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At least 1,297 records · Page 72Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Effects of ageing on gastrointestinal motor function.

BACKGROUND: Existing data on the effect of ageing on gastrointestinal motility are few. In this study, we assessed the propulsive effect of all main segments of the gastrointestinal tract in a group of healthy older people. METHODS: 16 healthy volunteers (eight women, eight men) of mean age 81 years (range 74-85 years) participated in the study. Gastric emptying and small intestinal and colonic transit rates were determined by gamma camera technique. The technique was also used to measure the postprandial frequency of antral contractions. Furthermore, we assessed the effects of gender, body mass index and smoking on the motility variables. The results were compared with data from 16 healthy individuals (eight women, eight men) of mean age 24 years (range 20-30 years). RESULTS: Advanced age did not influence gastric emptying or small intestinal transit rate. Older individuals had a slower colonic transit than young individuals (P = 0.0008). No difference was found in postprandial frequency of antral contractions between older and young subjects. None of the motility variables was affected by gender or body mass index. Smokers had a faster colonic transit than non-smokers (P = 0.0022). CONCLUSION: Normal ageing seems to reduce the propulsive capacity of the colon, whereas gastric and small intestinal motility is not affected.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The role of cutaneous afferents in position sense, kinaesthesia, and motor function of the hand.

In reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation work, for decades it has been a basic problem for the author to discover which of the peripheral receptor systems provide the primary information on position, motion and degree of load (proprioception). At one time, joint receptors were accepted as the dominant source and more recently musculocutaneous receptors, whereas little attention has been given to cutaneous factors. A number of clinical observations, however, have indicated the importance of cutaneous afferents and this prompted the present study. There are no means of isolating the joint receptors in order to test them alone, but the fact that very good kinaesthesia can be present in their absence militates against their importance. The cutaneous and musculotendinous factors were therefore studied independently in the forearm and hand in test subjects, partly by means of an extensive nerve blocking technique, but also in experiments of the type devised by Gelfan and Carter (1967). The latter proved to be much less simple than had earlier been claimed. The results of the experiments indicated that no kinaesthetic information reaching conscious level could be shown to arise from the musculocutaneous system, whereas the cutaneous afferents appeared to provide the dominant input. As this system can be readily examined and can be moved surgically to parts in need of proprioception, the practical consequences are obvious. It was also observed that signals arising from skin that is displaced over contracting muscle bellies or moving tendons remote from the activated parts of the limb could constitute an important source of error, overlooked in earlier studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Enhancement of two motor functions of the lower extremity in a child with spastic quadriplegia.

This single-subject experimental design examined the immediate effects of four neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) activities on two dependent variables: dorsiflexor muscle activity during an equilibrium response and frequency of heel contact during movement to a standing position. The subject was a 2.5-year-old boy with spastic quadriplegia. During the seven days of Baseline 1 Phase, the nine days of Treatment Phase, and the seven days of Baseline 2 Phase, dorsiflexor muscle activity was examined using an EMG instrument with surface electrodes. Frequency of heel contact was recorded as the number of times in seven trials that the child came to a standing position with his heel contacting the floor. Conditions were identical across all three phases except that four NDT activities were introduced during the Treatment Phase and were withdrawn during the Baseline 2 Phase. The results demonstrated that these NDT activities increased dorsiflexor muscle activity during a posterior equilibrium reaction and increased the frequency of heel contact when the child came to a standing position. This study contributes to the growing body of literature in NDT.

Biofeedback, Psychology↗
PubMed1993

Supraspinal mediation of dopamine-serotonin interactions in extrapyramidal motor functions in the rat.

The effects of intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) or intrathecally (i.t.) administrated 8-OH-DPAT on catalepsy, induced by the specific DA D2 antagonist raclopride (16 mg kg-1 s.c.), were studied in rats. It was found that 8-OH-DPAT (0.5 or 2.0 micrograms kg-1) injected by the i.c.v. route produced a statistically significant of raclopride-induced catalepsy at both doses. In contrast, 8-OH-DPAT (0.2 or 2.0 micrograms kg-1) given by the i.t. route had no statistically significant effect on the raclopride-induced catalepsy. These results suggest that the antagonistic effect of 8-OH-DPAT on catalepsy, induced by DA blocking agents, is primarily mediated at the supraspinal level.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗
PubMed1992

Acute opioid administration effects on sensory and motor function in baboons: buprenorphine, morphine, and naloxone.

The effects of acute administration of the opioid compounds buprenorphine, morphine, and naloxone were studied on auditory and visual threshold functions and reaction time performances in baboons. Baboons were trained in a reaction time procedure to hold a lever depressed, and release the lever when a signal was presented. Auditory and visual signals were employed in separate sessions. Drug was administered 30min prior to testing. Dose-related increases in visual and auditory thresholds were observed following buprenorphine, with visual thresholds being somewhat more drug-sensitive. Buprenorphine also increased reaction times to both high-intensity and low-intensity stimuli. High doses of morphine increased reaction times to high-intensity auditory and low-intensity visual stimuli; thresholds for both modalities were unaffected by any dose of morphine. Naloxone produced no consistent effects on thresholds or reaction times. False alarm rates were not significantly changed by buprenorphine, morphine, or naloxone.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Disorders of facial motor function.

This review deals with a variety of disorders of facial movement. Recent publications on blepharospasm, facial spasm, facial myokymia, apraxia of lid opening and facial paralysis are referenced and discussed. In blepharospasm, carefully performed electromyographic studies reveal a variety of abnormal patterns of contraction of the oribicularis oculi and the levator palpebrae muscles confirming the clinical impression that blepharospasm is not a homogeneous disease. Similar studies are furthering the understanding of apraxia of lid opening, which may involve sustained contraction of the orbicularis oculi with or without failure of levator palpebrae inhibition. In both conditions botulinum toxin A injected pretarsally appears to be the preferred treatment. Of interest with respect to apraxia of lid opening is that it may be the result of a failure to sustain eye opening as well as an inability to open the eyes voluntarily. Although the fact that bilateral facial spasm was found in only five of 702 patients with spasm suggests that it is infrequent, it is also possible that bilateral facial spasm may be underdiagnosed because of lack of awareness of its existence. Despite the continued enthusiasm of neurosurgeons for microvascular decompression, the preferred treatment for facial spasm continues to be botulinum toxin A injections. It appears that a lesion of the dorsolateral pontine postgenu portion of the facial nerve is responsible for the facial myokymia of patients with multiple sclerosis. Interest in the study of lid function has increased as a result of the advent of the search coil technique for recording lid movements. Recordings with this technique have proven useful in facial nerve palsy for monitoring the degree and course of recovery and as a means of judging the effectiveness of therapy.

Eyelid Diseases↗
PubMed1993

Sensory nerve recording for closed-loop control to restore motor functions.

A method is developed for using neural recordings to control functional electrical stimulation (FES) to nerves and muscles. Experiments were done in chronic cats with a goal of designing a rule-based controller to generate rhythmic movements of the ankle joint during treadmill locomotion. Neural signals from the tibial and superficial peroneal nerves were recorded with cuff electrodes and processed simultaneously with muscular signals from ankle flexors and extensors in the cat's hind limb. Cuff electrodes are an effective method for long-term chronic recording in peripheral nerves without causing discomfort or damage to the nerve. For real-time operation we designed a low-noise amplifier with a blanking circuit to minimize stimulation artifacts. We used threshold detection to design a simple rule-based control and compared its output to the pattern determined using adaptive neural networks. Both the threshold detection and adaptive networks are robust enough to accommodate the variability in neural recordings. The adaptive logic network used for this study is effective in mapping transfer functions and therefore applicable for determination of gait invariants to be used for closed-loop control in an FES system. Simple rule-bases will probably be chosen for initial applications to human patients. However, more complex FES applications require more complex rule-bases and better mapping of continuous neural recordings and muscular activity. Adaptive neural networks have promise for these more complex applications.

Action Potentials↗