Combined manifestation of two geometric visual illusions.

The present study continued to investigate whether the effects of length misperception caused by cross-shaped (formed by two pairs of the oppositely oriented Müller-Lyer wings) contextual distractors can be explained by the combined manifestation of two different (i.e., the Müller-Lyer and filled-space) geometric illusions of extent.

Inhibition of dendritic L-type calcium current by memantine in frog tectum.

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to explore the effects of memantine on responses elicited in the frog tectum by the bursts of spikes of moderate strength of a single retina ganglion cell and to gain an insight about the effect of memantine on the L-type Ca(2+) current.

Material And Methods: The experiments were performed in vivo on adult frogs (Rana temporaria). An individual retina ganglion cell (or its retinotectal fiber) was stimulated by current pulses delivered through a multichannel stimulating electrode positioned on the retina.

Distinctive neurophysiological properties of embryonic trigeminal and geniculate neurons in culture.

Neurons in trigeminal and geniculate ganglia extend neurites that share contiguous target tissue fields in the fungiform papillae and taste buds of the mammalian tongue and thereby have principal roles in lingual somatosensation and gustation. Although functional differentiation of these neurons is central to formation of lingual sensory circuits, there is little known about electrophysiological properties of developing trigeminal and geniculate ganglia or the extrinsic factors that might regulate neural development. We used whole cell recordings from embryonic day 16 rat ganglia, maintained in culture as explants for 3-10 days with neurotrophin support to characterize basic properties of trigeminal and geniculate neurons over time in vitro and in comparison to each other.