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PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of finite phosphor thickness on detective quantum efficiency.

In this paper we describe theoretically the relationship between the finite thickness of a phosphor screen and its spatial-frequency-dependent detective quantum efficiency DQE(f-). The finite thickness of the screen causes a variation in both the total number of light quanta emitted from the screen in a burst from a given x-ray interaction and in the spatial distribution of the quanta within the light burst [i.e., shape or point spread function (PSF) of the light burst]. The variation in magnitude of the burst gives rise to a spatial-frequency-independent reduction in DQE, characterized by the scintillation efficiency As. The variation in PSF causes a roll off in DQE with increasing spatial frequency which we have characterized by the function Rc(f). Both As and Rc(f) can be determined from the moments of the distribution of the spatial Fourier spectrum of light bursts emitted from the phosphor and thus they are related: As is a scaling factor for Rc(f). Our theory predicts that it is necessary for all light bursts which appear at the output to have the same magnitude to maximize As and the same shape to maximize Rc(f). These requirements can lead to the result that the fluorescent screen with the highest modulation transfer function will not necessarily have the highest DQE(f) even at high spatial frequencies.

Fourier Analysis↗

PubMed1996

Behavioural and neural bases of orientation in food-storing birds

Food-storing birds retrieve hoarded food by remembering the locations of large numbers of spatially dispersed caches. The basic patterns of spatial orientation in these animals have been established in research on two major groups of food-storing birds, chickadees and tits (Paridae), and jays and nutcrackers (Corvidae). Experiments using displacement of landmark arrays show that food-storing birds rely on visual information from nearby landmarks to locate concealed caches. The appearance of the cache sites themselves seems to be relatively unimportant in cache retrieval, perhaps because local features are subject to change during the lifetime of a cache. Under some conditions, food-storing birds use sun-compass information to orient their search for caches, but appear to integrate sun-compass information with landmark information. Lesions of the avian hippocampus disrupt cache retrieval and other spatial tasks in food-storing birds without disrupting the formation of simple associations. Comparative studies show that food-storing birds possess a hippocampus larger than that of non-food-storing birds, probably as an evolutionary consequence of their dependence on spatial orientation for cache retrieval. Experience with cache retrieval plays a role in the development of increased hippocampal size, and there are indications of seasonal variation in hippocampal size in food-storing species.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1987

Blockade of spatial learning by the M1 muscarinic antagonist pirenzepine.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of the M1 muscarinic receptor antagonist pirenzepine on place navigation in a water maze. In the first experiment rats were required to learn the location of a hidden platform following intracerebroventricular injections of equimolar doses of pirenzepine or scopolamine methylbromide. Both drugs dose-dependently impaired spatial learning according to both escape latency data and transfer test analysis. Pirenzepine was approximately 3 times less potent than scopolamine, a potency ratio which suggests M1 receptor mediation of the impairment. In the second experiment pirenzepine (1 approximately 92.3 micrograms/rat ICV) was injected prior to training on a simultaneous place discrimination task in the water maze. Impairments of choice accuracy were found with a dose of 20 micrograms/rat in the absence of any marked increases in either errors of omission or choice latency. These data suggest that M1 receptor blockade impairs processes which are involved in spatial learning.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Direct visualization of MCM helicase activation and replisome coupling in situ.

Deciphering the spatial organization of molecular machines that copy the genome remains a fundamental challenge in biology. Essential for eukaryotic DNA replication, Mini-Chromosome Maintenance (MCM2-7) helicases are loaded during G1 as double hexamers (DHs) to license replication origins. Upon activation in S phase, each DH is thought to split into two single hexamers (SHs) that form the active CMG helicases and travel bidirectionally. However, the field has long been divided: biochemical and structural studies define CMG helicases as autonomous, independent motors, while genomic and cellular imaging assays suggest sister replisomes remain physically coupled within replication factories. Here, we use MINFLUX nanoscopy to localize individual MCM complexes down to nanometer precision in situ, directly resolving DHs in human cells and capturing their separation into SHs upon origin firing. We find that the resulting sister replisomes do not diffuse apart: they remain coupled at a characteristic distance of ~40 nm throughout S phase. Depletion experiments identify two distinct contributions to this coupling: local, protein-mediated tethering by the AND1 scaffold, and higher-order spatial confinement dependent on cohesin, which is dispensable for MCM loading in G1 but required to maintain coupling in S phase. By linking the nanometer-scale architecture of the replisome to the genome-wide topology of replication fountains, these findings provide direct spatial evidence that sister forks are coupled during DNA synthesis and define the molecular forces that organize replisomes within their native nuclear context.

DNA replication↗

PubMed2002

Neurogenesis may relate to some but not all types of hippocampal-dependent learning.

The hippocampal formation generates new neurons throughout adulthood. Recent studies indicate that these cells possess the morphology and physiological properties of more established neurons. However, the function of adult generated neurons is still a matter of debate. We previously demonstrated that certain forms of associative learning can enhance the survival of new neurons and a reduction in neurogenesis coincides with impaired learning of the hippocampal-dependent task of trace eyeblink conditioning. Using the toxin methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) for proliferating cells, we tested whether reduction of neurogenesis affected learning and performance associated with different hippocampal dependent tasks: spatial navigation learning in a Morris water maze, fear responses to context and an explicit cue after training with a trace fear paradigm. We also examined exploratory behavior in an elevated plus maze. Rats were injected with MAM (7 mg/kg) or saline for 14 days, concurrent with BrdU, to label new neurons on days 10, 12, and 14. After treatment, groups of rats were tested in the various tasks. A significant reduction in new neurons in the adult hippocampus was associated with impaired performance in some tasks, but not with others. Specifically, treatment with the antimitotic agent reduced the amount of fear acquired after exposure to a trace fear conditioning paradigm but did not affect contextual fear conditioning or spatial navigation learning in the Morris water maze. Nor did MAM treatment affect exploration in the elevated plus maze. These results combined with previous ones suggest that neurogenesis may be associated with the formation of some but not all types of hippocampal-dependent memories.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Spatial selectivity of contrast adaptation: models and data.

Contrast threshold elevation was measured in human observers at a single spatial frequency (4 or 8 c/deg) after adaptation to gratings at different contrasts and spatial frequencies. When plotted against adapting contrast, the threshold elevation functions for different adapting frequencies were neither straight nor parallel, which poses difficulties for the "equivalent contrast transformation". The different functions appear to form a single family, differing by a scaling factor that depends on spatial frequency but is independent of contrast. This is similar to expressing the aftereffect as a proportion of its peak value. A multiple channel, "fatigue" model of adaptation is shown to be consistent with the results, provided the channel shape is appropriate and channels overlap considerably in the frequency domain. Channel bandwidth is estimated at 1.4 octaves, similar to that of cortical cells.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

PubMed1980

The contrast sensitivity, spatial resolution and velocity tuning of the cat's optokinetic reflex.

1. Optokinetic nystagmus has been evoked from two cats using horizontally moving vertical grating patterns with sinusoidally modulated wave forms (mean luminance 8.5 cd/m2). Eye movements were recorded by DC electro-oculography. 2. The velocity 'tuning' of the slow phase response was measured for high-contrast (0.8) gratings with spatial frequencies ranging from 0.18 to 2.8 cycles/deg. Irrespective of spatial frequency, the gain of slow phase tracking always declined as the stimulus velocity exceeded 5-8 deg/sec. 3. The effect of variations in grating contrast on the gain of slow phase tracking was investigated for spatial frequencies ranging from 0.04 to 2.8 cycles/deg. These gratings always moved at a velocity of 3 deg/sec. Reductions in grating contrast produced a fall in the gain of slow phase tracking. At any given contrast, the extent of the fall in gain depended on spatial frequency. At no value of spatial frequency was an optokinetic response demonstrable when the contrast fell below 0.02. 4. The above results have been used to derive the threshold contrast for evoking an optokinetic response at each spatial frequency tested. A contrast sensitivity function is plotted from these threshold contrasts, and this is compared with previous estimates of the cat's contrast sensitivity function derived from measurements of visual discrimination and cortical evoked potentials.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Temporal limits of brightness induction and mechanisms of brightness perception.

The luminance of a squarewave grating was modulated in a manner such that every other stripe temporally varied between bright and dark and the intervening stripes had constant luminance. This produces brightness induction in the constant stripes, roughly in antiphase to the luminance modulation. We used this stimulus as a probe to explore the temporal properties of brightness induction and the mechanisms determining perceived brightness. Over a range of spatial frequencies we measured: (1) the highest temporal frequency at which brightness induction occurs; (2) the magnitude of induced brightness; and (3) the temporal phase of the induced brightness modulation. We find that brightness induction ceases with luminance modulation above a cutoff temporal frequency that depends on spatial frequency. The magnitude of induced brightness modulation is greatest at low spatial frequencies and low temporal frequencies. Induced brightness lags behind the luminance modulation and this phase lag increases as spatial frequency decreases. All of these findings can be understood as consequences of an induction process that takes longer to complete as the induction region increases in size.

Contrast Sensitivity↗

PubMed2006

Phosphodiesterase 1B differentially modulates the effects of methamphetamine on locomotor activity and spatial learning through DARPP32-dependent pathways: evidence from PDE1B-DARPP32 double-knockout mice.

Mice lacking phosphodiesterase 1B (PDE1B) exhibit an exaggerated locomotor response to D-methamphetamine and increased in vitro phosphorylation of DARPP32 (dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, M r 32 kDa) at Thr34 in striatal brain slices treated with the D1 receptor agonist, SKF81297. These results indicated a possible regulatory role for PDE1B in pathways involving DARPP32. Here, we generated PDE1B x DARPP32 double-knockout (double-KO) mice to test the role of PDE1B in DARPP32-dependent pathways in vivo. Analysis of the response to d-methamphetamine on locomotor activity showed that the hyperactivity experienced by PDE1B mutant mice was blocked in PDE1B-/- x DARPP32-/- double-KO mice, consistent with participation of PDE1B and DARPP32 in the same pathway. Further behavioral testing in the elevated zero-maze revealed that DARPP32-/- mice showed a less anxious phenotype that was nullified in double-mutant mice. In contrast, in the Morris water maze, double-KO mice showed deficits in spatial reversal learning not observed in either single mutant compared with wild-type mice. The data suggest a role for PDE1B in locomotor responses to psychostimulants through modulation of DARPP32-dependent pathways; however, this modulation does not necessarily impact other behaviors, such as anxiety or learning. Instead, the phenotype of double-KOs observed in these latter tasks may be mediated through independent pathways.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A contribution of sparse matrices tools to matrix population model analysis.

When one wants to study the dynamics of structured populations, matrix type models are widely used. The complexity of such models increases with the number of classes of individuals considered, and a mathematical analysis becomes difficult to perform when a further heterogeneous spatial structure is introduced. The use of efficient computational tools is also required for numerical simulations. In this note we deal with the contribution of sparse matrices tools which allow to numerically simulate and to numerically perform stability analysis of large sized structured population models including density dependence and spatial heterogeneities. Our main motivation through this work is to show that such numerical tools can be useful when mathematical methods become difficult to employ.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Multiscale assessment of patterns of avian species richness.

The search for a common cause of species richness gradients has spawned more than 100 explanatory hypotheses in just the past two decades. Despite recent conceptual advances, further refinement of the most plausible models has been stifled by the difficulty of compiling high-resolution databases at continental scales. We used a database of the geographic ranges of 2,869 species of birds breeding in South America (nearly a third of the world's living avian species) to explore the influence of climate, quadrat area, ecosystem diversity, and topography on species richness gradients at 10 spatial scales (quadrat area, approximately 12,300 to approximately 1,225,000 km(2)). Topography, precipitation, topography x latitude, ecosystem diversity, and cloud cover emerged as the most important predictors of regional variability of species richness in regression models incorporating 16 independent variables, although ranking of variables depended on spatial scale. Direct measures of ambient energy such as mean and maximum temperature were of ancillary importance. Species richness values for 1 degrees x 1 degrees latitude-longitude quadrats in the Andes (peaking at 845 species) were approximately 30-250% greater than those recorded at equivalent latitudes in the central Amazon basin. These findings reflect the extraordinary abundance of species associated with humid montane regions at equatorial latitudes and the importance of orography in avian speciation. In a broader context, our data reinforce the hypothesis that terrestrial species richness from the equator to the poles is ultimately governed by a synergism between climate and coarse-scale topographic heterogeneity.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Detective quantum efficiency of an amorphous selenium detector to megavoltage radiation.

The spatial frequency dependent detective quantum efficiency (DQE(f)) of a high-resolution selenium-based imaging system has been measured at megavoltage energies. These results have been compared with theoretical calculations. The imaging system was a video tube with a 5 microm amorphous selenium (a-Se) target which was irradiated by 1.25 MeV gamma-rays. The modulation transfer function (MTF) decreased rapidly with spatial frequency (determined by spread of electrons in the build-up material) while the noise power spectrum was constant as a function of spatial frequency. The DQE obtained from these MTF and noise power measurements was compared with a Monte Carlo model of the pulse height spectrum of the detector. The DQE(0) model accounted for the interaction of x rays with the detector as well as the energy-dependent gain (charge generated/energy deposition). Good agreement between the calculated and measured DQE(0) was found. The model was also used to estimate the DQE(f) of a metal plate + a-Se detector which was compared with a metal plate + phosphor system of the same mass thickness. The DQE(f) s of both detectors are very similar, indicating that the choice of which detector is better will be based upon criteria other than DQE(f), such as read-out approach, ease of manufacture or sensitivity.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

PubMed2000

Latent attractors: a model for context-dependent place representations in the hippocampus.

Cells throughout the rodent hippocampal system show place-specific patterns of firing called place fields, creating a coarse-coded representation of location. The dependencies of this place code--or cognitive map--on sensory cues have been investigated extensively, and several computational models have been developed to explain them. However, place representations also exhibit strong dependence on spatial and behavioral context, and identical sensory environments can produce very different place codes in different situations. Several recent studies have proposed models for the computational basis of this phenomenon, but it is still not completely understood. In this article, we present a very simple connectionist model for producing context-dependent place representations in the hippocampus. We propose that context dependence arises in the dentate gyrus-hilus (DGH) system, which functions as a dynamic selector, disposing a small group of granule and pyramidal cells to fire in response to afferent stimulus while depressing the rest. It is hypothesized that the DGH system dynamics has "latent attractors," which are unmasked by the afferent input and channel system activity into subpopulations of cells in the DG, CA3, and other hippocampal regions as observed experimentally. The proposed model shows that a minimally structured hippocampus-like system can robustly produce context-dependent place codes with realistic attributes.

Aging↗

PubMed2004

Spatial-scale interaction in human stereoscopic vision in response to sustained and transient stimuli.

We investigated temporal properties of stereopsis at different spatial scales in dynamic random-dot stereograms (DRS) consisting of (i) the repeated presentation of two image pairs (i.e. sustained presentation) and (ii) single presentations of two image pairs (transient presentation). In dense stereograms perception of depth is possible if the levels of interocular correlation are above a certain threshold. Therefore, detection of correlation is an important step in stereopsis. Across different experiments, we varied the level of interocular correlation as a function of time by alternating correlated and un/anticorrelated random-dot stereograms. Also, we varied their spatial scale (coarse, fine and alternating between coarse and fine). The presence of stereopsis was examined using a forced-choice depth detection task. For both sustained and transient presentations of the stimuli, the results show that (i) stereopsis has similar temporal properties at coarse and fine spatial scales; (ii) interaction between spatial scales depends on their relative sizes. The results indicate a strong inhibitory influence of rivalry at a coarse scale on stereopsis at a fine scale, and just a weak inhibitory influence of rivalry at a fine scale on stereopsis at a coarse scale. This study provides experimental evidence for a hierarchical organisation of spatial scales in human stereoscopic vision based on neural interaction instead of vergence eye movements.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Sequence learning in Parkinson's disease: the effect of spatial stimulus-response compatibility.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have repeatedly demonstrated reduced sequence-specific learning effects in serial reaction time tasks (SRTs). Previous research with PD patients has mainly employed the 'classical' SRT task, involving a spatially compatible assignment of stimuli and responses. From cognitive research, it is known that spatial compatibility triggers rapid, automatic responses in the direction of the stimulus. Automatic responding has shown to be disinhibited in PD patients and may therefore interfere with stimulus anticipation during the learning process. The aim of the present study was to test this hypothesis by investigating if reduced sequence-specific learning depends on spatial stimulus-response compatibility. PD patients and age-matched controls were examined either with an SRT variant involving central stimulus presentation, thereby preventing automatic linking of stimulus and response locations, or with a spatially compatible SRT task. Patients showed reduced sequence-specific learning effects only when the stimulus-response assignment was spatially compatible. This pattern of results confirms the hypothesis that sequence learning deficits in PD may result from a predominance of automatic response activation over learning-based stimulus anticipations during the learning phase.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Spatio-temporal statistical models for river monitoring networks.

When introducing new wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), investors and policy makers often want to know if there indeed is a beneficial effect of the installation of a WWTP on the river water quality. Such an effect can be established in time as well as in space. Since both temporal and spatial components affect the output of a monitoring network, their dependence structure has to be modelled. River water quality data typically come from a river monitoring network for which the spatial dependence structure is unidirectional. Thus the traditional spatio-temporal models are not appropriate, as they cannot take advantage of this directional information. In this paper, a state-space model is presented in which the spatial dependence of the state variable is represented by a directed acyclic graph, and the temporal dependence by a first-order autoregressive process. The state-space model is extended with a linear model for the mean to estimate the effect of the activation of a WWTP on the dissolved oxygen concentration downstream.

Data Collection↗

PubMed1998

Forebrain pathway for auditory space processing in the barn owl.

The forebrain plays an important role in many aspects of sound localization behavior. Yet, the forebrain pathway that processes auditory spatial information is not known for any species. Using standard anatomic labeling techniques, we used a "top-down" approach to trace the flow of auditory spatial information from an output area of the forebrain sound localization pathway (the auditory archistriatum, AAr), back through the forebrain, and into the auditory midbrain. Previous work has demonstrated that AAr units are specialized for auditory space processing. The results presented here show that the AAr receives afferent input from Field L both directly and indirectly via the caudolateral neostriatum. Afferent input to Field L originates mainly in the auditory thalamus, nucleus ovoidalis, which, in turn, receives input from the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus. In addition, we confirmed previously reported projections of the AAr to the basal ganglia, the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICX), the deep layers of the optic tectum, and various brain stem nuclei. A series of inactivation experiments demonstrated that the sharp tuning of AAr sites for binaural spatial cues depends on Field L input but not on input from the auditory space map in the midbrain ICX: pharmacological inactivation of Field L eliminated completely auditory responses in the AAr, whereas bilateral ablation of the midbrain ICX had no appreciable effect on AAr responses. We conclude, therefore, that the forebrain sound localization pathway can process auditory spatial information independently of the midbrain localization pathway.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Visual-vestibular interaction studied with stroboscopically illuminated visual patterns.

Horizontal DC-electrooculograms were recorded in subjects rotating on a horizontal turntable sinusoidally at 0.1 Hz and 35 to 40 degrees amplitude. The subjects either fixated a stroboscopically illuminated vertically striped pattern (1.15 to 3.45 degrees period) rotating with the turntable or initiated Sigma-OKN before the rotation began and tried to maintain Sigma-OKN during rotation. In a third paradigm, interaction of vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and Phi-OKN was studied. VOR-suppression by fixation was complete within the limits of EOG-recording precision (+/- 1 degree X s-1) for flash frequencies fs greater than 10 flashes X s-1. VOR-suppression decreased monotonically with fs between 10 and 1 flashes X s-1. A similar dependency on fs was found for VOR-suppression during Sigma- or Phi-OKN. Above 10 flashes X s-1 VOR-suppression remained incomplete; below 5 flashes X s-1 VOR-suppression was stronger with the Sigma-OKN paradigm than during fixation and depended on spatial frequency of the pattern. During sinewave rotation of the subject the perceived speed Vp of Sigma-movement correlated to the movement of gaze in space and not to the movement of the eye in head. In a control experiment with normal optokinetic stimulation, OKN-suppression by fixating a small flashing target was found to depend on fs in a similar way as VOR-suppression in the experiments described above.

Adult↗