquisition performance on either the simple place task or visible platform version of the water maze. In contrast, during acquisition of the learning set task, the performance of 4VO-37 animals was impaired relative to either of the other groups, whereas the performance of 4VO-30 animals was not significantly different from the sham controls. These data suggest that moderate intra-ischemic brain hypothermia provides long-lasting protection from behavioral deficits as well as neuronal injury following transient global ischemia.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

The formalin test: an evaluation of the method.

The formalin test for nociception, which is predominantly used with rats and mice, involves moderate, continuous pain generated by injured tissue. In this way it differs from most traditional tests of nociception which rely upon brief stimuli of threshold intensity. In this article we describe the main features of the formalin test, including the characteristics of the stimulus and how changes in nociceptive behaviour may be measured and interpreted. The response to formalin shows an early and a late phase. The early phase seems to be caused predominantly by C-fibre activation due to the peripheral stimulus, while the late phase appears to be dependent on the combination of an inflammatory reaction in the peripheral tissue and functional changes in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. These functional changes seem to be initiated by the C-fibre barrage during the early phase. In mice, the behavioural response in the late phase depends on the ambient temperature. We argue that the peripheral tissue temperature as well as other factors influencing the peripheral inflammation may affect the response, possibly confounding the results obtained with the test. Furthermore, we discuss the methods of recording the response and the value of observing more than one aspect of behaviour. Scoring of several behavioural variables provides a means of assessing motor or sensorimotor function as possible causes for changes in behaviour. In conclusion, the formalin test is a valuable addition to the battery of methods available to study nociception.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Stooling problems in patients with myelomeningocele.

In children with myelomeningocele fecal and urinary incontinence lowers self-esteem and decreases social interaction. The defects in the lumbosacral spine disturb the sensory and motor nerves supplying the skin and muscles of the perianal region, including the puborectalis muscle, and the external anal sphincter. The sensations in the region, as well as the motor functions of the striated muscles suffer, compromising the dynamics of continence and the normal process of stooling and leading to incontinence and constipation. Constipation has been treated by disimpaction of stools from the colon and rectum, administration of stool softeners, and a healthy diet containing adequate bulk-forming items. Incontinence has usually been managed by behavior modification of self-initiating stooling after meals and positive reinforcement of this process. This method has helped up to 75% of patients to become socially continent. Biofeedback training has been helpful in patients who have preservation of some sensorimotor functions in the perianal region and who understand and cooperate in the process of biofeedback training. The enema continence catheter has been used to empty the rectosigmoid every 48 hours; most children treated in this manner have achieved social continence. Electric stimulation of the pudendal nerves using a neuroprosthetic device has been used in some patients. The pudendal nerve is stimulated continuously to achieve continence; stimulation is discontinued only for stooling and/or urination.

Biofeedback, Psychology↗

PubMed1990

[Dyslexia-- a peculiar form of heterophoria?].

The authors discuss the problem of legasthenia--a particular impediment in the learning of fluent reading and orthographic writing. One connects it with a form of heterophoria in which the eyes--because of an inacurate and changeable function of binocular vision are unable to exert precise saccadic movements enabling a binocular or precisely unimacular reading. A childish art of following with the eyes from one detail to the other during the learning of reading must be transformed into minute fixation movements in conditions of a permanent excitation of convergence and accommodation to which the child is not accustomed. This leads sometimes to a false positioning of the eyes and in the consequence to a spatial disorganization in the succeeding set of letters. Therapeutical results show that as well legasthenia as its complications in the general behaviour of the child are receding together with the improvement of the sensorimotor functions of the eye.

Child↗

PubMed1992

[Functional sensory and motor asymmetry profile in patients with neuroses and those with diseases of the digestive system].

Functional sensorimotor asymmetry (FSMA) was analyzed in 21 healthy volunteers, 19 neurotic patients and 29 patients suffering from alimentary diseases. Among the neurotic patients, there prevailed those with the left profile of FSMA as compared to the group of healthy persons. As to the group of the patients with alimentary diseases, a subgroup of persons with no disturbances of emotional information perception by the neurotic type was distinguished according to the psychophysiological characteristics. Among those persons in the given representative sample, none showed the left and symmetric profiles of FSMA.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Lesion localization in apractic agraphia.

Apractic agraphia is an impairment in writing in which the actual orthographic production of letters and words is abnormal despite normal sensorimotor function, visual feedback, and word and letter knowledge. We report one case and review the limited clinicoanatomical literature. Analysis of available cases supports the hypothesis that apractic agraphia is one of several related clinical disorders that are due to the loss of spatially and kinesthetically modulated movements. It is produced by lesions in the superior parietal lobule, usually in the hemisphere dominant for language.

Aged↗

PubMed1985

Relative brain size in monkeys and prosimians.

Prosimians have smaller brains relative to their body sizes than do monkeys. Brain and body weights, however, are associated not only on the basis of the brain integrating sensorimotor functions, but also on the basis of the body's requirement to support the energetic needs of the brain. Prosimians differ from monkeys in that they have lower rates of oxygen turnover. When body size is adjusted for its rate of oxygen turnover, monkeys and prosimians have equivalent relative brain sizes. A consideration of the brain's energy requirements helps to clarify brain-body relationships.

Animals↗