bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of energetic disorder on the low-frequency differential capacitance of organic light emitting diodes
Authors: Germs W. C. , van Mensfoort S. L. M. , de Vries R. J. , Coehoorn R.
Published: April 2012

It has recently been shown how the injection barriers at the electrode interfaces and the built-in voltage (Vbi) of organic light emitting diodes can be obtained from measurements of the differential capacitance at low frequencies, using the voltage and height of a distinct peak in the capacitance-voltages curves. In this paper, we investigate the effects of Gaussian energetic disorder on the analysis, for single-carrier and double-carrier devices. We show how the disorder affects the peak position and height, and how from combined capacitance-voltage measurements and device modeling the injection barriers and Vbi can be determined. As examples, hole-only and double-carrier devices are investigated based on a blue-emitting polyfluorene-triarylamine copolymer.
Modeling of lateral charge transfer in Si nanocrystals in SiO2 thin film
Authors: Yu Q. , Liu Y. , Chen T. P. , Yu Y. F. , Wong J. I. , Yang M.
Published: April 2012

In this work, lateral charge diffusion in Si nanocrystal (nc-Si) layer embedded in a SiO2 thin film has been simulated with Silvaco-TCAD tool by monitoring the influence of the charging of the nanocrystal in one metal-oxide-semiconductor structure on its neighboring devices. With the existence of the nc-Si layer in the spacing regions between the charged device and a neighboring device, a flatband voltage shift can be observed in the neighboring device after a charging operation on the charged device. The phenomena are explained in terms of the lateral charge diffusion in the nc-Si layer. The lateral charge diffusion can cause the interference among the neighboring devices.
Coaxial nanowire resonant tunneling diodes from non-polar AlN/GaN on silicon
Authors: Carnevale S. D. , Marginean C. , Phillips P. J. , Kent T. F. , Sarwar A. T. M. G. , Mills M. J. , Myers R. C.
Published: April 2012

Resonant tunneling diodes are formed using AlN/GaN core-shell nanowire heterostructures grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy on n-Si(111) substrates. By using a coaxial geometry, these devices take advantage of non-polar (m-plane) nanowire sidewalls. Device modeling predicts non-polar orientation should enhance resonant tunneling compared to a polar structure, and that AlN double barriers will lead to higher peak-to-valley current ratios compared to AlGaN barriers. Electrical measurements of ensembles of nanowires show negative differential resistance appearing only at cryogenic temperature. Individual nanowire measurements show negative differential resistance at room temperature with peak current density of 5 × 105 A/cm2.
Quantifying internal friction in unfolded and intrinsically disordered proteins with single-molecule spectroscopy
Authors: Soranno Andrea , Buchli Brigitte , Nettels Daniel , Cheng Ryan R. , Müller-Späth Sonja , Pfeil Shawn H. , Hoffmann Armin , Lipman Everett A. , Makarov Dmitrii E. , Schuler Benjamin
Published: April 2012

Internal friction, which reflects the “roughness” of the energy landscape, plays an important role for proteins by modulating the dynamics of their folding and other conformational changes. However, the experimental quantification of internal friction and its contribution to folding dynamics has remained challenging. Here we use the combination of single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer, nanosecond fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, and microfluidic mixing to determine the reconfiguration times of unfolded proteins and investigate the mechanisms of internal friction contributing to their dynamics. Using concepts from polymer dynamics, we determine internal friction with three complementary, largely independent, and consistent approaches as an additive contribution to the reconfiguration time of the unfolded state. We find that the magnitude of internal friction correlates with the compactness of the unfolded protein: its contribution dominates the reconfiguration time of approximately 100 ns of the compact unfolded state of a small cold shock protein under native conditions, but decreases for more expanded chains, and approaches zero both at high denaturant concentrations and in intrinsically disordered proteins that are expanded due to intramolecular charge repulsion. Our results suggest that internal friction in the unfolded state will be particularly relevant for the kinetics of proteins that fold in the microsecond range or faster. The low internal friction in expanded intrinsically disordered proteins may have implications for the dynamics of their interactions with cellular binding partners.
The War of Words
Authors: Briggs Asa
Published: April 2012

This is the third part of a five-volume history of broadcasting in the UK, giving an authoritative account of the rise of broadcasting in this country. This volume covering the period from 1939 to 1945, is concerned not only with the impact of the Second World War on the structure, organization, and programmes of the BBC, itself a fascinating subject; it also deals directly with the role of the BBC outside as well as inside Britain within the context of the general political and military history of the war; an exciting, complicated, sometimes controversial role, strangely neglected by historians.
Perspectives
Authors: Briggs Asa
Published: April 2012

This chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the history of broadcasting in Great Britain from 1939 to 1945. This book evaluates the impact of World War 2 on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the role of broadcasting in war propaganda. It provides a detailed examination of domestic themes from international aspects of broadcasting and describes how the programmes and organizational structure of the BBC changed because of the war.
Controllers and Controlled
Authors: Briggs Asa
Published: April 2012

This chapter focuses on the conflict of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) with the Ministry of Information and the Cabinet. It discusses Minister of Information Frank Pick's proposal for a government takeover of the BBC. When this proposal was not accepted, Pick appointed two new advisers to the BBC to deal with home affairs and local affairs. This chapter describes BBC General-Director General Frederick Ogilvie's reaction to the appointment and his eventual resignation in February 1942.
‘Triple Expansion’
Authors: Briggs Asa
Published: April 2012

This chapter focuses on the triple expansion of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1942. It suggests the idea of a large-scale extension of BBC overseas services had first taken shape in the autumn of 1940 in response to the volume of foreign-language broadcasting. The objectives of the expansion included providing the BBC with enhanced power to convey to all parts of the world truthful news and exposition of British policy, and grew to countering and discrediting the enemy cause within the enemy countries and among populations subject in enemy occupied territories.
Russia and the United States
Authors: Briggs Asa
Published: April 2012

This chapter examines the wartime broadcasting during Russia and the U.S.'s entry into the European theatre of World War 2. It discusses Germany's broadcasting of its detailed war plans to invade Russia followed non-broadcast propaganda until June 29, 1921. It describes how the American commentators and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responded to the German broadcast propaganda.
Prelude
Authors: Briggs Asa
Published: April 2012

This chapter examines the impact of the setting up of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) on the operation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It discusses the SHAEF's creation of a Psychological Warfare Division which had obvious ramifications for the BBC's European services and the SHAEF's demand for a new international broadcasting service for troops serving under the SHAEF Command. It also explains that the very existence of the SHAEF guaranteed the opening of the Second Front of the war and that BBC had to make preparations for its own reporting of D-Day.
Sexual function following spinal cord injury
Authors: Gardner B. P. , Rainsbury P.
Published: April 2012

Spinal cord dysfunction is not limited to motor sensory and bladder problems, but includes the important aspect of sexuality. The patient with a spinal lesion may suffer a reduction in sexual attractiveness (real or imagined), with a concomitant psychological component of reduction in sexual drive or libido compounded by fear of rejection, pain, depression, and the possible effect of medication. Physical problems include difficulty or impossibility of movement, and the control of bodily functions, including sphincter control and stoma incontinence.
Current ideas on motor control and learning: implications for therapy
Authors: Mulder Theo
Published: April 2012

This chapter discusses recent notions on motor control and learning. It aims to give the reader an impression of modern psychological thinking on motor control and learning. The learning of motor control can be understood in terms of the acquisition of abstract plans or rules (or ways to link muscle-joint systems). Visual information, feedback, variability of practice, active movements, and ecologically valid context all play a role in this acquisition process. These requirements can be seen as instruments in the hands of a therapist, and can be employed in the development of a modern therapy.
Overview of fMRI analysis
Authors: Smith Stephen M.
Published: April 2012

This chapter gives an overview of the various analysis steps that are required after a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment has been designed and carried out. The resulting data must be passed through various analysis steps before the experimenter can get answers to questions about experimentally related activations at the individual or multi-subject level. The aim of fMRI analysis is to identify in which voxels’ time-series the signal of interest is significantly greater than the noise level. The chapter also provides a brief overview of different approaches to obtaining activation maps, followed by a detailed introduction to analysis via the general linear model – currently the most popular statistical approach – and also various methods of thresholding the resulting statistics maps. It describes briefly the practical and numerical details involved in the analysis of a particular fMRI experiment.
Preparing fMRI data for statistical analysis
Authors: Smith Stephen M.
Published: April 2012

This chapter describes the various preprocessing steps necessary to take raw data from the scanner and prepare it for the ‘heart’ of functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis, namely statistical analysis. These preprocessing steps take the raw MR data, convert it into images that actually look like brains, then reduce unwanted noise of various types and precondition the data in order to aid the later statistics. The chapter also discusses how it is much easier to ‘automate’ the preprocessing steps than the statistical analysis because optimal tuning of preprocessing algorithms is less dependent on the details of any particular experiment than is the case with later statistics. It discusses the reasons for applying spatial filtering as a preprocessing step and results clearly show the blurring of activation areas as spatial filtering extent increases, even causing ‘activation’ outside of the brain.
Stabilizing Head/Eye Movements in the BlowflyCalliphora erythrocephala
Authors: Hengstenberg Roland
Published: April 2012

Like the majority of other insects, the blowfly has five eyes: three ocelli on top of the head and two compound eyes at the side. The ocelli retinae compose a few hundred photoreceptors whose light-sensitive structures lie inside the focal distance of the lens. Ocelli are believed to act as wide field brightness sensors and are not suited to perceive fine spatial details. Degradation of visual perception by blurring during self-motion is principally the same in all types of eyes. The transfer of high spatial frequencies can be optimized by minimization of the retinal slip, using the necessary compensatory eye movements.
Neural Processes between Visual Sign Stimuli and Head Movements in Toads
Authors: Ewert Jörg-peter , Schürg-pfeiffer Evelyn , Will iSchwippert Wolfgang
Published: April 2012

Considering the neural visuomotor processes obtained by behaviorally relevant sign stimuli, it was realized that investigations in mammals are very intricate. In mammals, the retina is functionally divided into an event-signaling periphery and a central fovea. The oculomotor system is adapted to this property. If an object appears in the peripheral visual field, eye movements direct the fovea to the locus of interest. These ballistic eye movements are relatively fast and not object-specific but event-related. Once the fovea is on target, feedback-guided fixation and smooth-pursuit eye movements provide the conditions for feature analysis and recognition, which are criteria to select the necessary goal-directed behavior.
Optocollic Reflexes and Neck Flexion—Related Activity of Flight Control Muscles in the Airflow-Stimulated Pigeon
Authors: Bilo Dietrich
Published: April 2012

Gaze stabilization in birds is primarily achieved by a stabilization of the head as manifested, for example, by the head bobbing phenomenon. During this particular kind of head movement, forward thrusts of the head regularly alternate with hold phases in which the head is almost perfectly stabilized in space. This behavior is most often manifested by species that pick up their food from the ground while walking, such as chickens and pigeons. In the pigeon, not only does head bobbing happen during walking, but the same pattern of head movements can also be seen during landing flight. Horizontal angular head bobbing can be observed during slow-turning flights of the pigeon.
Head Position and Posture in Newborn Infants
Authors: Jouen François
Published: April 2012

The early development of head-neck and postural control systems has garnered interest not only from developmental psychologists but from researchers from other domains as well. Until recently, however, this field had been ruled by an essentially maturationistic approach and has not extended much beyond more or less accurate descriptions of observed postural behavior. Major aspects of postural development are elaborated in terms of the central nervous system. Recent research on infants' sensory-motor systems has revealed an intricacy overlooked by a maturationistic perspective. Therefore, reconsidering early postural development in a wider framework is a must, combining all the different inputs involved from proprio to ex-proprioceptive signals.
Skeletal Geometry in Vertebrates and Its Relation to the Vestibular End Organs
Authors: Graf Werner , Waele Catherine de , Vidal Pierre Paul
Published: April 2012

The results in man and monkey came as no surprise since an erect cervical column had been considered one of the characteristics of “humanness” and a consequence of bipedalism and upright stance. Added to this, the vertical orientation of the cervical spine in man is more or less obvious from the outside. However, for the majority of mammalian quadrupeds, the body shape of the animal is misleading since the outline of the head-neck region formed by soft tissue suggests a horizontal orientation of the cervical spine. In higher vertebrates, the head is found balanced on top of the vertically oriented cervical spine. It was interpreted as providing an energy-saving balance of the head in the resting position.
The Cervical Spine, from Anatomy and Physiology to Clinical Care
Authors: Blandand John H. , Boushey Dallas R.
Published: April 2012

The cervical spine is the most intricate articulate system in the human body. There are thirty-seven separate joints whose function is to carry out the many movements of the head and neck in relation to the trunk and subserve all specialized sense organs. The seven small cervical vertebrae with their capsular, ligamentous, tendinous, and muscle attachments are poorly designed to protect their contacts, as compared to the skull above and the thorax below. The contents of this anatomic cylinder interposed between skull and thorax include carotid and vertebral arteries, the spinal cord and all anterior and posterior nerve roots, and the brain stem.
Excitatory and Inhibitory Mechanisms Involved in the Dynamic Control of Posture during the Cervicospinal Reflexes
Authors: Pompeiano Ottavio
Published: April 2012

The main structure that regulates posture in decerebrate animals is the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN), whose descending verstibulospinal (VS) pathway excites mono- and polysynaptically ipsilateral neck and limb extensor motoneurons. However, in the addition to the LVN, there are two other structures that exert an antagonistic influence on posture. The first region is represented by the medical aspect of the medullary reticular formation, from which the inhibitory reticulospinal (RS) pathway acting on ipsilateral limb extensor motoneurons originates. This area is under the tonic excitatory influence of a dorsal tegmental region whose neurons, located in the peri-locus ceruleus and the neighboring pontine reticular formation (PRF) are cholinosensitive and also cholinergic in nature.
Retrograde Axonal Transport of Fluorescent Tracers from Medullary Reticular Structures to the “Neck” and “Forelimb” Segments of the Cervical Spinal Cord
Authors: Ciriani Noemi Corvaja , Gennari Alessandra , Dʼascanio Paola , Pompeiano Ottavio
Published: April 2012

Cervical spinoreticular (CSR) neurons and the linked medullary reticular neurons respond to proprioceptive afferent volleys stemming not only from the forelimb but also from the dorsal neck musculature. These neurons may also respond to vestibular afferent volleys stemming from macular labyrinthine receptors. The potential that CSR neurons are involved in the proprioceptive cervical and labyrinthine control of posture is supported by anatomic observations, manifesting that both uncrossed as well as crossed CSR neurons terminate in the precerebellar lateral reticular nucleus (LRN), which inhibits the discharge of excitatory vestibulospinal (VS) neurons by acting through Purkinje cells of the cerebellar hermivervis. Physiologic researches have shown that populations of both MRF and LRN neurons respond to neck and macular labyrinthine stimulations.
From Interdepedent to Independent Control of Head and Trunk
Authors: Mittelstaedt Horst , Mittelstaedt Marie-Luise
Published: April 2012

When the sense organs that inform an animal through light, sound, or gravity about its orientation in space are located in the head, and the motor apparatus that controls that orientation is in the trunk, then the control system must somehow account for the position of the head relative to the trunk. If the trunk may be oriented independently of head position, the sensory information must undergo a coordinate transformation, rotatory or translatory or both depending on the respective anatomic and informational degrees of freedom of the neck. These problems are best seen against the background of the evolutionary history of intersegmental relations in many-segmented creatures.
Listing's Law for Gaze-Directing Head Movements
Authors: Tweed Douglas , Vilis Tutis
Published: April 2012

This chapter clarifies that “Listing's Law”, which governs the rotations of voluntary eye movements, also governs specific types of voluntary head movements. Listing's law for the eye states that there is a “displacement plane” associated with the orientation assumed by the eye, and there is exactly one eye position p in which the displacement plane is orthogonal to the line of sight. The analogy of Listing's law for the head states that there is an associated displacement plane DPh such that the head assumes only those positions from the reference position by rotating about the axis lying on DPh. This chapter also presents the methods of the experiments performed on seven human subjects where their three-dimensional head position and velocity vectors were measured using Robinson's magnetic field-search coil technique. The primary finding of this study is the Listing's Law for the head.
Sensitivity Analysis of a Human Head Movement Model
Authors: Arlt Andreas C. , Zangemeister Wolfgang H. , Dee JÜrgen
Published: April 2012

This paper explains the results of Zangemeister et al. The experimental and modeling results of Hannaford et al. were also reassessed with respect to normally fast and very fast time-optimal movements. More importantly, this study employs mathematical and manipulation analysis of the model, specifically the threefold approach of sensitivity analysis to gain valuable insights about the pathologic features of clinical neurologic deficits. The modification of an existing model is also presented and briefly discussed in this chapter. This chapter concludes that applying powerful mathematical tools such as threefold sensitivity analysis to analytic models is helpful in explaining and treating disorders of motor control.
Eye Movements and Visual-Vestibular Interactions during Linear Head Motion
Authors: Paige Gary D. , Tomko David L.
Published: April 2012

Reflex eye movements occur during linear head movements to maintain ocular fixation on visual targets. Some theoretical considerations and experimental findings are presented in this chapter to support a compensatory role for the LVOR. The discussion is limited to primates since their visual-vestibular interactions and target fixation are improved by binocular foveate vision and depth perception. It is concluded that three LVORS — the horizontal response to IA motion, the vertical response to DV motion, and both the horizontal and vertical responses to 5 Hz NO motion — show characteristics consistent with the kinematics of ideal compensatory eye movements that help maintain stable “target” fixation.
Perception of the Orientation of the Head on the Body in Man
Authors: Taylor Janet L.
Published: April 2012

The movement of the head in space is signaled by the vestibular apparatus, which is sensitive to linear and angular acceleration while movement of the head on the body is signaled by neck receptors. The movement of the head relative to the body produces proprioceptive signals from the neck. This chapter describes the tests of proprioceptive ability. One simple test is the accuracy in pointing to a remembered target without vision. Another measure of the ability is the threshold at which a little passive displacement can be detected. Two test conditions were used in this study: (1) with the body held stationary, small rotations of varying angular velocities and displacements were imposed on the head through a tightly fitted frame; and (2) with the head held stationary, rotations were imposed on the body.
Perception of Horizontal Head and Trunk Rotation in Space: Role of Vestibular and Neck Afferents
Authors: Mergner Thomas , Siebold Christoph , Schweigart Georg , Becker Wolfgang
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents the investigations relating to the trunk and head turning perception of human subjects using a broader approach. The authors in this study confirmed that a subject's trunk rotation in space can be described as the sum of vestibularly and nuchally derived signals. A model describing the interaction of vestibular and neck afferents for the self-motion perception of head-relative-to-trunk, head-in-space, and trunk-in-space rotation is presented here. The authors also mention the preliminary evidence that the interaction between neck and visual signals for trunk rotation in space in an illuminated environment has certain analogies to the vestibular-neck interaction in the dark.
Kinematic Characteristics of Head Trajectory during Horizontal Head Movements in Monkeys
Authors: Le Goff Bertrand , Madic Pierre , Liverneaux Philippe , Lestienne Francis L.
Published: April 2012

This study concentrates on motor strategies performed by the monkey (Macaca mulatta) for orienting movements in the head-free condition during visual tracking and visual pursuit. This study is based on the assumption that the CNS would induce motor strategies that would reduce the number of degrees of freedom. This is to simplify the central control of movements. The materials and methods of the study include the experimental procedure, the surgery techniques, the electromyographic recording, and the recording of head movements. The results present the involvement of the head in gaze shifts, the head trajectory and muscular synergy, the notable elements of head trajectories, and the kinematic variability and similarity. It is concluded that muscular synergies could be used by the CNS to simply the control of complex structure through motor programs with few independent parameters.
Mechanism for Voluntary Cancellation of the Vestibulo-ocular Reflex in Squirrel Monkeys That Is Not Related to Smooth Pursuit
Authors: Mccrea Robert A. , Cullen Kathleen E.
Published: April 2012

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is reduced or cancelled by a smooth pursuit eye movement programmed to match the velocity of the moving target whenever there is an attempt made to follow a moving visual target by combining a smooth pursuit eye movement with a head movement generated in the direction of target movement. The objective of this study is to determine if there is a second mechanism that can cancel the VOR. The experiments in this study involved four squirrel monkeys that were prepared for chronic recording of eye movements. The monkeys were seated on a vestibular turntable with restrained heads. Their eye movements were recorded using magnetic search coil technique. Results showed that there is a cancellation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex generated by the sudden turntable jerks. There is also a cancellation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex produced by the unpredictable head movements.
What about the So-Called Neck Reflexes in Humans?
Authors: Gurfinkel Victor S. , Lebedev Michael A. , Levick Yuri S.
Published: April 2012

This chapter aims to investigate the extent to which the human neck influences represent “reflexes”, and the degree to which they are determined by the internal representation of the body. Postural factors in man induce changes in the tone of limb muscles that resemble neck reflexes in animals. The results presented here include the influence of static head rotation on tonic activity of knee extensors. The modification of leg muscle tonic activity during illusory head “return” produced by sustained static rotation of the head is also discussed in detail here. It is concluded that head rotations induce changes in distribution of tonic activity of limb muscles in man.
Control of Head Stability and Gaze during Locomotion in Normal Subjects and Patients with Deficient Vestibular Function
Authors: King Osric S. , Seidman Scott H. , Leigh R. John
Published: April 2012

Rotational perturbations during locomotion are the major threat to clear vision. These perturbations lead to the evolution of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. This study aims to determine the nature of rotational head perturbations that occur during locomotion that could interfere with vision. The study involves measuring and comparing the velocity and frequency of vigorous head rotations with those perturbations that occur during locomotion. The stability of the head during walking and running in place is discussed in this chapter. The results also provide guidelines of what stimuli to be applied in testing patients with vestibular disorders. Another finding from the results is that there is randomness in the rotational perturbations that occur during locomotion.
Head-Trunk Coordination in Man: Is Trunk Angular Velocity Elicited by a Support Surface Movement the Only Factor Influencing Head Stabilization?
Authors: Allum John H. J. , Honegger Flurin , Keshner Emily A.
Published: April 2012

This chapter's objective is to answer the question about the coordination of head and trunk movements as to whether head movements follow those of the trunk, as a passive mass-spring-dashpot system would. Three important factors of postural control must be analyzed, including the definition of head stabilization, the fact that the displacement of body segments set in motion may be greater than the muscles' available contractile forces, and the possibility that the presence of rapid adaptation of neck extensor responses to successive platform rotations may represent switching to a head stabilization regulation mode. The purpose of this study is to clarify these issues and determine the degree to which the passive biomechanical properties may dominate the head movements on the trunk.
Head Kinematics during Complex Movements
Authors: Pozzo Thierry , Berthoz Alain , Lefort Loïc
Published: April 2012

This purpose of this study is to investigate head kinematics during acrobatic leaps, where only visual and vestibular receptor information is used. This study demonstrates the existence of intermittent head stabilizations during extreme high-speed body movements and their role in the control of acrobatic leaps. The kinematics of the movements of five athletes were recorded and analyzed using an optical automatic TV image processor. The results present the general characteristics of body kinematics during backward somersaults and the angular displacement of the head. This study also attempts to answer the questions: (1) why is the head stabilized? and (2) what determines the mean direction of head stabilization?
Head-Forelimb Movement Coordination and Its Rearrangement in the Course of Training in the Dog: Role of the Motor Cortex
Authors: Pavlova Olga G. , Alexandrov Alexey V.
Published: April 2012

The primary objective of this study is to describe the qualitative and quantitative relationships between head and forelimb movements in intact dogs during the early stage of instrumental learning, and in trained dogs after motor cortex ablations. The acquisition of instrumental reactions includes the stages of training, the correlation of limb and head movements, and the stability of head and limb position. The disturbance of the acquired skill after motor cortex lesions is also discussed in this chapter. The results show that there is an innate coordination of head and forelimb movements in the dog that interfere with the performance of instrumental reactions. This coordination is also displaced in head extension preceding limb flexion.
Control of Head-Eye Posture in the Roll Plane: Comparative Neurology of the Ocular Tilt Reaction
Authors: Halmagyi G. Michael , Curthoys Ian S.
Published: April 2012

This chapter integrates the observations about animals with experimental vestibular lesions. Another objective is to provide an analysis of principles of vestibular control of head-eye posture across vertebrate species. The head and eye postural reactions to roll-tilt simulation are discussed here, as well as the head and eye posture with unilateral vestibular lesions and unilateral vestibular stimulation. It is suggested that head-eye posture in roll plane be organized at the mesodiencephalic and at the peripheral vestibular level into a postural synkinensis.
Spasmodic Torticollis: Its Electromyographic Recording and Treatment by Alcoholization
Authors: Hasegawa Osamu
Published: April 2012

Torticollis is defined as twisted neck, a condition in which the head or neck deviates from the midline intermittently or constantly. The symptomatology of spasmodic torticollis is described in detail, as well as the remission, the electromyographic findings, and the standard treatments. It is concluded that the clinical characteristics of spasmodic torticollis patients can be described as a vectorial summation of tonus in the bilateral SCM and Spl at rest. Also, in the treatment of torticollis, the alcoholization therapy has the same efficacy as botulinum-A toxic injection.
Neuroleptic Treatment-Induced Abnormal Neck Posture
Authors: Kaneko Yoshihiro
Published: April 2012

Clinical characteristics and the mechanisms of development of tardice dystonia observed in a group of patients undergoing long-term neuroleptic therapy are investigated in this chapter. The extrapyramidal symptoms and cerebrospinal fluid levels of monoamines with protracted administration of neuroleptics are presented here. The authors conducted clinical, physiological, and biochemical studies of schizophrenia patients with tardice dystonia that developed during long-term treatment with neuroleptics. It could be inferred from the results that the functional abnormalities of central nervous system monoamine metabolism induce the symptoms.
Structure and Function of Ligand-Gated Channels
Authors: Dingledine Raymond J. , Bennett Julie A.
Published: April 2012

The ligand-gated ion channel family is responsible for fast excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission throughout the brain. Inhibition is mediated by GABAA and glycine receptors, whereas excitation is mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine, serotonin, and glutamate receptors. The ligand-gated ion channel receptors possess multiple ligand-binding sites and consist of multiple subunits that are assembled in various combinations to impart different pharmacological and kinetic properties to the channel. These subunits share approximately 50% to 70% sequence homology within their individual receptor class and share approximately 15% to 40% homology across classes. Each subunit contains four distinct hydrophobic regions that may constitute transmembrane domains of these receptor subunits. This chapter discusses transmembrane structure, glutamate receptor families, structural determinants of permeation and channel block, structural determinants of modulation, and functional significance of molecular diversity in glutamate receptors.
Thalamocortical Interactions
Authors: Huguenard John R. , McCormick David A. , Coulter Douglas
Published: April 2012

All sensory information, except for olfaction, passes through the synaptic network of the thalamus just before reaching the cerebral cortex, suggesting that the thalamus may exert a powerful influence on sensory and motor processing. However, the connection is not unidirectional: layer VI of the cerebral cortex contributes up to 50% of the synapses on thalamic relay neurons, indicating that the thalamus and cerebral cortex are intimately associated in some form of reciprocal loop. Many previous studies have shown the thalamus to be critically involved in a wide variety of phenomena, including the generation of the electroencephalogram (EEG), the blocking of transmission of sensory information during slow-wave sleep, and the generation of generalized seizures. This chapter examines, at the subcellular, cellular, and network levels, the biophysical mechanisms for all three of these and related phenomena.
Pathophysiology of Cortical Areas from Human Epileptics
Authors: Masukawa Leona M.
Published: April 2012

Epilepsy is a clinical disorder that is manifested by abnormal brain electrical discharges and is therefore appropriate for electrophysiological study. Until relatively recently, mechanisms of epilepsy have been largely examined in animal models that have established several possible mechanisms, which are described in companion chapters of this book. The use of en bloc temporal lobectomies as an effective treatment of complex partial seizures intractable to drug treatment has permitted physiological studies of human epileptic tissue that were not previously possible. This chapter discusses emerging results from the application of in vitro brain slice technology to surgically resected tissue against the background of in vivo studies of epileptic patients to give an up-to-date view of the pathophysiology of human epilepsy.
Psychophysiology
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

Psychophysiology is a relatively new discipline. In the mid-1950s, a group of physiological psychologists began referring to themselves as psychophysiologists. However, the subject matter of psychophysiology — the interaction of mind and body — has been studied for centuries by people trained as philosophers, physicists, physicians, physiologists, and, most recently, psychologists. John Stern (1964) defined the work of psychophysiology as “any research in which the dependent variable (the subject's response) is a physiological measure and the independent variable (the factor manipulated by the experimenter) a behavioral one”. Stern's definition of psychophysiology is not incorrect, but with the passage of time it has become too limiting. The type of research he was defining examined the physiological changes that accompanied certain psychological or behavioral manipulations. More recent experiments conducted by psychophysiologists show that it is equally tenable to manipulate physiological variables and examine behavioral changes. This chapter discusses the history of psychophysiology, Luigi Galvani's research on the electrical properties of the skin, theory on how electricity could improve people's health, and early instruments used to record psychophysiological changes.
Respiratory System
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

Respiration refers to the process by which oxygen is supplied to cells and carbon dioxide is removed. The aspects of respiration that psychophysiologists usually measure are breathing rate and amplitude, the latter being a measure of the depth of breathing. Breathing amplitude can be measured either directly (the true volume of the lungs) or indirectly (using a measure such as the circumference of the chest). Some methods of direct volume measurement also allow one to assess the nature and amounts of gases that are being expired from the lungs, such as carbon dioxide. In addition, one can measure aspects of the respiratory cycle such as the inspiratory duty cycle (also called the inspiration fraction) which is the ratio of inspiratory duration to the total respiratory cycle duration. This chapter provides an overview of the respiratory system and describes five methods of recording respiratory variables: spirometry, the air-pressure pneumograph, impedance pneumography, air temperature, and respiratory inductive plethysmography. Another method, the strain gauge, is also considered.
Cardiovascular System: Heart Rate; Cardiac Output; and Blood Pressure, Volume, and Flow
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

The heart is a muscle, referred to as the myocardium, which begins functioning within the fourth week of embryonic development and continues to beat 3–4 billion times throughout life. About the size of a fist, the heart weighs less than a pound and contracts about 60–75 times a minute. As it beats, the heart moves blood to various organs including the lungs (pulmonary circulation), the heart (coronary circulation), and the rest of the body (systemic circulation). Psychophysiologists have long been interested in the functioning of the heart and circulation and have focused their attention on such measures as heart rate, blood pressure, blood volume, and blood flow. This chapter provides a brief overview of the physiology of the cardiovascular system before discussing the recording and analysis of heart rate, blood pressure, blood volume, and blood flow. The electrical activity of the heart as recorded at the surface of the skin is measured by a technique known as electrocardiography.
Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity and Reasoning Ability
Authors: Oberauer Klaus , Süß Heinz-Martin , Wilhelm Oliver , Sander Nicolas
Published: April 2012

This chapter discusses how a substantial number of studies have shown that working memory capacity (WMC) is the best single predictor identified so far of reasoning ability as measured by intelligence tests. This finding is an important step toward understanding psychometric intelligence in terms of theories from cognitive psychology. The factor-analytic approach to individual differences provides a tool to identify associations and dissociations between indicators of cognitive functions. The approach is to model the correlational structure of a large set of indicators by theoretically specified structural equation models. WMC is found to be related to measures of processing speed. One explanation is that many working memory tasks are complex span tasks that involve a processing component, and the speed of performing this component is one source of variance in complex span tasks. Currently the most successful theory of deductive reasoning is the theory of mental models.
Inhibitory Mechanisms and the Control of Attention
Authors: Hasher Lynn , Lustig Cindy , Zacks Rose
Published: April 2012

This chapter focuses on a set of attentional or executive control processes, all inhibitory, that operate in the service of an individual's goals to narrow and constrain the contents of consciousness to be goal relevant. An uncluttered or narrowly focused “working memory,” rather than a large one, is the ideal processing system. The narrow focus maximizes the speed and accuracy of on-line processing because it reduces the likelihood of switching attention to goal-irrelevant representations. The work is similar to that of other investigations in its focus on executive processes as a critical source of working memory variation as well as variation in many cognitive domains. The emphasis on inhibitory processes may be the characteristic that most differentiates their work from others.
The Executive Is Central to Working Memory: Insights from Age, Performance, and Task Variations
Authors: Reuter-Lorenz Patricia A. , Jonides John
Published: April 2012

This chapter briefly describes inhibitory functions and the effects that variations in their efficiency can have on performance on a number of tasks with an emphasis on speed of processing and working memory. Executive processing is required in any working memory task just so long as information must be stored longer than a passive trace is retained. Any attentional process required during working memory engages a good part of the same neural machinery involved when information needs to be manipulated. Studies of monkeys and humans appear to converge on the idea that frontally mediated processes are critical for establishing more resilient representations in working memory. Studies of aging have also revealed the integrality of attentional and executive processing operations to tasks that are viewed as requiring only storage.
Recordings from Cat Prestriate Areas, 18 and 19
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Receptive Fields and Functional Architecture in Two Nonstriate Visual Areas (18 and 19) of the Cat”. Its range was wide, encompassing topography, columnar architecture, physiological mapping, conventional Nissl, myelin, silver-degeneration (Nauta-method) histology, and receptive field-analysis. The study explored the cortex from medial to lateral in successive penetrations, covering from visual I into Talbot and Marshal's visual II, and then continuing into what was proved to be a third distinct topographically organized visual area lying lateral to the second, called “visual area III”. In analyzing visual II and III, it followed the usual procedure of describing cells in terms of their responses to visual stimulation, attempting at the same time to build up a picture of cortical architecture by comparing the behavior of neighboring cells, and of cells recorded in sequence, in long penetrations.
Recording Fibers in the Cat Corpus Callosum
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Cortical and Callosal Connections Concerned with the Vertical Meridian of Visual Fields in the Cat”. The study made simultaneous recordings from visual areas in the two hemispheres, looking for possible overlap between the receptive fields of cells on the two sides. It also recorded fibers directly from the corpus callosum and examined to what extent they were preoccupied with the vertical meridian. The findings suggest that certain fibers in the corpus callosum link cells whose fields are close together but lie on opposite sides of the vertical meridian. These fibers seem to serve the same functions as intracortical fibers linking cells with the receptive fields clustered in more outlying parts of the visual fields.
An End to the Horror: Trusts on Intestacy
Authors: JOHNSTON DAVID
Published: April 2012

In Roman law, legacies and wills were always encountered together since legacies could not be given without a will first being produced. In contrast to such arrangements, trusts could be issued without having to establish a will, and were thus perceived to be valid under situations of intestacy in testamentary succession. Some of the implications of such trusts entailed how intestate succession involved how the beneficiaries were determined by civil law's residual rules instead of being dictated by the deceased. Since intestate heirs succeed through lex or through the authority imposed by law instead of the wishes of the testator, intestate heirs were then referred to as legitimi. This chapter mainly explores how trusts bring about disruptions to the described conventional patterns. Also, it looks into how having no proof or will can sometimes be problematic, while also examining the principles on which, through intestacy, trusts could be charged on the heirs.
Procedural Fairness in Europe: The European Convention on Human Rights and the European Union
Authors: Galligan D. J.
Published: April 2012

This chapter discusses the approach taken to procedural fairness within the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Union. The provision for procedural fairness is made in Article 6(1) of the ECHR. The approached expressed in this Article has the same logical pattern as English and American law: the first part imposes a threshold test which must be met in order to attract certain procedures, while the second part states what those procedures are. In the constitutional documents of the European Union, little is said about procedures and even less about procedural fairness. Apart from the duty of the Commission to give reasons for certain of its actions pursuant to the EEC Treaty, procedural matters are left largely to be dealt with either in subordinate legislation by way of regulations of directives, or by the European Court in developing the legal principles of the Union.
Procedural Fairness in the Policy Process
Authors: Galligan D. J.
Published: April 2012

This chapter examines those administrative processes that settle or make recommendations about matters of policy. It identifies different forms of policy making and places the process in a wider context. It then moves from the descriptive features of the policy process to the normative standards which guide it. The main objective of the chapter is to develop a notion of procedural fairness in relation to administrative policy making, which in turn depends on articulating the standards of fair treatment of persons and groups.
Executive Structures
Authors: Leigh Ian
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents an overview of the legal framework for decision-making through delegation to committees and officers. It then considers the strains on this framework in the position of ‘backbench’ councillors and ‘hung’ councils, and from the introduction of a compulsory competitive tendering (CCT). It lastly considers the question of political leadership and current form of executive structures, including the introduction of cabinets and of directly elected mayors. It considers the argument that the roles of backbench councillors and the political elite should be strengthened by providing a clearer separation of them.