Dendrites ; physiology ; History, 20th Century ; Neurophysiology ; history

Olfactory processing involves a large number of central olfactory structures, interconnected with each other in complex fashion, and incorporating both feed forward and feed back interaction. Thus understanding how these structures in odor acquisition, perception, and memory perform functional roles is a central question in olfactory disorders that can only be addressed using a combination of approaches, including neuroimaging, neurophysiology and behavioral analyses. Recent whole-brain imaging studies have shown that multiple diverse neural structures become activated during tasks involving olfactory stimulation. This article reviews the current understanding of anatomy, sensory physiology of central olfactory structures. Especially the sensory physiology of main olfactory bulb, pyriform cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex will be emphasized here.
Memory ; Neuroimaging ; Neurophysiology ; Odors ; Olfactory Bulb ; Olfactory Pathways* ; Physiology ; Smell

The author reviewed the relationship between psychotherapy and ego growth from psychoanalytic point of view. The effect of psychotherapy represents itself in ego growth. To illustrate this claim, the author reviewed Freud's concept on the effect of psychotherapy first and the concepts discussed in literatures after Freud. The main stance of this paper is that the effect of psychotherapy manifests itself in ego growth through therapeutic relationships. The author deduced that since the major part of the therapeutic process takes place unconsciously, one is unaware of his/her ego growth. Through psychotherapy, the immature part of the personality, which stoped growing in the course of development, starts to grow. It may be the ego growth either through gaining insight or the growth derived from the therapeutic relationship with the analyst. Mental illness can be looked upon as the loss of human nature, and the remedy lies in recovering the human nature. The lost human nature is recovered when one is in a therapeutic environment, that is very much maternal in nature. Psychotherapy may result in some changes in brain physiology or neurochemistry. It may take some time to bring about anatomical changes of the brain. If this assumption is correct that psychotherapy inflicts anatomical changes of the brain for it's positive effects, it should be accomplished through a long period of working-through of the problem. Some studies on this theme of neurophysiology and anatomical research are already in process and I hope to be able to explain the processes of psychotherapy in the near future.
Brain ; Ego ; Hope ; Human Characteristics ; Neurochemistry ; Neurophysiology ; Physiology ; Psychotherapy*

The function of erythropoietin (EPO) is recognized as a stimulator for proliferation of red blood cell (RBC), however,recent studies have showed that EPO and EPO-R are widely distributed in nervous system, which indicates that it may also have important functions in nervous system. Studies proved its neuroprotective effects, especially in ischemic-hypoxic nerve tissues. These effects are mainly activated through several signal transduction pathway downstream and multiple mechanisms are involved. As a neuroprotective factor, EPO has been investigated in the clinical studies, which may lead to the clinical application in the future.
Erythropoietin ; metabolism ; physiology ; Humans ; Neurophysiology ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Signal Transduction

Optical mapping of the membrane potential with voltage-sensitive dyes is an advanced approach that involves in many theories such as molecular photonica, physiology and computer science. Compared with the conventional techniques of membrane patch-clamp and microelectrode, the optical mapping system can measure not only the changes of a single membrane potential from multiple sites simultaneously but also the conduction properties of the cell populations. So this technique provides an important method for studying the electrophysiology of the small cell, the tiny neurite and the cardiac arrhythmia, etc. Because this technique can also avoid the electromagnetic interferences, it uniquely provides an ideal means for studying the mechanisms such as cardiac defibrillation. In this paper the principles and the system structure of the optical mapping are introduced, its applications and future developments are also presented at the same time.
Animals ; Brain ; physiology ; Electrodes ; Electrophysiology ; methods ; Fluorescent Dyes ; Humans ; Membrane Potentials ; physiology ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; physiology ; Optics and Photonics

AIMTo evaluate the effects of atria-His bundle sequential pacing on cardiac electrophysiology and heamodynamics in dogs.

METHODSIn 20 opening chest anesthetized dogs, platinum electrodes were fixed at the epicardium of right atria (RA) and the right ventricular apex (RVA) respectively, pacing right atria and the right ventricle. A special lead was located at His bundle (based on a optical "H" wave and narrow duration of the QRS complexes recorded in ECG), pacing His bundle. Cardiac electrophysiology and hemodynamics parameters were compared in the different pacing models RA(AAI, RVA-(VVI), HisB-(VVI) single chamber pacing and RA-RVA(DDI), RA-HisB(DDI) dual chamber pacing.

RESULTSThe threshold of His B pacing is similar to that of RVA pacing. Cardiac output (CO) is increased in pacing of RA(AAI), His B-(VVI) and RA-His B(DDI). It is increased by 29.64% in pacing of RA-His B(DDI) (P < 0.01) and by 0.25% (P > 0.05) in pacing of RA-RVA(DD1) While CO is decreased by 5.41% in RVA-VVI) pacing (P > 0.05). SV, LVSW and RVSW of RA-HisB(DDI) pacing are superior to those in RVA-VVI) and RA-RVA(DDI) pacing.

CONCLUSIONRight atria-His bundle sequence pacing significantly improves cardiac function compared with the other model pacing because it maintains normal physiological electronic activity sequence and systolic synchrony. It will be adapted to clinical application.

Animals ; Bundle of His ; physiology ; Cardiac Electrophysiology ; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial ; methods ; Dogs ; Female ; Heart Atria ; Hemodynamics ; Male

We invented an efficiently approach to building whole-heart electrophysiological model with cellular automata style massive parallel computing. In this paper, we introduce the simulation facilities of a model we built and the potential application of such model. The first use is to solve the forward problem of electrocardiogram. Simulating arrhythmia ECG and accurately interpreting the significance of various irregular waveforms will be the key goal. Investigating the dynamic property of cardioelectrical activity at cellular and channel levels is the second application, aiming at revealing the mechanism of the generation and sustentation of arrhythmia. Third, the model can be used to research the impacts of artificial interventions on cardioelectrical activity. Electrical defibrillation and pace-making as well as the use of channel block agents are all cases.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Computer Simulation ; Electrocardiography ; methods ; Electrophysiology ; Heart ; physiology ; Humans ; Models, Cardiovascular

Animals ; Cardiac Electrophysiology ; Heart Atria ; innervation ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Vagus Nerve ; physiology

To explore the electrophysiological characteristics of embryonic cardiomyocytes, single embryonic cardiomyocytes were obtained from mice at different periods by a collegenase B digestion approach, whole cell patch clamp recording technique was used to record I(f) and I(Ca-L), and spontaneous action potential was also recorded. The morphological and spontaneous contractile properties of the isolated cells appeared to be typical embryonic cardiomyocytes when the cells were assessed by phase-contrast microscope. Whole cell recording of isolated cells is easily performed by the whole cell patch clamp technique. Elelctrophysiological properties of I(f) and I(Ca-L) from embryonic cardiomyocytes have been proved to be similar to those from adult pacemaker cells or cardiomyocytes. The established method of isolation is simple, stable, effective and reliable. It allows to obtain as early as 8.5-day embryonic myocytes. The electrophysiological recording of embryonic cardiomyocytes will provide a useful model for exploring the electrophysiological characteristics of embryonic cardiomyocytes and the possible mechanism underlying some heart diseases.
Action Potentials ; physiology ; Animals ; Cell Separation ; methods ; Cells, Cultured ; Electrophysiology ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Mice ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; physiology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques

OBJECTIVETo review the progress of cardiac differentiation and electrophysiological characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

DATA SOURCESThe databases of PubMed, Springer Link, Science Direct and CNKI were retrieved for papers published from January 2000 to January 2012 with the key words of "bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, cardiac or heart, electrophysiology or electrophysiological characteristics".

STUDY SELECTIONThe articles concerned cardiac differentiation and electrophysiological characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were collected. After excluding papers that study purposes are not coincident with this review or contents duplicated, 56 papers were internalized at last.

RESULTSFor the treatment of myocardial infarction and myocardiac disease, the therapeutic effects of transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells which have the ability to develop into functional myocardial cells by lots of methods have been proved by many researches. But the arrhythmogenic effect on ventricles after transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells derived myocardial cells is still controversial in animal models. Certainly, the low differentiation efficiency and heterogeneous development of electrical function could be the most important risk for proarrhythmia.

CONCLUSIONMany studies of cardiac differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have paid attention to improve the cardiac differentiation rate, and the electrophysiology characteristics of the differentiated cells should be concerned for the risk for proarrhythmia as well.

Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Electrophysiology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Myocardial Infarction ; therapy ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; physiology