Cortical magnification theory fails to predict visual recognition.

The sense of form is poor in indirect view. Yet the cortical magnification theory asserts that the disadvantage can be made up by scaling the image size according to the spatial variation in the mapping of the retina onto the cortex. It is thus assumed that all visual information passes through a functionally homogeneous neural circuitry, with the spatial sampling of input signals varying across the visual field.

Psychoneurocardiology: psychosomatic and somatopsychic approaches to hypertension research.

We introduce the field of psychoneurocardiology, and cite examples of research into psychosomatic and somatopsychic bases for hypertensive development. Beta-adrenergic hyperreactivity (a possible precursor of hypertension), as indexed by electrocardiographic T-wave amplitude suppression, was greater during active than passive coping tasks. The rise in tonic mean arterial blood pressure in normotensives over a 19-month period was a joint function of self-reported daily stress and baroreceptor-dependent pain dampening (as determined by the PRES method of noninvasive controlled carotid baroreceptor manipulation).

Different event-related patterns of gamma-band power in brain waves of fast- and slow-reacting subjects.

Fast- and slow-reacting subjects exhibit different patterns of gamma-band electroencephalogram (EEG) activity when responding as quickly as possible to auditory stimuli. This result appears to confirm long-standing speculations of Wundt that fast- and slow-reacting subjects produce speeded reactions in different ways and demonstrates that analysis of event-related changes in the amplitude of EEG activity recorded from the human scalp can reveal information about event-related brain processes unavailable using event-related potential measures. Time-varying spectral power in a selected (35- to 43-Hz) gamma frequency band was averaged across trials in two experimental conditions: passive listening and speeded reacting to binaural clicks, forming 40-Hz event-related spectral responses.

Reduced pain during baroreceptor stimulation in patients with symptomatic and silent myocardial ischaemia.

Objective: Baroreceptor activation has been shown to reduce pain, and the accumulation of such pain reduction has been implicated in the operant learning (under certain circumstances) of hypertension. The current study is an examination of differences in the pain dampening effects of baroreceptor activity in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic myocardial ischaemia. The objective was to determine whether there are differences between patients with symptomatic and silent myocardial ischaemia with respect to their antinociceptive response to baroreceptor stimulation, and, if so, whether these differences could be related to the absence of angina pectoris pain in patients with silent myocardial ischaemia.

Developing and evaluating cross-cultural instruments from minimum requirements to optimal models.

In the age of increased international collaboration in medical research, the necessity of having at hand cross-culturally applicable instruments for the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in clinical trials has been voiced. Several important theoretical bases leading to cultural bias in HRQL measurement include differences in definitions of HRQL across national and cultural contexts, levels of observation relied upon to indicate HRQL states, and the significance or weight placed upon the various HRQL states or dimensions measured. Despite a growing literature on the development and evaluation of existing HRQL measures in other cultures, comprehensive sets of procedures or requirements for the international part of development and evaluation are lacking.

Basics in psychoneuroimmunology.

Central nervous, endocrine and immune systems (IS) are all considered to be important regulators of psychological and physical wellbeing. Research into psychoneuroimmunology became relatively widespread in the 1970s. More and more studies considered these systems to be interactive units.

Recovery of brightness discrimination in adult rats despite progressive loss of retrogradely labelled retinal ganglion cells after controlled optic nerve crush.

Restoration of brightness discrimination was studied in adult rats after controlled crush of the optic nerve in order to further characterize a recently introduced experimental brain injury model. Mild, moderate or severe crush of the optic nerve produced partial or complete loss of the ability to perform a brightness discrimination task. Two to three weeks following mild injury we observed nearly complete spontaneous behavioural recovery whereas recovery was more limited after moderate and totally absent after severe crush.

Possible effects of the popular and medical recognition of bulimia nervosa.

Historical changes in psychological symptoms are analysed not only from a social causation approach but also from a labelling perspective. Modern eating disorders lend themselves to such an analysis because of their historical variability. Effects of the introduction and dispersion of the psychiatric concept of 'bulimia nervosa' at normal body weight and its propagation through the mass media are examined (relying on Devereux's model of 'ethnic disorders').

Nicotine gum assisted group therapy in smokers with an increased risk of coronary disease--evaluation in a primary care setting format.

Smoking cessation with the aid of nicotine chewing gum in a primary care setting format is reported to be more effective when additional behavioural training is introduced. We developed a standardized comprehensive treatment programme using nicotine chewing gum (Nicorette 2 mg) in conjunction with nutritional information for the prevention of weight gain, behavioural training for the promotion of self-management techniques and the prescription of a date when to quit. The programme was conducted by 11 family physicians in a group setting format with 12 weekly 90 min sessions and three booster sessions.

Communication during the pre-operative visit.

Eighty-six patients completed a questionnaire about what they expected from a pre-operative visit by an anaesthesiologist. Ninety-one per cent of the patients wanted a detailed and informative conversation. The patient's previous knowledge stemmed primarily from lay sources, such as other patients and visitors.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis in a German self-help organization.

A cognitive-behavioral treatment program for pain control was administered to 22 subjects with a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in a self-help setting of the German Rheumatism League. A sample of 17 AS subjects from the same setting served as waiting-list controls. The program consisted of training in progressive muscle relaxation, cognitive restructuring, attention related techniques and pleasant activity scheduling, and was aimed at an improvement of self-control strategies.

Readiness potentials preceding spontaneous motor acts: voluntary vs. involuntary control.

Libet et al. (1983) developed a method to compare the onset time of a readiness potential (RP) with the onset time of the corresponding intention to perform a spontaneous voluntary motor act. In relation to the onset of the RP, the time of conscious intention to move followed 350 msec later.

Analysis of oscillatory components in perioperative AEP-recordings: a nonparametric procedure for frequency measurement.

Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were recorded in 15 patients scheduled for minor gynecological procedures. The suppression of a middle latency oscillation about 40 Hz was observed during 2 minutes after injection of the anesthetic agent propofol. The decrease in oscillation frequency during anesthetic induction was evaluated with a fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and a rank-correlation procedure (RCP).

Mesencephalic innervation of the turtle retina by a single serotonin-containing neuron.

Co-localization of retrograde transported Nuclear yellow and serotonin immunoreactivity revealed the existence of a central serotonergic projection to the retina in the turtle Pseudemys scripta elegans. This serotonergic retinopetal system consists of only one fiber originating in the contralateral caudal mesencephalon. In the retina, the fiber arborizes exclusively in the temporal hemisphere, covering about one third of the total retinal surface.

On the discrimination of compound Gabor signals and textures.

We compared the discrimination of compound Gabor signals when presented pairwise and in isolation to that of textures consisting of an array of such signals. Textures composed of mirror-image compound Gabor signals were found indistinguishable even when the individual micropatterns were easily discriminated. No such blindness exists for textures composed of non-mirror-image compound Gabor signals.