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Frequency response in surface-potential driven electrohydrodynamics.

Using a Fourier approach we offer a general solution to calculations of slip velocity within the circuit description of the electrohydrodynamics in a binary electrolyte confined by a plane surface with a modulated surface potential. We consider the case with a spatially constant intrinsic surface capacitance where the net flow rate is, in general, zero while harmonic rolls as well as time-averaged vortexlike components may exist depending on the spatial symmetry and extension of the surface potential. In general, the system displays a resonance behavior at a frequency corresponding to the inverse time of the system. Different surface potentials share the common feature that the resonance frequency is inversely proportional to the characteristic length scale of the surface potential. For the asymptotic frequency dependence above resonance we find a omega(-2) power law for surface potentials with either an even or an odd symmetry. Below resonance we also find a power law omega(alpha) with alpha being positive and dependent of the properties of the surface potential. Comparing a tanh potential and a sech potential we qualitatively find the same slip velocity, but for the below-resonance frequency response the two potentials display different power-law asymptotics with alpha=1 and alpha approximately 2, respectively.

Journal Article↗

Spatial processing and hemispheric asymmetry. Contributions of the transient/magnocellular visual system.

Right-handed observers were presented with stimuli consisting of a line and two horizontally separated dots. A categorical spatial task required observers to indicate whether the dots were above or below the line, and a coordinate spatial task required observers to indicate whether the line could fit into the space between the two dots. For the coordinate task, reaction time was faster when the stimuli were presented to the left visual field (right hemisphere) than when the stimuli were presented to the right visual field (left hemisphere). The opposite hemispheric asymmetry was obtained for the categorical task. In addition, coordinate spatial processing took longer with stimuli presented on a red background than with stimuli presented on a green background. The opposite hemispheric asymmetry was obtained for the categorical task. In addition, coordinate spatial processing took longer with stimuli presented on a red background than with stimuli presented on a green background. The opposite trend characterized categorical spatial processing. Because the color red attenuates processing in the transient/magnocellular visual pathway, these results suggest that coordinate spatial processing is more dependent on the transient/magnocellular pathway than is categorical spatial processing. However, manipulations of color condition had no effect on visual field (hemispheric) asymmetries, suggesting that the two hemispheres rely on the same visual information and on the same computational mechanisms as each other-although they do not always use that information with equal efficiency.

Adult↗

Tracking visual search over space and time.

Visual perception consists of early preattentive processing and subsequent attention-demanding processing. Most researchers implicitly treat preattentive processing as a domain-dependent, indivisible stage. We show, however, by interrupting preattentive visual processing of color before its completion, that it can be dissected both temporally and spatially. The experiment depends on changing easy (preattentive) selection into difficult (attention-demanding) selection. We show that although the mechanism subserving preattentive selection completes processing as early as 200 msec after stimulus onset, partial selection information is available well before completion. Furthermore, partial selection occurs first at locations near fixation, spreading radially outward as processing proceeds.

Adult↗

Spatial frequency tuning of the Ouchi illusion and its dependence on stimulus size.

This study investigated the effects of the stimulus size on the spatial frequency tuning of the Ouchi illusion, which is an illusory sliding motion perceived in a checkerboard pattern of rectangular elements that is surrounded by a checkerboard pattern of orthogonally oriented elements. Two experiments were conducted to measure the perceived strength of illusion. The optimal size of the inner pattern increased proportionally with check size. In contrast, the optimal check size increased with the size of the inner pattern but not proportionally, and the range of increase was relatively small. The optimal fundamental spatial frequency was lower for a larger stimulus both for checkerboard patterns and simpler sinusoidal grating patterns, but there were differences in the tuning curves for the two types of stimuli. These results support the idea that two processes underlie the Ouchi illusion; one computes the local motion direction, and the other integrates motion signals across space for surface segmentation. For the checkerboard and grating stimuli, the former process may be different while the latter can be shared.

Humans↗

Cortical dynamics of visual motion perception: short-range and long-range apparent motion.

This article describes further evidence for a new neural network theory of biological motion perception. The theory clarifies why parallel streams V1----V2, V1----MT, and V1----V2----MT exist for static form and motion form processing among the areas V1, V2, and MT of visual cortex. The theory suggests that the static form system (Static BCS) generates emergent boundary segmentations whose outputs are insensitive to direction-of-contrast and to direction-of-motion, whereas the motion form system (Motion BCS) generates emergent boundary segmentations whose outputs are insensitive to direction-of-contrast but sensitive to direction-of-motion. The theory is used to explain classical and recent data about short-range and long-range apparent motion percepts that have not yet been explained by alternative models. These data include beta motion, split motion, gamma motion and reverse-contrast gamma motion, delta motion, and visual inertia. Also included are the transition from group motion to element motion in response to a Ternus display as the interstimulus interval (ISI) decreases; group motion in response to a reverse-contrast Ternus display even at short ISIs; speed-up of motion velocity as interflash distance increases or flash duration decreases; dependence of the transition from element motion to group motion on stimulus duration and size, various classical dependencies between flash duration, spatial separation, ISI, and motion threshold known as Korte's laws; dependence of motion strength on stimulus orientation and spatial frequency; short-range and long-range form-color interactions; and binocular interactions of flashes to different eyes.

Attention↗

Spatial learning deficit after NMDA receptor blockade and state-dependency.

The non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801) (0.08 and 0.12 mg/kg, i.p.) was used to examine whether spatial memory is learned state-dependently. Rats pre-treated with drug or saline were trained for 9 days in an eight-arm radial maze, in which four arms were baited. On the tenth day MK-801-treated rats were injected with saline and one group of saline-treated rats were injected with MK-801 (0.12 mg/kg) while another received saline. Performance of spatial memory was analysed for state-dependency. Neither rats treated with 0.08 mg/kg nor 0.12 mg/kg of MK-801 for 9 days were impaired in recall of spatial memory under saline. However, MK-801 impaired acquisition of spatial memory, with deficits in working memory and less marked deficits in reference memory. Motor activity (speed) was enhanced at both doses. Thus, learning under NMDA receptor blockade does not necessarily produce a condition that impedes the expression of the learning task under a different condition.

Animals↗

On the mechanism of the formation of chromosomal aberrations by ionising radiation.

The results of applying a biophysical model to describe the production of chromosomal aberrations in human lymphocytes are presented. The model describes energy deposition in cell nuclei, the conversion to DNA double-strand breaks, and the repair and misrepair of those breaks to form aberrations. The repair and misrepair of double-strand breaks are expressed as a competition process based on the concept that the probability of exchange depends upon the spatial separation of the breaks. Results are restricted to photon irradiations. We show that the model leads to the familiar linear-quadratic equation for the dependence of exchange aberration yield on dose. Exchanges between two DNA breaks along the same track determine the linear term, and exchanges between those in different tracks determine the quadratic term. We demonstrate the importance of electron track structure in the prediction of the linear term and show that the low-dose RBE between x- and gamma-rays depends not only on the physical description of the track but also the biological repair function. For intratrack exchanges, we show that the double-strand breaks are very close, on average about 30 nm apart. For intertrack exchanges, the mean separation of breaks is calculated to be about 2 mu m. There is a clear separation of the two modes of action. In addition, the increased effectiveness of the track ends of electrons is shown.

Cell Nucleus↗

Spatial and kinematic features of apraxic movement depend on the mode of execution.

Knowledge about the dependency of apraxic movements on the mode of execution may enhance the understanding of apraxia and of the cerebral representation of actions. We examined a common tool-use action in nine patients with left hemisphere damage and apraxia. Arm movements during the use of a handsaw were measured and tested in three different modes of execution: pantomime, pantomime with a bar shaped like the handle of the saw, and actual sawing. Analysis concentrated on spatial and kinematic features of the wrist trajectories during these repetitive movements. In healthy control subjects, both pantomime conditions differed from actual use mainly by larger amplitudes during miming. Apraxic patients executed large proportions of their pantomiming movements in an incorrect direction away from the appropriate anteroposterior direction, while other movement features were normal. The availability of the handle-like bar did not improve performance. During actual use, movement direction was constraint by mechanical demands. In this condition patients moved with moderately decreased velocity. However, this deficit was not related to the errors in movement direction characteristic of pantomiming. These data suggest that pantomiming and actual execution of an action are dictated by different external requirements and constraints, pantomiming serves to convey information, while actual use has to obey the mechanical demands of the task. Due to these differences, spatial and kinematic movement features in healthy subjects vary between the modes of execution, movements are differently vulnerable to apraxia, and deficits in patients may dissociate.

Adult↗

Contrast discrimination: a model and a hypothesis concerning the role of cholinergic modulation in contrast perception.

A model of contrast discrimination performance in human observers is developed and then extended to cover effects on performance of anticholinergic drugs. It is shown that it is necessary to assume that neural noise increases at high spatial frequencies in order to provide a satisfactory model of variations in discrimination performance with spatial frequency. The model results are compared with the results of empirical studies in which the effects of the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine (hyoscine) on contrast discrimination performance in human observers are examined. The purpose of the pharmacological work is to test the hypothesis that the differential contrast gain found psychophysically at different spatial frequencies might reflect differential facilitation by extrinsic cholinergic neurons. Contrast discrimination and contrast increment detection are found to be impaired by scopolamine in a manner that depends on both spatial frequency and base contrast. By comparing the empirical data with the predictions of the model, it is concluded that contrast constancy may reflect differential cholinergic modulation.

Acetylcholine↗

Possible systematic errors in measurements of skin colour using the EEL reflectance spectrophotometer.

Reflectance readings with the EEL Reflectance Spectrophotometer, used in many studies of human skin colour, depend on the spatial orientation of the applicator head of the instrument. Variations of over 15% of the calibration value have been observed. The present paper shows that this orientation dependence is due to the influence of gravity on the glowing spiral of the light bulb. The effect has an electrical and an optical component. It is concluded that the orientation effect will manifest as a systematic error in skin colour studies when calibration and measurement are performed at different orientations of the applicator head. The magnitude of this systematic error may be in the order of 10% and comparisons between different studies may be inaccurate.

Calibration↗

Genetic and activity-dependent regulation of zif268 expression: association with spatial learning.

We have reported that C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice differ in spatial learning performance and associated hippocampal protein kinase C (PKC) activity (Upchurch and Wehner, 1989, Behav Neurosci 103:1251-1258; Wehner et al., 1990, Brain Res 523:181-187) and that physical activity enhances spatial learning with related alterations in protein kinase C (PKC) (Fordyce and Wehner, 1993b, Brain Res 619:111-119). To assess whether physical activity induces alterations in gene expression that may underlie these changes in PKC and learning performance, we examined the effect of physical activity on expression of zif268, a transcription regulatory factor linked to stimulus-induced neuronal plasticity. C57 and DBA mice, 3 months of age, were subjected to acute (one bout) or chronic (8 weeks) physical activity. The mice were then tested on the Morris water maze task for 6 days with subsequent analysis of PKC activity and zif268 mRNA expression. Control DBA mice, which have poor hippocampal-specific learning performance compared to C57 mice (Wehner et al., 1990, Brain Res 523-181-187; Fordyce and Wehner, 1993b, Brain Res 619:111-119; Paylor et al., 1993, Psychobiology 27:11-26), displayed lower basal levels of zif268 mRNA (P < .05). As observed previously, chronic physical activity produced an enhancement in spatial learning performance accompanied by alterations in hippocampal PKC activity in both strains of mice (P < .05). In addition, the present investigation demonstrated that acute physical activity increased mRNA levels of zif268 in hippocampal regions CA1, CA3 and overlying cortex (P < .005) of both C57 and DBA mice. Chronic physical activity suppressed the basal expression of zif268 in C57 mice in CA1 and overlying cortex below control levels. These findings suggest that genetic and activity-dependent regulation of zif268 may influence learning performance.

Animals↗

Age-dependent enhancement of hippocampal long-term potentiation and impairment of spatial learning through the Rho-associated kinase pathway in protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type Z-deficient mice.

Although protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are expressed abundantly in the brain, their roles in synaptic plasticity have not been well elucidated. In this study, we have examined the physiological functions of Ptprz, which is a receptor-type PTP expressed predominantly in the brain as a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan. We have examined phenotypes of mutant mice deficient in Ptprz using electrophysiological, pharmacological, and behavioral approaches. Mutant mice exhibit enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices and impaired spatial learning abilities in an age-dependent manner: young adult (<10 weeks old) mutant mice show normal LTP and learning abilities in the Morris water maze task, whereas adult (>13 weeks old) mutant mice exhibit enhanced LTP and impairment in the task. The enhanced LTP is specifically canceled out by pharmacological inhibition of Rho-associated kinase (ROCK), a major downstream effector of Rho. These findings suggest that the lack of Ptprz leads to aberrant activation of ROCK and resultantly to enhanced LTP in the slice and learning impairments in the animal.

Aging↗

Contextual-dependent effects of nucleus accumbens lesions on spatial learning in mice.

The effect of nucleus accumbens lesions on radial maze performance of C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice was assessed under distinct extra-maze cuing conditions. Among sham-lesioned mice, C57BL/6 performed better under rich than poor cuing conditions whereas DBA performed in the same fashion under both conditions. In C57BL/6, a disruptive effect of lesions was found only in mice tested under rich cuing. Conversely, in DBA/2, the lesions improved performance under poor cuing and disrupted performance under rich cuing. In that strain, a possible lesion-induced enhancement of attention to background stimuli improving performance under poor cuing but producing interference under rich cuing is suggested. In general, the lesions effect seemed to depend on the strain predisposition to implement configural or cue-based responding.

Animals↗

[Analysis of spatial frequency characteristics of complex receptive fields].

The difference fB2-fB1=deltaf and ratio fB2/fB1=R of the bandwidth boundary frequencies fB1, fB2 of spatial frequency characteristic of complex receptive field depends on the size of RF and spatial structure of excitatory and inhibitory zones. deltaf and r are independent of the weighting functions of excitatory and inhibitory zones. The theoretical value of r is similar to data which was obtained in psychophysical and physiologycal experiments. The dependence of contrast sensitivity on spatial frequency can be explained by dependence of the envelope of weighting functions of exitatory (inhibitory) zones on the spatial frequency.

Animals↗

Dominance-related changes in spatial memory are associated with changes in hippocampal cell proliferation rates in mountain chickadees.

It is well established that spatial memory is dependent on the hippocampus in both mammals and birds. As memory capacity can fluctuate on a temporal basis, it is important to understand the mechanisms mediating such changes. It is known that early memory-dependent experiences in young animals result in hippocampal enlargement and in increased neurogenesis, including cell proliferation and neuron survival. It is less clear, however, whether temporal changes in spatial memory are also associated with changes in hippocampal anatomy and cell proliferation in fully grown and experienced adult animals. In a previous study, we experimentally demonstrated that socially subordinate mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli) showed inferior spatial memory performance compared to their dominant group mates, in the absence of significant differences in baseline corticosterone levels. Here we investigated whether these differences in memory between dominant and subordinate birds were associated with changes in the hippocampus. Following memory tests, chickadees were injected with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine to label dividing cells and sacrificed 2 days after the injections. We found no significant differences in volume or the total number of neurons in the hippocampal formation between dominant and subordinate chickadees, but subordinate birds had significantly lower cell proliferation rates in the ventricular zone adjacent to both the hippocampus and mesopallium compared to the dominants. Individuals, which performed better on spatial memory tests tended to have higher levels of cell proliferation. These results suggest that social status can affect cell proliferation rates in the ventricular zone and support the hypothesis that neurogenesis might be involved in memory function in adult animals.

Animals↗

Effects of luminance and blur on hemispheric asymmetries in temporal integration.

A task involving temporal integration of form was employed to examine the effects of input characteristics on hemispheric asymmetries. In Experiment 1, decreases in luminance produced greater improvement of right hemisphere (RH) performance. In Experiment 2, dioptric blur produced greater impairment of left hemisphere (LH) performance. The results suggest that spatial frequencies below nine cycles per degree are processed more efficiently in the RH. In Experiment 3, effects of input characteristics on hemispheric asymmetry were found to be dependent on the spatial frequencies required for processing by task demands, as mediated by interflash interval (IFI) duration. Increased blur produced greater impairment of LH performance at short IFI duration; at a longer IFI duration, however, increased blur produced equal impairment of RH and LH performance.

Adult↗

"Weber's law" for position: the role of spatial frequency and contrast.

We used Gabor bars to measure the effects of spatial bandwidth, spatial scale, contrast and separation on three-line spatial interval discrimination (bisection). In the first experiment, we used stimuli that were well above threshold. Our results show that at all spatial scales, spatial interval discrimination (three-line bisection) thresholds are proportional to the separation of the Gabor patches (i.e. Weber's law) when the separation exceeds approximately 2.5 times the standard deviation (sigma) of the Gaussian envelope. The optimal threshold occurs when the separation is approx. 2-2.5 sigma, and for separations larger than the optimal, bisection thresholds are equal to a more or less constant Weber fraction (delta s/s) of approx. 0.02-0.04. These results are consistent with a number of previous studies. In the second experiment, we examined the effect of contrast. Our results show an interaction between separation and stimulus visibility. Reducing the stimulus contrast has a marked effect on spatial interval thresholds at small separations (e.g. separations less than about 3 sigma), and much less effect at larger separations. Thus, the Weber's law relationship appears to depend on the visibility of the stimuli, but does not depend on the spatial frequency or bandwidth of the stimuli. These results can be predicted by an ideal observer model of spatial interval discrimination.

Contrast Sensitivity↗

Sexually dimorphic spatial learning in meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus and deer mice Peromyscus maniculatus.

A number of studies examining developmental, neural and hormonal aspects of sexually dimorphic spatial learning (Morris water-maze) in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are described. We found that, in adult deer mice, female spatial performance decreased during the breeding season relative to the non-breeding season, whereas the reverse pattern was observed in male performance. There was a sex difference favouring males in spatial learning during the breeding season, but not during the non-breeding season. In adult meadow voles, females with low levels of oestradiol and males performed better in the water-maze than females with high levels of oestradiol. Postweaning voles (20 and 25 days after birth) acquired the water-maze task more quickly than preweaning voles (day 10). No sex difference in water-maze performance was evident at any of these juvenile ages. When these same voles were tested again as adults to investigate retention and re-acquisition of the water-maze, both males and females from male-biased litters re-acquired the task better than males and females from female-biased litters. Together, the results of these studies indicate that sexually dimorphic spatial ability is dependent on the organization (in utero) and activational effects of gonadal hormones. These studies provide the first demonstration of the influence of natural changes in reproductive status on spatial learning of deer mice and meadow voles. The results also demonstrate that spatial performance of males and females is differentially affected by changes in reproductive status and that group differences in the laboratory are associated with group differences in space utilization in the wild. These findings help to clarify previous apparently contradictory findings about sex differences in spatial ability.

Animals↗