bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental Torticollis in Cats and Monkeys: Effect of Lesions and Drugs
Authors: Maulin Francine , Bédard Paul J.
Published: April 2012

This chapter provides supporting evidence that torticollis has a frontal and a horizontal component, related to dysfunction involving different systems. The posture and movements of the head are disturbed in a different manner according to the lesion inducing the torticollis. Moreover, the frequent occurrence of mixed forms of torticollies in humans may imply that a unifocal lesion can be responsible for head disturbances that involve interrelated systems. A parallel can be drawn between the variability of responses induced by the drugs in the experimental models of torticollis and the drug responses variability reported in patients with spasmodic torticollis.
Functional Outcome after Segmental Arthrodesis of the Cervical Spine
Authors: Mestdagh Henri , Leclet Hervé
Published: April 2012

The objective of this study is to evaluate the remaining range of head movement after surgery and to account for the behavior of the intervertebral levels beyond the site of arthrodesis. There is an accurate reduction of the fracture and/or dislocation. Moreover, compensatory motion can take place on either side of the site of operation. It is concluded that any surgical intervertebral fusion jeopardizes the range of motion of the cervical spine.
Fixed Gaze and Eye-Head Coordination in Basal Ganglia Diseases (Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Chorea, and Pallidum Necrosis)
Authors: Bazalgette Didier , Zattara Maurice , Bathien Nguyen , Rondot Pierre
Published: April 2012

The role of the basal ganglia in eye-head coordination has been studied using neurophysiologic and mathematical tools. The authors tried to answer the questions: (1) How do normal subjects organize and stabilize a new eye-head coordination situation? (2) What changes occur in patients with basal ganglia disorders? (3) Do eye-head coordination disorders and posturokinetic coordination share common characteristics? In the experimental paradigm, the subjects maintained the gaze on a central target during active and passive isolated head rotations. It is suggested this paradigm is used in studying eye-head motor coordination in central nervous system disorders.
Abnormal Timing of Antagonist Splenius Burst in Head Movements of Patients with Cerebellar Disorders: Clinical and Modeling Results
Authors: Zangemeister Wolfgang H. , Dee Jürgen , Arlt Andreas C.
Published: April 2012

The objective of this study is to understand the role of the cerebellum with respect to the generating process and timing of the motor control signals. The model for simulation of head movements involves the approximation of a rigid sphere, rotating about its center of mass. The experimental setup involves the test subject sitting in front of a screen that is horizontally concave. The patient is asked to make time-optimal head movements of 80° amplitude. Experimental results for normal subjects and patients with cerebellar disorders are presented. The chapter discusses how increased fluctuations of premotor and reciprocal motor activation is responsible for cerebellar dysmetria.
Thirty Years Among Cortical Neurons
Authors: Prince David A.
Published: April 2012

This chapter begins a discussion of the concept of diversity as a key attribute of cortical neurons, and the importance of understanding interactions that occur among molecular-, cellular-, and circuit-level functions in predicting the effects of naturally occurring or experimentally induced alterations. The functional implications of intrinsic burst generation in subsets of neurons are used to illustrate the potentially unexpected results that may ensue when translating molecular (membrane) properties into the language of the cortex. The chapter then uses the results of experiments on epileptogenesis to emphasize the important contributions that work on abnormal cortical function has made to understanding the normal operation of the cortex. Diversity and the plastic changes in the cortex produced by activity and injury are discussed as they relate to the pathophysiology of epilepsy. The study of epileptogenesis is a pseudonym for the study of brain function. The core issues are the same as those that form some of today's challenges in neuroscience.
Cortical Synaptic Transmission: An Overview
Authors: Stevens Charles F.
Published: April 2012

A microliter of brain contains approximately a billion synapses, about two-thirds of which are excitatory. Clearly synapses are vital because the brain uses so many of them, but their close packing makes the investigation of individual synapses for a complete elucidation of their function, very difficult. This chapter briefly summarizes the picture of transmission at the neuromuscular junction, defines some of the unresolved issues relating to the function of this model synapse, compares transmission at central synapses, and explores similarities and differences between the neuromuscular junction and central synapses.
The Cortical Neuron as an Electrophysiological Unit
Authors: Gutnick Michael J. , Crill Wayne E.
Published: April 2012

Cellular physiological studies from all areas of the brain have revealed that a rich assortment of ionic channels combine variously in the soma-dendritic membranes of different neurons to produce a diversity of firing types; the cortex is no exception. To add a dynamic dimension to our concept of the neocortical circuit, we must consider the distinctive input–output characteristics of different circuit elements and the diverse ionic channel types that determine them. This chapter briefly reviews the different firing types of neocortical neurons and summarizes the properties of the ionic currents that have been identified in cortex. It also considers mounting evidence that the elaborate dendrites of neocortical neurons are not merely passive accumulators of synaptic input but rather that they also possess functionally significant active properties.
Synaptic Actions of Amino Acid Neurotransmitters
Authors: Thompson Scott M. , Madison Daniel V. , Mody Istvan
Published: April 2012

Fast synaptic excitation in the neocortex is mediated by the release of glutamate from the axon terminals of thalamocortical projection cells and of locally and intracortically projecting pyramidal cells. The process of synaptic excitation consists of coupling the invasion of the action protential to the vesicular release of glutamate, which then diffuses across the synaptic cleft to bind with receptors and activate their associated ion channels in the postsynaptic membrane. The strength of synaptic excitation depends on numerous processes, such as the probability that a presynaptic action potential triggers glutamate release, the amount of transmitter released, the number and types of receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, and the conductance and kinetics of the ion channels gated by these receptors. This chapter considers these steps in sequence to provide a coherent a picture of an excitatory cortical synapse.
Overview: Basic Elements of the Cortical Network
Authors: Jones Edward G.
Published: April 2012

This chapter discusses the basic elements of the cortical network. In any examination of cortical circuitry, it is necessary to commence with the two basic classes of cortical neurons: one richly endowed with dendritic spines and the other effectively lacking them. The spiny and nonspiny cortical neurons are morphological expressions of two fundamental categories of neuron—excitatory and inhibitory—a division that can now be expressed in terms of their individual neurotransmitters: glutamergic and GABAergic. Among both classes, subtypes are now beginning to emerge based on morphological and chemical differences and on differential spiking behavior.
Inhibition in the Cortical Network
Authors: Benardo Larry S. , Wong Robert K. S.
Published: April 2012

Neuronal activity in the brain is regulated by a balance between excitatory and inhibitory influences. Population stability requires that GABAergic inhibition be temporally poised to exercise a restraining influence on reverberating synaptic excitation of local neurons due to recurrent connections. This chapter provides a comprehensive consideration of GABAergic inhibition, highlighting specific issues that are especially important to understanding how inhibition operates and how it is regulated. The intention throughout is to provide not only a synthesis of our present knowledge but also to state some of the principles and implications of GABAergic inhibition that are just emerging. The chapter is organized as follows: (1) the morphology and physiology of inhibitory neurons, (2) the recruitment of inhibition, and (3) the plasticity of the inhibitory circuit.
Models of Cortical Networks
Authors: Bush Paul C. , Sejnowski Terrence J.
Published: April 2012

This chapter provides an overview of a long-term project undertaken to study a particular population of cells within the cortex: the network of interacting neurons within layer V of the visual cortex. The first step is the development of realistic models of single cortical neurons based on accurate anatomical and physiological data. The responses of these model neurons are matched against single neuron responses to natural sensory and electrical stimuli recorded in vivo. The second step is to reduce the complexity of the single-cell model for use in large-scale simulations of networks. The reduction is necessary to make the simulation times tractable. If the essential dynamical elements of the neuron are intact in the reduced models, simulations of large networks of neurons can then serve as a tool for exploring properties that are difficult to approach experimentally. Such a model was used to study the synchronization of layer V neurons and its dependence on the pattern of connectivity between columns of excitatory and inhibitory neurons.
Determination of Cellular Phenotype and the Fundamental Organization of Cortical Layering: An Overview
Authors: Kriegstein Arnold R.
Published: April 2012

The neocortex is composed of a staggeringly large number of neurons, differing in phenotype and location, in a precise and apparently invariant pattern. The path by which each individual neuron reaches its assigned station and acquires its appropriate phenotype is one of the central mysteries of neuroscience. Recent advances in genetic engineering have allowed retroviruses to be designed to act as vectors to insert marker genes into precursor cells in the cerebral cortex of experimental embryos. A replication-defective retroviral vector is used to introduce a marker gene in the genome of a proliferating precursor cell. The marker gene is inherited by all the progeny of the initially labeled cell, allowing clonal descendants of infected cells to be identified histochemically. In this way precursor cells can be marked, and the fate of their descendants can be followed. This new technology has been applied to test the basic theories of lineage and cell-fate determination during corticogenesis. This chapter shows that important cell-fate-commitment decisions are made in the ventricular and subventricular zones during proliferative stages and remain relatively independent of subsequent environmental influence.
Gene Control of Cortical Excitability
Authors: Noebels Jeffrey L.
Published: April 2012

The genes that contribute to specific cortical excitability phenotypes are difficult to predict. But one group of genes expressed in central neurons can be operationally defined and constitute a category of central concern: excitability genes. These genes initiate and maintain the critical capacity for voltage-dependent membrane behavior and synaptic transmission in specific brain networks, and participate directly in their ability to display rapid neuromodulation, synchronization, and long-term retrieval of information. It is from within this group that the genetic elements most directly responsible for the heritable component of human cognitive abilities will ultimately be found. This chapter discusses the genetics of circuit assembly and genetic strategies in cerebral excitability analysis.
Cortical Epileptogenesis in the Developing Human Brain
Authors: Kellaway Peter
Published: April 2012

Traditionally, human focal epilepsy has been thought to arise from an area of cortical damage, and the models of focal epilepsy used in research have been based on this concept. However, although the concept holds true for the adult brain, focal epilepsy is more common in children who have no evidence of such a lesion. This chapter gives a description and analysis of two types of focal epileptogenesis that are unique to the developing brain and for which there is no historical, clinical, or laboratory evidence of a structural brain lesion. In the first type, the focal epileptogenesis has its origin in a genetically determined cellular defect. In the second, the focal epileptic process is a result either of deprivation or chronic distortion of sensory input during a critical period of brain development.
Measurement of Cortical Neurotransmitter Receptors with Radioligand Binding: Insights into the Mechanisms of Kindling-Induced Epilepsy
Authors: Kraus John E. , McNamara James O.
Published: April 2012

Understanding the pathophysiology of partial epilepsy in molecular terms will likely facilitate the development of new and more effective therapies. One approach is to analyze the mechanisms underlying the hyperexcitability in an animal model in the hope that analogous mechanisms are operative in some forms of the human condition. This thinking led the authors to embark on studies of the kindling model of epilepsy in the late 1970s. This chapter describes the kindling model; outlines the rationale for use of radioligand binding as a tool; considers the advantages and disadvantages of this approach; summarizes the findings of a host of such studies in the kindling model; and reviews a few of these findings as a means of illustrating the value of such approaches.
Clinical Strategies for Neuronal Protection
Authors: Albers Gregory W.
Published: April 2012

Cortical neurons are injured by acute insults, such as ischemia, trauma, and epilepsy, as well as by a variety of chronic neurodegenerative disorders. Although the events that initiate neuronal degeneration vary from disorder to disorder, the fundamental processes that ultimately cause neuronal death are remarkably similar. Over the past decade, major advances in molecular and cellular neurobiology have converged to outline a “final common pathway” of neuronal injury, which involves overactivation of excitatory amino acid receptors, excessive intracellular calcium fluxes, subsequent activation of catabolic enzymes, and production of free radicals. These processes are influenced by a variety of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, alterations in gene expression, and growth factors. This chapter briefly reviews the scientific rationale behind two emerging neuroprotective strategies—excitatory amino acid antagonists and inhibitors of oxygen radical-mediated lipid peroxidation—and emphasizes the challenges involved in establishing the efficacy of these novel treatments in patients.
Psychophysiological Recording
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

This text contains a revised edition of a book on psychophysiological recording. The book includes information on the most up-to-date equipment used today to do brain scanning and discusses other equipment not available in 1980. A new chapter on signal processing and analysis has been added, and discussions cover nonlinear systems as well as cognitive psychophysiology.
Neurons and Muscles: The Sources of Psychophysiological Recordings
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

Psychophysiology focuses on the study of bodily responses that originate as electrochemical changes in neurons (nerve cells), muscles, and gland cells. These signals spread from their sources through the body to the skin surface, appearing to a recording electrode on the body surface in a somewhat altered form. Understanding the genesis of bioelectric potentials will help in interpreting the surface potentials and serve as a reminder that whatever their relation to behavior, psychophysiological responses reflect the functioning of neurons, muscles, and glands. The nervous system controls the bodily functions measured by psychophysiologists, including muscle action, organ function, and glandular activity. For example, the coordinated contraction of thousands of skeletal muscle cells moves us through our environment, enables us to react to its changes, and is the mechanism of singing, smiling, sitting, and eating. This chapter discusses the organization of the nervous system, the function of nerve and muscle cells, and the sources of the bioelectric potentials that can be recorded from the surface of the skin.
Equipment Used in Psychophysiological Recording
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

This chapter examines the bioelectric signals from the skin, across the junction and finally to the point where it is displayed and analyzed. It describes only those electrodes designed to be placed directly on the surface of the skin — cutaneous electrodes — although other types of electrodes exist (such as needle electrodes) for both human and animal work. Transducers for measuring temperature, respiration, and blood volume are also considered, along with polygraphs, computers, couplers, filters, and amplifiers. The computer can be utilized to record and quantify data as long as the physiological signal can be converted into a numerical form. The device used to perform this function is the analog-to-digital converter, which takes a continuous signal and converts it into discrete steps.
Some Basic Principles of Psychophysiology
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

The basic principles of psychophysiology are generalizations made on the basis of thousands of psychophysiological experiments. A familiarity with these principles will not only provide the reader with information about certain relationships between psychological and physiological variables but will also alert the reader to factors — other than the independent variable — that might influence the data collected in a psychophysiological experiment. This chapter looks at some basic relationships that are of interest in themselves but that sometimes make it difficult to see the effects of other variables being studied or to interpret the results properly. With an understanding of these generalizations, the reader should be better equipped to design new psychophysiological studies and to understand earlier publications. The concepts of arousal and habituation are discussed, along with orienting, defensive, and startle responses, homeostasis and autonomic balance, the law of initial values, stimulus-response specificity, and individual response stereotypy.
Safety and Ethics in a Psychophysiology Laboratory
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

While the electrical environment of a psychophysiology laboratory is probably at least as safe as the modern home and ordinarily poses little threat of shock, there are important implications for the treatment of the subject, particularly concerning grounding. It is standard procedure in some laboratories to attach a ground lead to the subject when recording psychophysiological measures. The reason for the ground connection in these cases is not as protection for the subject, but rather to minimize unwanted electrical signals. If left “floating”, or ungrounded, the subject acts as an antenna, picking up unwanted voltages from the air, much as a radio antenna picks up radio signals. These voltage variations, particularly 60 Hz, are then amplified and appear on the record, obscuring the desired biological signal. However, a ground lead may expose the subject to electrical hazard. This chapter discusses safety and ethics in a psychophysiology laboratory.
Brain: Electroencephalography and Imaging
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

The presence of recognizable electrical rhythms of the brain has excited the curiosity and imagination of both professionals and laypeople alike. Psychophysiologists, neurologists, and science fiction writers have been intrigued by the presence of brain activity and the possibility of having an objective noninvasive marker that reflects underlying psychological processes. Some have taken these ideas to the extreme by suggesting that these measures can tell us what someone is thinking or feeling or even if they are telling the truth. Although it is not that simple, some researchers have begun to use brain activity to help physically disabled individuals to communicate, to move paralyzed limbs, or even to reduce seizure disorders. Understanding cortical processes through various forms of brain imaging is a complex task. Scientists have come to appreciate the complicated relationship that exists between electrocortical measures and cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes. This chapter discusses spontaneous electroencephalography, event-related potentials, electrodes and electrode placement, and brain imaging techniques such as magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging.
Signal Processing
Authors: Stern Robert M. , Ray William J. , Quigley Karen S.
Published: April 2012

When considering attentional abilities, two physiological variables need to be recorded: basal (tonic) activity or event-related (phasic) activity. In general, tonic activity can be derived from the ongoing level of activity in the system when the organism is at rest. The length of time needed to assess tonic level appropriately will differ across physiological systems, but in many cases it will be on the order of several minutes. Phasic responses typically are measured over time periods that capture the full response from basal level until the physiological parameter returns to its basal level. Decisions about how to assess changes in physiology are somewhat more difficult than those for assessing tonic levels of activity. This chapter discusses several methods used for assessing change and some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with each measure. The use of Fourier analysis or fast Fourier transform, wavelet analysis, and nonlinear dynamical systems analysis for assessing global aspects of physiological signals are also considered.
The Consequences of Childhood Peer Rejection
Authors: Mcdougall Patricia , Hymel Shelley , Vaillancourt Tracy , Louise Mercer
Published: April 2012

A surging interest regarding the association between children's welfare and peer acceptance has grown, notwithstanding the idea that parents are the primary sources of socialization. Several quantitative studies and reviews of the literature on “rejected” young ones are done to determine the long-term consequences. The authors considers spiritual relationship, strength of connection to others, and community participation in the analysis of the reactions to peer rejection. Data suggests that the significant influence of peers on an individual's competence and sense of belongingness contribute to future developmental concerns. This chapter stresses four extensive kinds of long-run end products of low relational devaluation: academic, general psychopathology, internationalization of problems, and externalization of conflicts. Along with this is an examination of the reasons why and the manner in which negative social response by others shapes a child's later adjustment. All of these attempts are not only aimed toward the uncovering of essential factors in motivating a new generation, but also are geared to direct researchers, educators, and guardians.
The Role of Rejection Sensitivity in People’s Relationships with Significant Others and Valued Social Groups
Authors: Levy Sheri R. , Ayduk Ozlem , Downey Geraldine
Published: April 2012

This chapter depicts the different sensitivity levels to low relational valuation. Differences in rejection responses are described using the attachment and attribution paradigm, which examines reactions through the cognitive processes and the affective aspects of individuals. Possible sources of discrimination might come from family members, friends, romantic partners, and valued memberships. Consistently, a collection of studies put forward that highly reactive people frequently act in a manner which forces others not to accept them. Cited here are accounts of heinous crimes and suicidal tendencies committed by individuals who suffer from marginalization, broken families, unsuccessful affiliations, and the destructive feelings that accompany these events. However, there are instances where people cope with their unfulfilled need for belongingness and security through adaptive and productive behaviors. In the latter discussion of the chapter are suggestions on how to disrupt the potential destructive aftermaths of unregulated rejection sensitivity.
Variation in Working Memory Capacity as Variation in Executive Attention and Control
Authors: Kane Michael J. , Conway Andrew R. A. , Hambrick David Z. , Engle Randall W.
Published: April 2012

This chapter shows how immediate memory represents a distinct system or set of processes from long memory. Working memory (WM) was proposed as a dynamic system that enabled active maintenance of task-relevant information in support of the simultaneous execution of complex cognitive tasks. Working memory span tasks measure executive attention processes that are believed to be domain general and contribute to WM span performance irrespective of the skills or the stimuli involved. WM span tasks reflect primarily general executive processes and domain-specific rehearsal and storage processes. Thus, executive processes help maintain or recover access to the target items in the absence of focal attention and effective rehearsal procedures. WM capacity variation, which is driven largely by individual differences in executive attention processes, represents a web of inference across correlational and experimental studies.
Variation in Working Memory Due to Typical and Atypical Development
Authors: Jarrold Christopher , Bayliss Donna M.
Published: April 2012

This chapter shows how studies of working memory performance in adults have shown that the ability to hold information in mind while manipulating or processing other material is a reliable predictor of a range of other skills. The finding that processing and storage constraints are independent of one another at both the level of individual and developmental differences has clear implications for existing theoretical accounts of complex span performance. However the factors that mediate the link between working memory measures and other cognitive skills must be a subset of those factors that constrain performance on working memory tasks. Determination of whether working memory problems are a cause or a consequence of an individual's learning difficulties is central to a proper understanding of the broader educational implications of such difficulties.
Variation in Working Memory across the Life Span
Authors: Hale Sandra , Myerson Joel , Emery Lisa J. , Lawrence Bonnie M. , Dufault Carolyn
Published: April 2012

This chapter focuses on how age differences might affect other aspects of cognitive function. With respect to working memory in particular, there seemed to be multiple ways in which it might be affected by changes in processing speed, as well as multiple ways in which working memory might affect higher-order cognitive processes such as reasoning. Changes in cognitive processing speed might precipitate a cascade in which increase or decrease in speed would lead to changes in working memory function. The methodology that was adopted for studying age differences in working memory was an elegant study of domain-specificity in the working memory function of young adults. The experimental paradigm seemed to provide an excellent tool for dissecting the effects of age-related changes in working memory. In addition to age and domain, processing speed is another important source of variation in working memory.
Specialized Verbal Working Memory for Language Comprehension
Authors: Caplan David , Waters Gloria , Dede Gayle
Published: April 2012

This chapter focuses on the working memory requirement of syntactic processing. It illustrates the working memory (WM) requirements associated with syntactic processing and then documents the existence of variability in the subject's efficiency in handling the demands. The relationship is explored as well as the individual differences in WM capacity. There is a focus on research into the WM demands of syntactic processing that has capitalized on the differences in the WM demands associated with processing sentences. Another approach to the study of the functional neuroanatomy of syntactic processing in sentence comprehension has been to compare PET activity associated with processing syntactically more complex objected-extracted sentences to that associated with simpler subject-extracted sentences. Experimental controls and counterbalances were used to ensure that the two conditions differed only along the syntactic dimension.
David H. Hubel
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

David H. Hubel was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to American parents in 1926. In 1929, his family transferred to Montreal where he was brought up and educated and continued to live until the age of 28. He attended Strathona Academy until his graduation in 1943. Given that he ended up as a biologist, it was ironic that he had almost no formal instruction in biology in grade school, high school, or college. He studied mathematics and physics at McGill University, and later entered medical school there. After graduating from medical school, he did a rotating internship at Montreal General Hospital. He was married in June 1953 to Ruth. In 1954, he moved to the United States to work at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and later served at Walter Reed Hospital. In 1958, he went back To Baltimore and began his collaborations with Torsten Wiesel.
Torsten N. Wiesel
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

Torsten Wiesel was born in 1924 in Uppsala, Sweden, the youngest of five children. In 1947, he began his scientific career in Carl Gustaf Bernhard's laboratory at the Karolinska Institute, where he received his medical degree in 1954. In 1955 he moved to the United States to work at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under Stephen Kuffler. In 1958, he met David Hubel, beginning a collaboration that would last over twenty years. In 1959, Wiesel and Hubel moved to Harvard University. He became an instructor in pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, beginning a 24-year career with the university. He became professor in the new department of neurobiology in 1968 and its chair in 1973. In 1983, Wiesel joined the faculty of Rockefeller University as head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology. He was president of the university from 1991 to 1998.
The Group at Hopkins
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

The importance in science of mentors or role models can hardly be exaggerated. For Hubel and Wiesel, Steve Kuffler played a crucial role in terms of day-to-day importance, and this role was sustained over thirty years. The Hopkins group was broad. Hubel, Wiesel, and Kuffler represented central nervous physiology. Ed Furshpan, David Potter, and Kuffler represented synaptic physiology, and Ed Kravitz represented neurochemistry. Johns Hopkins was informal and friendly, contrasting strongly with the rather pompous prevailing atmosphere at Harvard. This may have been because the medical school and hospital were close to each other, geographically and spiritually, at Hopkins.
Our First Paper, on Cat Cortex, 1959
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents David and Torsten's first paper on the cat cortex in 1959. Their investigation, made with acute preparations, includes a study of receptive fields of cells in the cat's striate cortex. Receptive fields of the cells considered in the paper were divided into separate excitatory and inhibitory areas. In this respect, they resembled retinal ganglio-cell receptive fields. An attempt was made to correlate responses to moving stimuli with receptive field arrangements. Some cells could be activated from either eye, and in these, binocular interaction was studied. In a binocular unit, excitatory and inhibitory regions of the two receptive fields interacted, and summation and mutual antagonism could be shown just as within a single receptive field.
Recordings from Fibers in the Monkey Optic Nerve
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Receptive Fields of Optic Nerve Fibres in the Spider Monkey”. The retina of the monkey is of interest, since in most species, it is deeply pigmented, has a well defined fovea, and appears much closer to the human retina than that of a cat. The paper describes the receptive fields of single optic nerve fibers in the spider monkey. With the monkey's ability to discriminate colors, some observations were also made on ganglion cell responses to monochromatic stimuli. It was clear that in the monkey, as in the cat, the receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells were of two main types, one with an “on” center and an “off” periphery, the other with an “off” center and an “on” periphery.
Recording from Cells in the Cat Lateral Geniculate
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Integrative Action in the Cat's Lateral Geniculate Body”. This paper represented a rare opportunity to study directly the difference between the information entering a structure and the information leaving it. In the study, receptive fields in the optic tract and the lateral geniculate body were compared. Cells with receptive fields within or near the area centralis tended to have smaller field centers and stronger suppression by the receptive field periphery than cells with their fields in more peripheral regions of the retina. Clustered firing in the form of brief bursts of spikes at high frequency was observed under thiopental anesthesia. From simultaneous records, it appeared that a single impulse in an optic-tract fiber could give rise to a cluster of impulses in a geniculate cell.
Our Major Paper on Cat Striate Cortex, 1962
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents the 1962 paper entitled “Receptive Fields, Binocular Interaction, and Functional Architecture in the Cat's Visual Cortex”. This paper was a continuation of the 1959 paper dealing with “simple cells”. In the previous paper, receptive fields of single cortical cells were described by observing responses to spots of light shone on one or both retinas. In this paper, this method was used to examine receptive fields of a more complex type and to make additional observations on binocular interaction. A different method was followed to study the functional architecture of the visual cortex.
Recordings in Monkey Striate Cortex, 1968
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a 1968 paper entitled “Receptive Fields and Functional Architecture of Monkey Striate Cortex”. This paper represented a first attempt to survey physiologically the monkey striate cortex. It was discovered that there was a tendency for cells to be grouped according to symmetry of responses to movement. A horizontal organization corresponding to the cortical layering can also be discerned. The cortex was seen as a system organized vertically and horizontally in entirely different ways. In the vertical system, stimulus dimensions such as retinal position, line orientation, and ocular dominance, were mapped in sets of superimposed but independent mosaics. The horizontal system segregated cells in layers by hierarchical orders, the lowest orders located in and near layer IV, the higher orders in the upper and lower layers.
Ocular Dominance Columns Revealed by Autoradiography
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Autoradiographic demonstration of ocular dominance columns in the monkey striate cortex by means of transneuronal transport”. In the macaque monkey, the geniculostriate pathway terminates in a very dense, highly localized manner, mainly in layer IV C. Projections from the two eyes end in a characteristic alternating stripe-like pattern of ocular dominance columns. If radioactive substances were transported transneuronally, injection of labeled material into one eye followed by autoradiography of the cortex might reveal the entire system of ocular dominance columns. This study confirmed Grafstein's original findings of transneuronal transport in the mammalian visual system and provided an additional independent demonstration of the ocular dominance columns in the striate cortex.
Regular Sequences of Orientation Shifts in Monkeys
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Sequence Regularity and Geometry of Orientation Columns in Monkey Striate Cortex”. This paper is concerned with the geometry of orientation columns, establishing that they are slabs perpendicular to the cortical surface, discussing whether the slabs are discrete or continuous, and the question of the orderliness of the sequences.
Cortical Modules and Magnification in Monkeys
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a paper entitled “Uniformity of Monkey Striate Cortex: A Parallel Relationship between Field, Size, Scatter, and Magnification Factor”. This paper addresses the question of what determines the three-dimensional shape of any cortical area, and how any one area of the cortex can be so uniform anatomically despite certain marked variations in function as the surface is traversed. In the case of area 17, there are variations especially in field size and magnification. The paper is also concerned with the relationship between orientation columns, ocular dominance columns, the topographic mapping of visual fields onto the cortex, and receptive-field size and scatter. It shows that the cortex seems remarkably uniform physiologically, just as it is anatomically.
Second Group of Deprivation Papers
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a second group of deprivation papers entitled “Comparison of the Effects of Unilateral and Bilateral Eye Closure on Cortical Unit Responses in Kittens”, “Binocular Interaction in Striate Cortex of Kittens Reared with Artificial Squint”, “Extent of Recovery from the Effects of Visual Deprivation in Kittens”, and “The Period of Susceptibility to the Physiological Effects of Unilateral Eye Closure in Kittens”. The first three papers deal with the effects of binocular eye closure, artificial strabismus, and the recovery induced by eye reopening. The fourth paper examines the time course of the critical period.
Plasticity and Development of Monkey Ocular Dominance Columns
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents two lengthy papers entitled “Plasticity of Ocular Dominance Columns in Monkey Striate Cortex”, and “The Development of Ocular Dominance Columns in Normal and Visually Deprived Monkeys”. The chief finding of the first paper tackles the effects of early eye removal or monocular lid closure on the ocular dominance stripes in layer IVC. Deprivation in the first few weeks of life resulted in a change in the relative sizes of the two sets of stripes, with a shrinkage of stripes receiving input from the deprived eye and a corresponding expansion of those with input from the normal eye. The main purpose of the second paper was to examine the normal postnatal development of ocular dominance columns in the striate cortex of the macaque monkey and to determine how this developmental process was influenced by the monocular lid-suture.
Ferrier Lecture, 1977
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents a Ferrier Lecture entitled “Functional Architecture of Macaque Monkey Visual Cortex”. The lecture considers a view of the cortex as containing a thousand sand machines of similar structure. Each machine contains two types of hypercolumns, whose functions are dovetailed with each other and with the topographical map. This dicing up into subdivisions is the way the cortex handles or represents orientation and ocular dominance besides the two obvious visual-field positional variables. An interesting aspect is the very orderliness of the architecture.
Nobel Lecture, David H. Hubel Nobel Lecture, Torsten N. Wiesel
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

This chapter presents two Nobel lectures: David Hubel's “Evolution of Ideas on the Primary Visual Cortex, 1955–1978: A Biased Historical Acoount” and Torsten Wiesel's “The Postnatal Development of the Visual Cortex and the Influence of the Environment”. Hubel's lecture traces the development of his ideas and his career from 1955 to 1978. Torsten's lecture presents the current understanding of the developments of the monkey visual cortex and the role of the visual experience in influencing neural connections. It emphasizes the work carried out in their laboratory.
Epilogue: Summing Up
Authors: Hubel David H.
Published: April 2012

The most remarkable thing about the collaboration between Hubel and Wiesel is the fact that that it continued for 25 years. It had the special quality that it was between equals, in age and in seniority. They regarded their work as mainly exploratory, although some experiments were done to answer specific questions. Above all, they tried to make their papers easier to read. Today, they have some concerns about the state of their field. These include the fading of neuroanatomy, the growing competition in visual-cortex physiology, and the increasing popularity of theory, sometimes called computation. As time went on, the main force contributing to their separation in 1980 was increasing pressure to do administration and teaching that they could not entirely avoid. This chapter ends with words of thanks to the societies that supported them.
Theory, Practice, and History: Rudiments
Authors: JOHNSTON DAVID
Published: April 2012

Trusts did not exist within the civil systems that are derived from Roman law, and even in Roman law itself. Trusts are in fact acknowledged as one of the major contributions of the legal systems that comprise common law. It is important to note that the term ‘trust’ is the most appropriate translation of the Latin fideicommissum. Both the fideicommissum outside the formulary system of Rome that is attributed a new official procedure and the trust in equity evident outside common law have been able to establish and develop independent jurisdictions. Also, both institutions share the same nature wherein property is given to one person for another person's benefit. Although fideicommissum and ‘trust’ are of different origins, certain parallels would reveal that they are related in function. While there are few studies that draw attention to how trusts are incorporated in Roman law, this book examines the internal structure and functions of trust in Roman law.
Action and Reaction: From Republic to Empire
Authors: JOHNSTON DAVID
Published: April 2012

Like the case of foreigners who are not allowed to take advantage of the various institutions of civil law, certain restrictions set within the Roman law limited those who were able to gain benefits by means of inheritances and legacies. In such situations, the gains derived from trusts become evident. Because trusts were not considered to be included in the already established legal order, such would allow a wider range of beneficiaries. Trusts were not acknowledged by civil law's traditional scheme, thus legal obligations are not created. The effectiveness of such setups relied greatly on the trustee's fides, thus the chosen trustee should not be without values of morality and honesty. Although there were developments between the late Republic and the Justinian period, trusts were perceived to be useful when entrusting something to a person who was not qualified under civil law. This chapter identifies the advantages of trusts to those covered by civil-law disabilities and how such developed throughout the first century.
Conspiracy of Silence: Secret Trusts
Authors: JOHNSTON DAVID
Published: April 2012

The tacit fideicommissum or the secret trust served as one of the initial hints that a new legal institution was being established during the time of Trajan. For those who were disabled by the law of succession, the tacit fideicommisum served as a useful instrument for secretly leaving property. While the previous chapter examined people who could not hold property under Roman law and how trusts enabled such people with benefits, this chapter focuses more on the legislative restrictions imposed by Vespasian and Augustus in the late Empire. Although limits on testamentary capacity may have already been commonplace, Augustus provided such with a different purpose as they were introduced to fulfill certain social engineering purposes. This chapter illustrates how the childless, the unmarried, the orbi and the caelibes benefited from trusts after Vespasian introduced the SC Pegasianum.
The Dead Hand: Perpetuities and Settlements
Authors: JOHNSTON DAVID
Published: April 2012

While one of the greatest limitations in legacies involved how a testator could only pass on certain properties to their heirs, trusts enabled a testator's will or intestacy to validly charge property on any beneficiary. While the implications of such arrangements involved how the said beneficiaries were also allowed to make further trusts, this paved the way for perpetuities to occur through fideicommissary substitution. This chapter attempts to look into instances within classical Roman law that exhibit perpetual family settlements up to the mid-third century. Also, the chapter examines dispositions wherein properties are being settled within the family name. After providing a comparison between the various features of tomb settlements and private-law dispositions, the chapter lastly identifies points in history that conditioned which settlement types would be implemented across Roman society and how they developed up to the Justinian period.
Words, Deeds, and Doubts: Interpretation
Authors: JOHNSTON DAVID
Published: April 2012

Various textbooks have revealed that, in contrast to the institutions of Roman civil law, trusts were not subjected to the limitation brought about by the observance of strict form. While legacies had to be expressed in set words, trusts were not required to be of any specific form since they could be articulated or written in any language, or even conveyed through the use of gestures. However, looking into historical accounts reveals that it would seem difficult if not impossible to have trusts immediately accepted through any form. The chapter attempts to investigate more reliable sources to see whether this setup is more differentiated than it is conventionally portrayed. Also, the chapter discusses how trusts may be integrated and understood within the context of the aggregate Roman legal interpretation.
Rights, Procedures, and Costs
Authors: Galligan D. J.
Published: April 2012

This chapter explores some of the more important issues relating to procedural rights. It begins with a brief introduction to rights generally, and to procedural rights in particular. It then moves on to a more detailed analysis of first-order rights in administrative processes, with particular reference to discretionary contexts. It also examines the issue of mistakes; mistakes, that is, arising either from imperfect procedures or from inadequate procedures, the former being inherent in some forms of process, and the latter usually being attributable to insufficient resources. Finally, it provides an outline of various kinds of costs which influence the design of procedures, followed by a brief account of how competing considerations can be dealt with.