Neuronal synchrony in relation to burst discharge in epileptic human temporal lobes.

1. Synchronous interactions between neurons in mesial temporal structures of patients with complex partial seizures were studied using cross-correlation analyses. We recorded spontaneous activity from 293 neurons in 24 patients during the interictal state.

Bayesian hypothesis testing of four-taxon topologies using molecular sequence data.

The reconstruction of phylogenetic trees from molecular sequences presents unusual problems for statistical inference. For example, three possible alternatives must be considered for four taxa when inferring the correct unrooted tree (referred to as a topology). In our view, classical hypothesis testing is poorly suited to this triangular set of alternative hypotheses.

Molecular analysis of herpes simplex virus type 1 during epinephrine-induced reactivation of latently infected rabbits in vivo.

Infectious virus assays and PCR amplification of DNA and RNA were used to investigate herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA replication and gene expression in the rabbit corneal model for virus reactivation in vivo. We used carefully defined latency-associated transcript-negative (LAT-) and LAT+ promoter mutants of the 17syn+ strain of HSV type 1. In agreement with earlier studies using a more extensive LAT- deletion mutant, the 17 delta Pst(LAT-) virus reactivated with extremely low frequency upon epinephrine induction.

Dynamic visual acuity of normal subjects during vertical optotype and head motion.

Purpose: To characterize the effect of passive vertical head motion on dynamic visual acuity of young, normally sighted subjects wearing telescopic spectacles, and to relate this to the velocity of images on the retina.

Methods: Static visual acuity was measured without motion. Dynamic visual acuity was measured during vertical, sinusoidal motion of either optotypes or of a servo-driven rotating chair in which subjects were seated.

Evaluation of a new treatment strategy for Paget-Schroetter syndrome: spontaneous thrombosis of the axillary-subclavian vein.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a staged, multimodal algorithm of therapy for durable correction of Paget-Schroetter syndrome.

Methods: Fifty consecutive patients were entered into a sequential treatment program for spontaneous axillary-subclavian vein thrombosis. Forty-three had initial thrombolytic or anticoagulant treatment followed by longer-term warfarin sodium therapy.

Positron emission tomographic studies of cortical function in human amblyopia.

Positron emission tomography has confirmed that amblyopia is a visual disorder manifested by functional abnormalities in cerebral cortex. Studies of local cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism as indicators of brain function in amblyopia are reviewed. Also presented is evidence for functional similarity of normal calcarine cortical responses during deprivation of high spatial frequencies by optical blur, to the responses during visual stimulation of amblyopic eyes.

Responses to the negative emotions of others by autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children.

Attention, facial affect, and behavioral responses to adults showing distress, fear, and discomfort were compared for autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. The normal and mentally retarded children were very attentive to adults in all 3 situations. In contrast, many of the autistic children appeared to ignore or not notice the adults showing these negative affects.

Limited B cell repertoire in severe combined immunodeficient mice engrafted with peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from immunodeficient or normal humans.

The ability to engraft human PBMC or fetal tissue immune cells in the severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mouse has created a need for characterization of these systems and their application to disease models. We demonstrate that SCID mice reconstituted with PBMC support the growth and differentiation of a restricted set of B cells. Human IgG levels of 1-2 mg/ml (10-20% of normal human serum levels) were routinely achieved in spite of a serum half life of only 12 d.

Coupling efficiencies of amino acids in the solid phase synthesis of peptides.

The "classical" Merrifield method was used to synthesize over 500 peptides using Boc-benzyl strategy. The peptides were prepared either manually or on a Beckman 990B synthesizer or an Applied Biosystems 430A synthesizer. Each coupling of Boc amino acid to the growing peptide on the resin was monitored with the ninhydrin reaction.

Expression of a novel transcript of the myelin basic protein gene.

A cDNA (M41) corresponding to a mouse myelin basic protein (MBP) mRNA with a longer 5'-untranslated region than predicted from earlier studies of MBP gene structure has been isolated and characterized. The additional 5'-untranslated region is encoded by two previously unidentified exons upstream of the major transcription start site of the gene. Using a DNA probe specific for M41-MBP mRNAs, Northern blot analysis indicated that expression of this transcript follows a developmental course in mouse brain similar to that of the majority of MBP mRNAs, but that the level of expression varies between brain and spinal cored.

A quantitative study of dendrite complexity in selected areas of the human cerebral cortex.

This study seeks relationships between the degree of dendrite complexity of four areas of the human cerebral cortex and the type of function subserved by those areas. Quantitative studies of basilar dendrite patterns in the trunk and hand-finger receptive zones of areas 3 and 1, superior gyrus of the prefrontal cortex (area 9), and supramarginal gyrus (area 39) of the parietal lobe, in the left hemisphere of 10 subjects are reported. Measurements of dendrite complexity were based on the Sholl method of counting dendrite intersections with a series of superimposed concentric rings centered on the middle of the neuron soma.

Cognitive abilities of Kenyan children in relation to nutrition, family characteristics, and education.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether nutritional factors, family characteristics, and the duration of schooling were associated with cognitive and attentional capacities in children growing up in rural Kenya. Food intake was measured by direct observation and weighment twice monthly over the course of a year. Families were characterized in terms of socioeconomic status and the literacy of the parents.

Predictors of functional success in telescopic spectacle use by low vision patients.

Telescopic spectacles can theoretically improve function of low vision patients by enlarging retinal images. However, unintended head movement may produce sufficient instability of enlarged retinal images to negate the visual benefit. We investigated this phenomenon as a cause of failure in 38 low vision patients who had previously attempted use of telescopic spectacles.

Human T lymphocytes possess a limited in vitro life span.

The T lymphocyte offers certain theoretical advantages over other available cell types for the study of aging. Immunosenescence is a well-established part of, and may be directly relevant to, mammalian aging, and the T lymphocyte is well-characterized as to function, cell-surface antigen make-up, and other factors. However, prior efforts at studying in vitro aging of T cells have been hampered by poor reproducibility in doubling potential and the occurrence of a peculiar type of crisis.

Bilateral pericruciate cortical innervation of the red nucleus in cats with adult or neonatal cerebral hemispherectomy.

We studied remodeling of the remaining corticorubral projections in adult cats sustaining a left cerebral hemispherectomy in adulthood or neonatally using cortical injections of [3H]leucine-proline. Injection sites and terminal fields were reconstructed from autoradiography-processed tissue. In all cats, the label filled similar extents of ares 4 gamma and 3a of the right frontal cortex.

Neonatal T cells as a model system to study the possible in vitro senescence of lymphocytes.

In this study long-term neonatal T-lymphocyte cultures were initiated from cord blood following alloantigenic stimulation. Growth curves and population doublings were measured for replicate cultures, functional and phenotypic analyses performed, and cells were cloned. Thus, newborn T cells were shown to constitute a potentially excellent model for the analysis of possible in vitro senescence of immunologically relevant cells.

Primary femininity.

In Freud's theory of the origins of femininity in females, there is a stage unaccounted for in the chronology of the little girl's development: the first many months of life are not considered. We know by now that castration anxiety, penis envy, and the traumas and frustrations of oedipal conflict are easy to demonstrate; but if the first stage in female development is different from Freud's description-if a fundamental, fixed sense of being rightfully a female is established in earliest childhood-then our psychology of women needs repair. The factors that make up this stage, with examples, are reviewed: (1) a biological "force": the effect of circulating fetal sex hormones on the brain of the fetus; (2) sex assignment: the announcement at the time of birth to the parents that they have had a boy or a girl (or a hermaphrodite); (3) parental attitudes: the effects of the sex assignment on parents, then reflected back onto the infant; (4) "biopsychic" phenomena: early postnatal effects caused by certain habitual patterns of handling the infant-conditioning, imprinting(?), or other forms of nonconflictual learning; (5) developing body ego: sensations, especially from the genitals, that define the child's dimensions.