The effect of preparations of human chorionic gonadotropin on lymphocyte stimulation and immune response

Frontal sharp waves (encoches pointues frontales) identified by Monod (1960) were studied in 110 neonates and infants. Three pattern were described: typical, related and degraded. They were recorded in all subjects, the reason why the frequency of each pattern varied was discussed. Pathological states did not increase the occurrence of those frontal sharp waves since most of them were recorded in children either normal or suffering from a minor pathology. Incidence of maturation seemed to be probable since the highest proportion of frontal sharp waves occurred in infants whose gestational and legal age were respectively greater than 43 weeks and between 20 and 40 days at the time of investigation. Typical and degraded forms were predominant in transitional period towards quiet sleep; they were less numerous during falling asleep in active sleep and totally absent during active sleep following quiet sleep. This could suggest that the two states of active sleep are different in nature.     

Effects of systemic atropine sulfate administration on the frequency content of the cat sensorimotor EEG during sleep and waking.

Sensorimotor electroencephalogram (EEG) frequencies in cats were evaluated with power spectral analysis before and after 3 doses of atropine sulfate. All doses of atropine tested caused enhanced EEG slow waves (0–7 Hz) and spindles (8–25 Hz) during waking immobility, and postdrug frequency profiles during slow-wave sleep and waking immobility were identical. With 0.75 mg/kg atropine, movement (head movement, locomotion) resulted in EEG desynchronization and reduced power in all frequencies less than 24 Hz. After 1.5 or 3.0 mg/kg atropine, power in low frequencies remained elevated during movement, but power in spindle frequencies was significantly reduced compared with other states. During active REM sleep after 1.5 mg/kg atropine, power in spindle frequencies was significantly lower than that during quiet REM sleep. These results indicate that the sensorimotor cortical EEG in cats is under the control of multiple systems. At least 1 of these systems is active during movement, and its actions are resistant to muscarinic receptor blockade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of neurophysiological features in holoprosencephaly

The evolution of EEG, visual and auditory evoked responses (VER and AER) and sleep is described in three cases of semilobar holoprosencephaly. During the neonatal period, the waking EEG was characterized by almost continuous high amplitude rhythmic alpha-theta activity in case 1 and 2, which became discontinuous during quiet sleep. Moderate amplitude rhythmic alpha-theta waves were seen in case 3. This rhythmic alpha-theta activity gradually disappeared with increasing age, being replaced by non-specific slow dysrhythmia. In case 3, the subsequent EEGs were characterized by focal spikes at 4 months, multifocal spikes at 5 and 6 months, hypsarrhythmia at 8 months and bisynchronous diffuse sharp and slow wave discharges at 2 years and 7 months. Ictal EEGs were characterized by desynchronization and/or rapid synchronization, epileptic recruiting rhythm and postical high amplitude slow waves. Definite but mostly abnormal VERs or AERs were obtained in all three cases. In two cases, the evoked responses showed a progressive decrease in amplitude and VERs were abolished finally. No sleep cycle could be identified during the neonatal period probably because of frequent seizures. In two cases no circadian rhythm of sleep developed, although almost normal REM-NREM sleep cycle was present.     

Suckling in the rat: Evidence for patterned behavior during sleep.

Electrophysiological recordings showed that 6 2-wk-old Wistar rat pups were actually asleep 66% of the time while suckling on the dam. Ss were no more likely to be awake while on the nipple than between nursing bouts. EMG-recorded sucking behavior occurred during sleep as well as during wakefulness. Ss were found to be asleep just prior to the dam's periodic milk ejections (ME) in 100% of 33 recorded instances and were briefly awakened by the ME, but 60% were asleep again within 30 sec. These studies demonstrate the embedding of a vital early behavior pattern in the states of sleep. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleep position, autonomic function, and arousal

AIMS: To investigate and compare heart rate variability (HRV) and responses of heart rate and arousal to head-up tilting in infants sleeping prone and supine. METHODS: Thirty seven healthy infants aged 2-4 months were studied. HRV was measured for 500 beats while they were in a horizontal position. Subjects were then tilted 60 degrees head-up, and heart rate recorded over 1 minute and arousal responses observed. Data were collected during both quiet and active sleep for both prone and supine sleep positions. RESULTS: HRV, as assessed by the point dispersion of Poincaré plots, was significantly reduced in the prone position for both sleep states. Sleep position did not influence the changes in heart rate seen during a head-up tilt. Full awakening to the tilt was common in active sleep but significantly less so in the prone position (15% of prone tests vs 54% supine). Full awakening to the tilt rarely occurred during quiet sleep in either sleep position. CONCLUSION: This study provides some evidence that blunted arousal responses and/or altered autonomic function are a feature of the prone sleeping position. Decreased HRV may be a sign of autonomic impairment. It is seen in many disease states and in infants who later die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).     

Automatic detection of K-complexes: validation in normals and dysthymic patients

A model-based automatic K-complex (Kc) detector was applied to all-night single-channel sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from normal and dysthymic patients. The performance of the detector was analyzed in the two groups, and the differences obtained were discussed. The results showed that the detection rate of Kc in the normal group was around 92% through all stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, but with high numbers of "false" positives in stage 4 NREM, which reached 57%. In the dysthymic patients "true" detection included 85% of the Kc, but the percentage of "false" positives dropped to 25% in stage 4 NREM. Most of the "false" detections in the normal group were due to sharp delta activity during slow wave sleep (SWS). The results in the patient group were expected, because sleep in dysthymics showed a reduction in SWS when compared to normals. The behavior and automatic artifact rejection mechanisms of the detector are briefly presented. The model-based Kc detector performed significantly better than other automatic detectors described in the literature; it was found to be a useful tool for routine sleep EEG studies.     

Electrophysiological and ultrasonic correlates of reproductive behavior in the male rat.

Monitored the ultrasonic vocalizations of 13 male Long-Evans rats and determined the correlation of these vocalizations with electrophysiological activity measured by chronically implanted hippocampal and cortical electrodes during mating with a female rat. Hippocampal theta rhythms were significantly correlated with high activity, mounting, intromissions, and preejaculatory excitatory behavior and were also significantly associated with 50-kHz short ultrasonic vocalizations. Postmount or postintromission behaviors (grooming, exploration) were closely correlated with an absence of ultrasonic vocalizations and the onset of irregular low-amplitude hippocampal EEG recordings. Long 22-kHz vocalizations occurred during the postejaculatory refractory period. Shorter 22-kHz vocalizations occurred during mating and were associated with unsuccessful intromissions or mounting attempts. Postejaculatory long 22-kHz vocalizations were significantly associated with irregular high-amplitude hippocampal EEG tracings, while preejaculatory short 22-kHz vocalizations were also accompanied by sleeplike irregular high-amplitude hippocampal EEG tracings with cortical spindling. Findings suggest that ultrasonic vocalizations are indicators of the sexual arousal of mating rats. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EEG video recording

We analyse EEG data from video-EEG recordings of 24 patients, selected among the 63 with "pure" temporal lobe epilepsy. As to interictal EEG features, 62.5% of patients show a less regular background activity on the affected side, in 70% of patients slow waves are either localised or lobar, while in 58% are spikes. Slow waves and spikes have the same well-defined localisation in 37.5% of the patients. Ictal recordings show an initial EEG pattern with high localising value (low-voltage fast activity, flattening or slow waves interruption) in 74/121 seizures (61%). Five out of these 24 patients were operated on without invasive recordings on the basis of ictal video-EEG data. In the 19 patients left, video-EEG ictal informations were used for the planning of the stereo-EEG exploration.     

Characterization of transition sleep episodes in baseline EEG recordings of adult rats

By scoring 5-s EEG epochs and calculating spectral power of consecutive EEG segments as short as 1-s, transition sleep (TS) episodes were identified in baseline recordings of adult rats. TS episodes were characterized by the abrupt appearance of theta and alpha waves within an ongoing period of slow-wave sleep (SS). They were followed by paradoxical sleep (PS) or, somewhat more frequently, by a period of wakefulness (W) that often led to an additional SS. Statistical values of the main variables of TS-->(W) and TS-->(PS) episodes are presented, together with comparable data concerning previous SS and following W or PS episodes. On the whole, TS episodes were more numerous than PS episodes, and less numerous than SS episodes. Their average duration was considerably shorter. As a consequence of the identification of TS and of brief W or PS epochs intervening within SS, the number of SS episodes was estimated to be considerably higher than previously assessed, and their average duration considerably shorter.     

Tidal volume measurements in newborns using respiratory inductive plethysmography

Respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP) is a well-accepted noninvasive technology for monitoring breathing patterns in adults. Prior attempts to calibrate this device in babies have been fraught with technical difficulties, thereby limiting applications in this population. Recently, a new method, qualitative diagnostic calibration (QDC), has been shown to provide accurate calibration of tidal volume in adults. The QDC method is based upon principles of the isovolume maneuver and carried out during natural breathing without specialized respiratory maneuvers or postural changes. We calibrated RIP with QDC in the supine posture and compared tidal volume (VT) measured with RIP to VT by a face mask-pneumotachograph (PNT) in 21 healthy full-term newborns in supine and prone postures. Eleven of the babies were calibrated during active sleep and 10 in quiet sleep. The mean VT in the supine and prone postures were 19 and 25 ml, respectively. In the supine and prone postures, weighted mean difference between RIP (VT) and PNT (VT) and 95% confidence intervals were -0.05 ml (-0.27, 0.18) and -0.32 ml (-0.08, 0.55), respectively. There was no difference in the accuracy of RIP relative to PNT calibrated during active sleep when thoracoabdominal incoordination was present or quiet sleep when it was not in either the supine or the prone postures. Therefore, in full-term infants, RIP calibrated with QDC solely in the supine posture provides clinically acceptable measurements of VT in both supine and prone postures.     

12-hour pattern of the waking state in the normal infant and in the infant who has survived the 'syndrome of sudden infant death' (author's transl)

The authors report the results of 16 sleep EEGs carried out on 5 infants said to have survived the syndrome of sudden infant death (near-miss group) and 5 controls. The recordings were performed at 1.5 months, 3 months and 4.5 months, times when the risk of sudden death is maximum. The EEG appearance and the organization of sleep patterns have been studied in both groups. The various states of wakefulness, and the modalities of sleep and waking were subjected to statistical analysis with respect to age. The study showed no significant difference between the percentages of different states of wakefulness in the control and 'near-miss' group, but there were more sleep onsets in active sleep (REM) in this group compared with the controls and there were fewer waking periods, although when they occurred these were more prolonged.     

CDTect-RIA and CDTect-EIA for determination of serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin compared

Little is known of the factors that regulate CBF in sleep. We therefore studied 10 lambs to assess the vasodilatory processes that underlie cerebral autoregulation during sleep. Lambs, instrumented to measure CBF (flow probe on the superior sagittal sinus), sleep state, and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), were rapidly made hypotensive by inflating a cuff around the brachiocephalic artery to reduce CPP to 30 mm Hg in each state. During control periods, cerebral vascular resistance (CVR in mm Hg/mL/min) was lower in active sleep (2.8 +/- 0.3, mean +/- SD, P < or = 0.001) than in wakefulness (3.9 +/- 0.6) and quiet sleep (4.3 +/- 0.6). The CVR decreased promptly in each state as CPP was lowered. The time (seconds) required for maximal cerebral vasodilation to occur was longer in active sleep (35 +/- 11) than in quiet sleep (20 +/- 6, P < or = 0.001) and wakefulness (27 +/- 11, P < or = 0.05). The CVR decreased less in active sleep (0.6 +/- 0.3, P < or = 0.001) than in quiet sleep (1.5 +/- 0.3), although the changes in CPP induced with brachiocephalic occlusion were equal in each state. In conclusion, our studies provide the first evidence that the vasoactive mechanisms that underlie autoregulation of the cerebral circulation function during sleep. Moreover, our data reveal that the speed and the magnitude of the vasodilatory reserves available for autoregulation are significantly less in active sleep than in quiet sleep.     

The characterization of neonatal behavior: A dimensional analysis.

137 healthy human neonates were tested in 2 procedurally identical 3-hr sessions at 2 days of age. Each session contained 21/2 hrs of nonintervention during which sleep and other spontaneous behaviors were assessed and 1/2 hr of stimulation during which various responses were elicited. Obtained were measures describing characteristics of active sleep, quiet sleep, sucking, and crying. These measures along with measures of body size and gestational age were factor analyzed, yielding 3 factors that were stable across both sessions. The factors were labeled Reactivity-Irritability, Maturity, and Reflexive and Discriminative Sucking. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fear conditioning increases NREM sleep.

To understand the role that sleep may play in memory storage, the authors investigated how fear conditioning affects sleep-wake states by performing electroencephalographic (EEG) and electromyographic recordings of C57BL/6J mice receiving fear conditioning, exposure to conditioning stimuli, or immediate shock treatment. This experimental design allowed us to examine the effects of associative learning, presentation of the conditioning stimuli, and presentation of the unconditioned stimuli on sleep-wake states. During the 24 hr after training, fear-conditioned mice had approximately 1 hr more of nonrapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep and less wakefulness than mice receiving exposure to conditioning stimuli or immediate shock treatment. Mice receiving conditioning stimuli had more delta power during NREM sleep, whereas mice receiving fear conditioning had less theta power during rapid-eye-movement sleep. These results demonstrate that a single trial of fear conditioning alters sleep-wake states and EEG oscillations over a 24-hr period, supporting the idea that sleep is modified by experience and that such changes in sleep-wake states and EEG oscillations may play a role in memory consolidation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DNA quantitation of intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive carcinoma of the prostate

Head-restrained rats were conditioned to perform a CNV task: to press a lever in response to an imperative auditory stimulus (S2) given 1.5 sec after a warning stimulus (S1) for a drop of jelly food. With an electrode on the surface of the forelimb cortex, (1) sharp wave complexes immediately after S1 and S2, and (2) a negative slow potential (SP) between S1 and S2, on which early and late components were discernible, were recorded in association with performance of this task. With the electrode at a depth of 2 mm in the same cortical area, the corresponding field potential showed a long-lasting positive shift in addition to the components of the surface potential. These monopolar recordings were obtained with respect to a common reference at the frontal sinus. The surface-minus-depth potential (the transcortical potential), consequently, showed a surface-negative tonic wave, confirming Pirch's report (1980). During extinction of this conditioning, the SP between S1 and S2 disappeared, while the sharp waves following S1 and S2 remained with little modification, suggesting that the sharp waves are a kind of evoked potential (EP) elicited by the stimuli. Recording from 5 surface electrodes set in an array over the left hemisphere contralateral to the used forelimb during development of the conditioning revealed not only a spatial distribution of the SP but also a transition of the potentials. As the conditioning progressed, the negativity of the early SP component tended to increase, while that of the late component tended to decrease and was confined to the sensorimotor cortex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Acute maternal alcohol consumption disrupts behavioral state organization in the near-term fetus

Disturbed sleep regulation is often observed in neonates of women who drank heavily during pregnancy. It is unknown if (and how) an occasional drink affects fetal sleeping behavior. In 28 near-term pregnant women we examined the effects on fetal behavioral state organization of two glasses of wine (0.25 g of ethanol/kg of maternal body weight). Simultaneous 2-h recordings of fetal heart rate and body, eye, and breathing movements were made on two successive days, once without alcohol exposure and once during maternal alcohol consumption. The study was standardized for time of day and fetal sleep state, i.e., the start of recording was either during quiet sleep (n = 16) or during active sleep (n = 12). Alcohol intake reduced fetal eye movements, disorganized behavioral state organization (rapid eye movement sleep was affected in particular), and suppressed fetal breathing activity almost completely. Modest maternal alcohol intake affects fetal behavioral state organization, which reflects an immediate effect on fetal brain function.     

In vitro release of acyclovir from semisolid dosage forms: effect of cyclodextrin and polyethylene glycol

Presynaptic depolarization of trigemino-thalamic (TGT) terminals may contribute to modulation of ascending oro-facial somatosensory information during active (or rapid eye movement) sleep. The relative excitability of TGT terminals was inferred from changes in the current required to maintain an antidromic firing probability of 50% (EC50) during quiet wakefulness as compared to active sleep. Depolarization or hyperpolarization of TGT terminals was defined as a decrease or increase, respectively, in the EC50. Overall, the EC50 of 8 TGT terminals was reduced by a mean 8.8+/-3.6 microA during active sleep relative to quiet wakefulness. This result suggests that depolarization of TGT terminals, which may act to suppress the transfer of sensory information from the trigeminal nucleus to the thalamus, occurs during active sleep.     

Effect of heartbeat sound on the cardiac and behavioral responsiveness to tactual stimulation in sleeping preterm infants.

Assessed the effect of heartbeat sound on the heart rate and motor responses evoked by tactual stimulation during sleep. 30 preterm infants, 15 of whom had participated in a long-term intervention program, were tested one day in the presence of sound and another day in the absence of sound. During active sleep, the nonintervened Ss showed a significant cardiac response only in the presence of heartbeat sound. In this sleep state the sound also improved the discernibility of the motor responses for both groups of Ss by reducing spontaneous motor movements. During quiet sleep the sound had no effect on either cardiac or motor responsivity. Additionally, the sound influenced the duration of sleep states for both groups by markedly decreasing the duration of the lengthy 1st active sleep epoch and increasing the duration of the 1st quiet sleep epoch. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Alpha Waves--Artifacts?": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Howard L. Miller (Psychological Bulletin, 1968[Apr], 69[4], 279-280). The fourth sentence of paragraph 3 on page 280 should read as follows: "A follow-up study (Frost & Gol, 1966), using computer averaging techniques, confirmed this hypothesis by showing that the spontaneous single-cell discharge almost always occurred during the initial positive phase of the EEG. It also confirmed that the EEG is a summation of many relatively synchronized cellular membrane fluctuations, and that the membrane potential fluctuations of any one cell try to follow the EEG, although the correspondence is not always one to one (Frost & Gol, 1966, p. 517)." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1968-10077-001.) J. L. Kennedy (see 35:2) has argued that alpha rhythm recordings are artifacts caused by the mechanical pulsation of a gel (the living brain) with different electrical potentials. Kennedy's hypothesis seemed insufficiently supported, and contradicted the consensus concerning the origin of alpha waves. Significant recent research is examined which provides strong evidence that alpha waves represent a basic cellular process probably related to excitability. It is suggested that Kennedy's phenomenon be explored further to clarify any effect it may have on standard EEG recordings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)