Robert F. Schmidt

Bio: Robert F. Schmidt is an academic researcher from Heidelberg University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Depolarization & Nociception. The author has an hindex of 36, co-authored 76 publications receiving 4328 citations. Previous affiliations of Robert F. Schmidt include University of Würzburg & Australian National University.

Responses of group IV afferent units from skeletal muscle to stretch, contraction and chemical stimulation

Abstract: In an attempt to differentiate between nociceptive group IV muscle receptors and “ergoceptive” ones, the discharges of single group IV fibres from skeletal muscle in response to local pressure, sustained stretch, repetitive contraction and intra-arterial injections of bradykinin, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), potassium, phosphate, and lactate were studied in anaesthetized cats.

Fundamentals of sensory physiology

Abstract: 1 General Sensory Physiology, Psychophysics- 11 Basic Concepts in General Sensory Physiology- 12 Relation Between Stimulus and Behavior Conditioned Reflex- 13 Measurement of the Intensity of Sensations Psychophysics- 14 Spatial, Temporal, and Affective Aspects of Sensation- 2 Somatovisceral Sensibility- 21 Mechanoreception- 22 Proprioception- 23 Thermoreception- 24 Visceral Sensibility- 3 Neurophysiology of Sensory Systems- 31 Transformations of Stimuli in Receptors- 32 Sensory Functions of the CNS - a Survey- 33 Properties and Operation of Sensory Neurons and Aggregates of Neurons- 34 The Somatosensory System: Spinal Cord, Ascending Pathways, and Brain Stem- 35 The Somatosensory System in Thalamus and Cortex- 36 The Sensory System in the Light of Information Theory- 4 Nociception and Pain- 41 The Qualities and Components of Pain- 42 Neurophysiology and Psychophysics of Pain- 43 Pathophysiology of Pain Special and Abnormal Forms of Pain- 44 Factors that Affect Pain Pain Therapy- 5 Physiology of Vision- 51 The Eye- 52 Psychophysics of Visual Perception- 53 Neurophysiology of Vision- 54 Eye Movements and Sensorimotor Integration in Vision- 6 Physiology of Hearing- 61 Anatomy of the Ear- 62 Auditory Performance- 63 Functions of the Middle and Inner Ears- 64 The Auditory Nerve and the Higher Stations of the Auditory Pathway- 7 Physiology of the Sense of Equilibrium- 71 Anatomy and Physiology of the Peripheral Organ- 72 Central Nervous Basis of the Sense of Equilibrium- 8 Physiology of Taste- 81 Morphology of the Organs of Taste Subjective Taste Physiology- 82 Objective Taste Physiology- 9 Physiology of Olfaction- 91 The Olfactory Mucosa Peripheral Mechanisms of Olfactory Reception- 92 Subjective Olfactory Physiology Central Connections- 10 Thirst and Hunger: General Sensations- 101 Thirst- 102 Hunger- 11 Suggested Reading- 12 Answer Key- 13 Subject Index

Principles of Neural Science

Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Short-Term Synaptic Plasticity

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Synaptic transmission is a dynamic process. Postsynaptic responses wax and wane as presynaptic activity evolves. This prominent characteristic of chemical synaptic transmission is a crucial determinant of the response properties of synapses and, in turn, of the stimulus properties selected by neural networks and of the patterns of activity generated by those networks. This review focuses on synaptic changes that result from prior activity in the synapse under study, and is restricted to short-term effects that last for at most a few minutes. Forms of synaptic enhancement, such as facilitation, augmentation, and post-tetanic potentiation, are usually attributed to effects of a residual elevation in presynaptic [Ca2+]i, acting on one or more molecular targets that appear to be distinct from the secretory trigger responsible for fast exocytosis and phasic release of transmitter to single action potentials. We discuss the evidence for this hypothesis, and the origins of the different kinetic phases...

Spinal and Supraspinal Factors in Human Muscle Fatigue

Abstract: Muscle fatigue is an exercise-induced reduction in maximal voluntary muscle force. It may arise not only because of peripheral changes at the level of the muscle, but also because the central nervous system fails to drive the motoneurons adequately. Evidence for “central” fatigue and the neural mechanisms underlying it are reviewed, together with its terminology and the methods used to reveal it. Much data suggest that voluntary activation of human motoneurons and muscle fibers is suboptimal and thus maximal voluntary force is commonly less than true maximal force. Hence, maximal voluntary strength can often be below true maximal muscle force. The technique of twitch interpolation has helped to reveal the changes in drive to motoneurons during fatigue. Voluntary activation usually diminishes during maximal voluntary isometric tasks, that is central fatigue develops, and motor unit firing rates decline. Transcranial magnetic stimulation over the motor cortex during fatiguing exercise has revealed focal cha...

The Biopsychosocial Approach to Chronic Pain: Scientific Advances and Future Directions

Abstract: The prevalence and cost of chronic pain is a major physical and mental health care problem in the United States today. As a result, there has been a recent explosion of research on chronic pain, with significant advances in better understanding its etiology, assessment, and treatment. The purpose of the present article is to provide a review of the most noteworthy developments in the field. The biopsychosocial model is now widely accepted as the most heuristic approach to chronic pain. With this model in mind, a review of the basic neuroscience processes of pain (the bio part of biopsychosocial), as well as the psychosocial factors, is presented. This spans research on how psychological and social factors can interact with brain processes to influence health and illness as well as on the development of new technologies, such as brain imaging, that provide new insights into brain-pain mechanisms.