102,143 research outputs found
Statistical independence and neural computation in the leech ganglion
No full textIn this report, the input/output relations in an isolated ganglion of the leech Hirudo medicinalis were studied by simultaneously using six or eight suction pipettes and two intracellular electrodes. Sensory input was mimicked by eliciting action potentials in mechanosensory neurons with intracellular electrodes. The integrated neural output was measured by recording extracellular voltage signals with pipettes sucking the roots and the connectives. A single evoked action potential activated electrical activity in at least a dozen different neurons, some of which were identified. This electrical activity was characterized by a high degree of temporal and spatial variability. The action potentials of coactivated neurons, i.e. activated by the same mechanosensory neuron, did not show any significant pairwise correlation. Indeed, the analysis of evoked action potentials indicates clear statistical independence among coactivated neurons, presumably originating from the independence of synaptic transmission at distinct synapses. This statistical independence may be used to increase reliability when neuronal activity is averaged or pooled. It is suggested that statistical independence among coactivated neurons may be a usual property of distributed processing of neuronal networks and a basic feature of neural computation
Highly variable spike trains underlie reproducible sensorimotor responses in the medicinal leech
No full textThe nervous system of the leech is a particularly suitable model to investigate neural coding of sensorimotor responses because it allows both observation of behavior and the simultaneous measurement of a large fraction of its underlying neuronal activity. In this study, we used a combination of multielectrode recordings, videomicroscopy, and computation of the optical flow to investigate the reproducibility of the motor response caused by local mechanical stimulation of the leech skin. We analyzed variability at different levels of processing: mechanosensory neurons, motoneurons, muscle activation, and behavior. Spike trains in mechanosensory neurons were very reproducible, unlike those in motoneurons. The motor response, however, was reproducible because of two distinct biophysical mechanisms. First, leech muscles contract slowly and therefore are poorly sensitive to the jitter of motoneuron spikes. Second, the motor response results from the coactivation of a population of motoneurons firing in a statistically independent way, which reduces the variability of the population firing. These data show that reproducible spike trains are not required to sustain reproducible behaviors and illustrate how the nervous system can cope with unreliable components to produce reliable action
Inflammation as a Pathogenic Mechanism of Colonic Neoplasia in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
No full textRational L2 approximation: A non-gradient algorithm
No full textThe problem of determining the best rational approximant of a given rational transfer function of higher order according to the L2-norm criterion is considered. An efficient algorithm is presented that makes it possible to find a (local) minimum without evaluating derivatives. It is based on a reformulation of the necessary conditions for optimality in terms of interpolation constraints. Examples show that the algorithm converges rapidly to a solution even if started from poor initial guesses
Insights on surface analysis techniques to study glass primary packaging
No full textDuring the forming process of a vial by tubing glass, temperatures of up to 1200◦C are applied to adjust the glass viscosity. This process causes the release of volatile components such as alkali borates. Consequently, the percentage of sodium and boron measured on the inner surface of the vial can be higher than that measured on the corresponding glass tube. This study aimed to characterize the inner surface of two different borosilicate glass tubes of type I before and after the vial forming process at the nanoscale level. Quantitative elemental analysis of the surface along the vertical axis of glass tubes and vials was performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, whereas the topographical investigation was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In the near-bottom region of a vial, which is usually the area most prone to corrosion, the SEM micrographs showed the appearance of bulges on the surface. The latter were then analyzed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to characterize their molecular composition. The purpose of this work is to identify possible new strategies for faster identification of factors that eventually influence chemical resistance of pharmaceutical glasses and to provide useful information needed to improve industrial processes
Electrophysiological properties and modeling of murine vomeronasal sensory neurons in acute slice preparations
No full textThe vomeronasal system is involved in the detection of pheromones in many mammals. Vomeronasal sensory neurons encode the behaviorally relevant information into action potentials that are directly transmitted to the accessory olfactory bulb. We developed a model of the electrical activity of mouse basal vomeronasal sensory neurons, which mimics both the voltage-gated current properties and the firing behavior of these neurons in their near-native state, using a minimal number of parameters. Data were obtained by recordings with the whole-cell voltage-clamp or current-clamp techniques from mouse basal vomeronasal sensory neurons in acute slice preparations. The resting potential ranged from -50 to -70 mV, and current injections of less than 2-10 pA induced tonic firing in most neurons. The experimentally determined firing frequency as a function of injected current was well described by a Michaelis-Menten equation and was exactly reproduced by the model, which could be used in combination with future models that will include details of the mouse vomeronasal transduction cascade
Custom-built optical tweezers for locally probing the viscoelasticproperties of cancer cells
No full textWe report a home built optical tweezers setup to investigate the mechanism of the mem- brane tether formation from single cells in vitro. Using an optically trapped microbead as probe, we have determined the force-elongation curve during tether formation and extracted several parameters characterizing the viscoelastic behavior of the cell membrane: tether stiffness, force, and viscosity. Breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells have been studied in two different conditions, at room and physiological temperatures, showing a strong tem- perature dependence of the visoelastic properties of the cell membrane. To get detailed inside information about the tether formation mechanism we have extended the analysis of the force-elongation curves fitting them with a Kelvin model. These preliminary results are part of a larger project of whose goal is to compare the viscoelastic properties of several types of cancer cell lines, characterized by different aggressiveness and metastatic potential
EFFICACY OF PERIPHERAL NERVE FIELD STIMULATION IN CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN PATIENTS DUE TO COMPLETE SPINAL CORD INJURY
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