Showing papers in "Trends in Neurosciences in 1980"

TL;DR: The vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), discovered as an unexpected side fraction during the purification of secretin, is a highly basic octacosapeptide with a broad range of biological effects including vasodilation, relaxation of smooth muscle cells, and influence on secretory processes in glands.

TL;DR: Whether the complex effects of opioid peptides are mediated by single or multiple types of opiate receptors is discussed.

TL;DR: Animals will work for a reward consisting of electrical stimulation at certain specific sites within the brain, James Olds termed these ‘pleasure centers', but recent work suggests that, with some minor modifications, the concept still provides a useful experimental paradigm.

TL;DR: Ever since Kinnier Wilson discovered in 1912 that lesions of the basal ganglia cause abnormal involuntary movements in the disease that now bears his name, hepatolenticular degeneration, it has been accepted that the basalganglia are connected with movement, although it is not known how.

TL;DR: How does the spindle work?

TL;DR: The multiplicity of receptors may well imply that individual subpopulations mediate different pharmacological effects, and data concerning the facilitation of convulsions induced by bicuculline or pentylenetetrazole imply that the BZt subtype may also be responsible for the anti-convulsant effects of the benzodiazepines.

TL;DR: Substance P, discovered originally in 1931 by von Euler and Gaddum, has taken over 40 years to be appreciated as an important naturally-occurring peptide in synaptic transmission in the mammalian central nervous system.

TL;DR: An outline of the complexity of the retina of birds is given followed by a discussion of the visual sensitivities of birds, ranging from owls to humming birds, and how these may be correlated with their diverse behaviours and environments.

TL;DR: However, recent experiments are beginning to show that vision might be used less than we normally imagine as mentioned in this paper, which is contrary to the assumption that we need to use vision all the time to guide us as we walk about the world.

TL;DR: Electrophysiological techniques applied to the alert human subject can provide a useful method of assessing the behavioural correlates of selected brain mechanisms.

TL;DR: Observations taken together with data derived from experiments utilizing pharmacological blocking agents and neurotoxins support the hypothesis that the peptide interacts with brain dopamine systems and suggest that endogenous neurotensin may participate in the regulation of a variety of physiological and behavioural processes.

TL;DR: Physiological explorations suggest functions for two of the retinal peptides, substance P and enkephalin, in visual information processing, and a biochemical study indicates that at least one peptide, somatostatin, is synthesized within the retina.

TL;DR: Hidden from view in this snapshot of a frozen cell is an essential rhythm of life which first brought about this special neuronal architecture and which supports the continued existence of the axon, a slender process which may measure only a few microns in diameter but at the same time may be meters long.

TL;DR: In this article, a pressure difference sensing system operating at the periphery, resulting from the acoustic coupling of the two ears through the interaural cavity, and the discovery of a neural map of acoustic space in the midbrain are presented.

TL;DR: In the insect nervous system an analysis of the neural mechanisms of behaviour has revealed a large class of normally non-spiking, local interneurones which display graded synaptic interactions with other neurones.

TL;DR: One of the most basic assumptions related to hemispheric asymmetry is that the left cerebral hemisphere subserves verbal auditory processing for most people and the right hemisphere is involved in non-verbal auditory processing.

TL;DR: Because of the apparent simplicity of the cerebellar circuitry, which allows the identification of the large majority of profiles visualized at the ultrastructural level 8 , these genetic malformations have become a valuable material to analyse the role of cellular interactions in the formation of central neuronal circuitry.

TL;DR: The extracellular space of the brain constitutes a restricted microenvironment which amplifies the accumulation and depletion of ions that flow across neuronal membranes, and these ionic fluctuations may constitute a communication channel between neuronal groups.

TL;DR: Computer terminology has come to form an important part in the language used to describe the physiological bases of motor control, but attempts have been made to discover whether computer programing might provide a potent heuristic tool for understanding the relative importance of feedback and feed-forward mechanisms underlying the efficient control of movement.

TL;DR: The present review summarizes recent findings about the mechanism of action of l-DOPA and special emphasis is given to the most important phenomenon that limits this drug's use in the treatment of parkinsonism - its declining effectiveness.

TL;DR: Georgina Mace and colleagues show that ecological niche, especially diet, can account for much of this residual variation in brain sizes among species.

TL;DR: It is argued that the mixed motor unit composition of most muscles is the result of an evolutionary optimization, which balances the mechanical demands placed on the different unit types against their respective metabolic costs.

TL;DR: The accomplishments of modern medicine have led some authorities to speculate that dramatic extensions of human longevity may not be far in the future, and if that becomes true, the authors will live longer, but at such a reduced level of ability as to be of questionable desirability.

TL;DR: Following chronic treatment with tricyclic antidepressants, a variety of changes are seen in brain NA systems, and transmission at NA synapses is enhanced by blockade of presynaptic uptake and other mechanisms and depressed by decreases in neurotransmitter syn- thesis 11 and postsynaptic receptor sen- sitivity.

TL;DR: It is argued that more work needs to be carried out before DSIP can be labelled functionally, and that concepts applicable to one neuropeptide appear to be applicable to others.

TL;DR: It is now clear that a number of Presynaptic receptors exist which modulate NA release and their separate pharmacological properties are reviewed and the therapeutic relevance of these new findings are discussed.

TL;DR: Study of pattern formation in this trigeminal system of the rat may add to the understanding of the formation of ordered neuronal topographies.

TL;DR: Goldberger et al. as mentioned in this paper showed that the well-established concept of localization of function and the phenomenon of recovery of function appear to be in contradiction, and that the problem of how a function can recover when the pathway which normally mediates it has been destroyed permanently is important not only because of its theoretical consequences, but also because of practical significance.

TL;DR: It is described how different viruses can gain access to the body along quite specific pathways and in the case of pseudorabies infections the subsequent action of the virus can be followed both electrophysiologically and biochemically in in vitro preparations of the rat's superior servical ganglion.