Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Science & Engineering, September 2008. / Abstract: leaf xii. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-97).

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Centre for Neuroscience. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on October 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

For many organisms the sense of smell is critical to survival. Some olfactory stimuli elicit innate responses that are mediated through hardwired circuits that have developed over long periods of evolutionary time. Most olfactory stimuli, however, have no inherent meaning. Instead, meaning must be imposed by learning during the lifetime of an organism. Despite the dominance of olfactory stimuli on animal behavior, the mechanisms by which odorants elicit learned behavioral responses remain poorly understood. All odor-evoked behaviors are initiated by the binding of an odorant to olfactory receptors located on sensory neurons in the nasal epithelium. Olfactory sensory neurons transmit this information to the olfactory bulb via spatially organized axonal projections such that individual odorants evoke a stereotyped map of bulbar activity. A subset of bulbar neurons, the mitral and tufted cells, relay olfactory information to higher brain structures that have been implicated in the generation of innate and learned behavioral responses, including the cortical amygdala and piriform cortex. Anatomical studies have demonstrated that the spatial stereotypy of the olfactory bulb is maintained in projections to the posterolateral cortical amygdala, a structure that is involved in the generation of innate odor-evoked responses. The projections of mitral and tufted cells to piriform cortex however appear to discard the spatial order of the olfactory bulb: each glomerulus sends spatially diffuse, apparently random projections across the entire cortex. This anatomy appears to constrain odor-evoked responses in piriform cortex: electrophysiological and imaging studies demonstrate that individual odorants activate sparse ensembles that are distributed across the extent of cortex, and individual piriform neurons exhibit discontinuous receptive fields such that they respond to structurally and perceptually similar and dissimilar odorants. It is therefore unlikely that olfactory representations in piriform have inherent meaning. Instead, these representations have been proposed to mediate olfactory learning. In accord with this, lesions of posterior piriform cortex prevent the expression of a previously acquired olfactory fear memory and photoactivation of a random ensemble of piriform neurons can become entrained to both appetitive and aversive outcomes. Piriform cortex therefore plays a central role in olfactory fear learning. However, how meaning is imparted on olfactory representations in piriform remains largely unknown. We developed a strategy to manipulate the neural activity of representations of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a downstream target of piriform cortex that has been implicated in the generation of learned responses. This strategy allowed us to demonstrate that distinct neural ensembles represent an appetitive and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) in the BLA. Moreover, the activity of these representations can elicit innate responses as well as direct Pavlovian and instrumental learning. Finally activity of an aversive US representation in the basolateral amygdala is required for learned olfactory and auditory fear responses. These data suggest that both olfactory and auditory stimuli converge on US representations in the BLA to generate learned behavioral responses. Having identified a US representation in the BLA that receives convergent olfactory information to generate learned fear responses, we were then able to step back into the olfactory system and demonstrate that the BLA receives olfactory input via the monosynaptic projection from piriform cortex. These data suggest that aversive meaning is imparted on an olfactory representation in piriform cortex via reinforcement of its projections onto a US representation in the BLA. The work described in this thesis has identified mechanisms by which sensory stimuli generate appropriate behavioral responses. Manipulations of representations of unconditioned stimuli have identified a central role for US representations in the BLA in connecting sensory stimuli to both innate and learned behavioral responses. In addition, these experiments have suggested local mechanisms by which fear learning might be implemented in the BLA. Finally, we have identified a fundamental transformation through which a disordered olfactory representation in piriform cortex acquires meaning. Strikingly this transformation appears to occur within 3 synapses of the periphery. These data, and the techniques we employ, therefore have the potential to significantly impact upon our understanding of the neural origins of motivated behavior.

The research of functional stimulation of neural tissue is of great interest within the field of clinical neuroscience to further develop new neural prosthetics. A technique which has gained increased interest during the last couple of years is the stimulation of nervous tissue using infrared laser light. Successful results have been reported, such as stimulation of cells in both the central nervous system, and in the peripheral nervous system, and even cardiomyocytes. So far, the details about the stimulation mechanism have been a question of debate as the mechanism is somewhat hard to explain. The mechanism is believed to have a photo-thermal origin, where the light from the laser is absorbed by water, thus increasing the temperature inside and around the target cell. Despite the mechanism questions, the technique holds several promising features compared to traditional electrical stimulation. Examples of advantages are that it is contact free, no penetration is needed, it has high spatial resolution and no toxic electrochemical byproducts are produced during stimulation. However, since the laser pulses locally increase the temperature of the tissue, there is a risk of heat induced damage. Therefore, the effect of increased temperatures must be investigated thoroughly. One method of examining the changes in temperature during stimulation is to model the heating. This thesis is based on the work from four papers with the main aim to investigate and describe the response of heating, caused by laser pulses, on central nervous system cells. In paper one, a model of the heating during pulsed laser stimulation is established and used to describe the dynamic temperature changes occurring during functional stimulation of cerebral cortex cells. The model was used in all four papers. Furthermore, single cell responses, as action potentials, as well as network responses, as activity inhibition, were observed. In paper two, the response of rat astrocytes exposed to laser induced hyperthermia was investigated. Cellular migration was observed and the migration limit was used to calculate the kinetic parameters for the cells, i.e., the reaction activation energy, Ea (321.4 kJ⋅mol-1), and the frequency factor, Ac (9.47 x 1048 s-1). Furthermore, a damage signal ratio (DSR) for calculating a threshold for cellular damage was defined, and calculated to six percent. In paper three, the response of hyperthermia to cerebral cortex cells was investigated, in the same way as in the second paper. Fluorescence staining of the metabolic activity was used to reveal the heat response, and by using the limit of the observed increased fluorescence the kinetic parameters, Ea (333.6 kJ⋅mol-1), and Ac (9.76 x 1050 s-1), were calculated. The DSR for the cells was calculated to five percent. In paper four, the behavior of action potentials triggered by laser stimulation was investigated. More specifically, the time delay from the start of a laser pulse to the detection of an action potential, delta-t, were investigated. Two different behaviors for the initial action potentials were observed: fast decreasing delta-t and slow decreasing delta-t. The results show the dynamic behavior of action potential responses to infrared light. The work of this thesis show the dynamic changes of the temperature during optical stimulation, using an infrared laser working at 1,550 nanometers. It also shows how the changes cause astrocytes to migrate for pulses several seconds long, and neurons to fire action potentials for pulses in the millisecond range. Furthermore, a damage signal ratio was defined and calculated for the cell systems.

The effects on the cardiac cycle length of stimulating the vagus nerves with single supramaximal electrical shocks depended upon when they were stimulated during the cycle. A maximum prolongation of the cardiac cycle was obtained when the vagi were stimulated 167 msec (SD±64) after the peak of an electrocardiogram P wave. The interval between a P wave and the subsequent vagal stimulation was called Pl-St interval. Pl-St(max) was the Pl-St interval at which maximum prolongation of the cardiac cycle occurred. Pl-St(max) increased significantly (p (0.001) with longer cardiac cycles. When the Pl-St intervals were shorter or longer than 167 msec (SD±64) the effects of vagal stimulation were less. The latent period for the effects of vagal stimulation was 195 msec (SD±32) The latent period also increased significantly (p(O.Ol) with longer cardiac cycles. The rise time of the vagal effect, obtained by subtracting (Pl-St(max)+ latent period) from the control cardiac cycle length, was 124 msec (SD+31) and occurred between Pl-St intervals of 167 msec (SD±64) and 291 msec (SD±70). The rise time did not vary with cardiac cycle length (p) 0.1), but the magnitude of the maximum response to vagal stimulation was inversely proportional to rise time (p <. 0.02). The peak response to vagal stimulation must have occurred when the vagal effects pegan somewhere in the middle of diastolic depolarization of the pacemaker cells in the S-A node. The reasons for this were discussed. The half-decay time for the effects of vagal stimulation was 210 msec (SD±102). The slope of the curve relating the prolongation of the cardiac cycle length to Pl-St is positive at Pl-St intervals less than 167 msec (SD±64) and negative at Pl-St intervals between 167 msec (SD±64) and 291 msec (SD±90). The positive slope ranged from 0.13 to 0.48 with a mean of 0.23. The paradoxical responses of the S-A node to vagal inhibitory input obtained by Reid (1969), Levy et al (1969)and Dong and Reitz (1970) would be explained by the dependence of the cardiac cycle length upon the time of arrival of vagal stimulus in relation to the previous P wave and upon the slope of the curve relating the prolongation of the cardiac cycle length to Pl-St interval being positive and between zero and two at Pl-St intervals less than 167 msec (SD±64. The effects of single shock stimulation of the vagus nerves persisted for 3.890 sec (SD+l.255)7 the number of cardiac cycles involved varied between 5 and 11. The duration of the effects of vagal stimulation did not depend upon when during the cardiac cycle the vagi were stimulated. A "dip" in the response to vagal stimulation was present in all the experiments. The possibility of the "dip" phenomenon being due to simultaneous stimulation of the sympathetic fibres in the vago-sympathetic trunk was ruled out. It is suggested that the "dip" phenomenon may be due to transient accumulation of K+ in the interstitial fluid surrounding the pacemaker cells in the S-A node.There was no paradoxical response of the smooth muscle in the distal colon of the adult rabbit when the frequency of sympathetic inhibitory input was continuously increased. A paradoxical response in the frequency but not in the size of the contraction of the smooth muscle was obtained when the sympathetic nerves were stimulated with bursts of stimuli, each burst consisting of 5-40 impulses, 10 msec apart. One may conclude from this that the delay of the next spontaneous contraction but not the inhibition of the size of smooth muscle contraction is dependent upon the arrival time of a burst of stimuli during a contraction cycle. This was confirmed in an experiment when the sympathetic nerves were stimulated with single bursts of stimuli applied at different times during the contraction cycle. It is unlikely that such a paradoxical response would occur under physiological conditions as this would require the natural sympathetic efferent discharges to the smooth muscle to occur in regular bursts, each burst consisting of impulses at a high frequency. Stimulation of the sympathetic nerves at 3, 5, 10 and 25 PPS caused an inhibition of the size and frequency of smooth muscle contraction in the distal colon of the newborn rabbit. Assuming that the cholinergic fibres are excitatory there is therefore no evidence for the sympathetic fibres to the distal colon being cholinergic in the newborn rabbit. This is contrary to Burn's (1968) report of the sympathetic fibres being motor and cholinergic to the small intestinal smooth muscle in the newborn rabbit.The heart rate increased rapidly at the onset of exercise and then more gradually over the rest of the exercise period. The initial increase in the heart rate during exercise was not affected by adrenergic blockade but the subsequent increase in heart rate was significantly reduced by adrenergic blockade. Hence the increase in heart rate at the onset of exercise is due primarily to a decrease in the cardiac vagal efferent discharge, whereas the subsequent increase in heart rate is due to both a further decrease ln vagal discharge and an increase in sympathetic discharge to the S-A node. In almost all the sub jects there was initially a rapid decline in the heart rate in the post-exercise period, but subsequently the heart rate returned to resting levels in a variety of ways. These were classified into 5 types. Of particular interest to the present study was the Type V pattern of heart rate change. This was characterised by an increase in heart rate of 6 beats or more per minute during the post-exercise period, with or without superimposed arrhythmia. The Type V pattern may be the equivalent of the paradoxical responses to inhibitory input demonstrated in animal experiments i.e. an increase in the heart rate with increasing vagal stimulation frequency. Type V pattern occurred more frequently at mild exercise levels (4 out of 14) than at moderate exercise level (lout of 14) and also more frequently in adrenergic blocked individuals (11 out of 28) than in control subjects (5 out of 28) It is suggested that the sympathetic effects on the P-R interval and arterial baroreceptor modulation of vagal efferent discharge protect again st the occurrence of paradoxical responses to vagal inhibitory input. They may do so by confining the vagal discharge to the rise time of vagal effect during the cardiac cycle. On the other hand the Type V pattern in p-adrenergic blocked individuals may be due to a decrease in the vagal discharge, in which case Type V pattern would not be a paradoxical response. The changes in minute ventilation in the post-exercise period were also variable. Besides a gradual decline in minute ventilation there were also gradual increases and sudden increases and decreases in minute ventilation. These may represent a form of paradoxical response to increasing inhibitory input and decreasing excitatory input to the respiratory neurones in man. However, all the changes in minute ventilation could also be explained by fluctuating excitatory and inhibitory neural input to the respiratory neurones. / Thesis (MD)-University of Natal, Durban, 1973.

Magnetic neural stimulation of straight neurons with bends (1) in a semi-infinite volume conductor with a planar interface and (2) in the model of the human head is analyzed. Two stimulating coils, namely the double-square and the double circular, producing the magnetic field for the neuron stimulation are considered. The results indicate that the stimulating coil characteristics (size, shape and location) and the neuron shape affect the magnitude and location of the stimulation. The activating function, defined as the electric field derivative along the neuron, has two components. One component depends on the derivative of the electric field along the straight section of the neuron, and the other on the field magnitude. For bent neurons in a semi-infinite volume conductor, an analytical expression of the activating function (the stimulus) of the neuron was derived. The maximal stimulation point is at the bend of the nerve and its position depends on the nerve shape and coil parameters. The analysis also shows a better performance (a stronger stimulus) for a double-circular (figure eight) coil than for a double-square coil of comparable size. Stimulating bent neurons in the human head is also analyzed. The head model consists of an outer sphere representing the skull and scalp and two inner spheres such that each represents one half of the brain. The 3D-impedance method was used to obtain the induced electric fields by the double-square and double-circular coils. Quasi-static conditions are assumed. The geometry of the neuron in this model approximates the normal configuration of motor neurons in the human head. The analysis shows that the stimulation occurs almost at the highest point on the nerve (the closest point to the coil) with the coil positioned in such a way that its center is directly over the highest point on the nerve. It is also shown that the double-square coil produces a stronger stimulus than the double-circular coil. This result is in contradiction with that for a bent neuron in a semi-infinite volume conductor, however, it agrees with the results obtained for a straight neuron [1]. The analysis of bent neurons represents a more realistic approximation of the actual anatomy. The results of this analyses confirms the conclusions and, therefore, usefulness of simplified analyses of straight neurons. The results are expected to be of some use in clinical applications where non-invasive neural stimulation is desired and location of stimulation needs to be known. / Graduate / 0544

Magnetic neural stimulation of straight neurons with bends (1) in a semi-infinite volume conductor with a planar interface and (2) in the model of the human head is analyzed. Two stimulating coils, namely the double-square and the double circular, producing the magnetic field for the neuron stimulation are considered. The results indicate that the stimulating coil characteristics (size, shape and location) and the neuron shape affect the magnitude and location of the stimulation. The activating function, defined as the electric field derivative along the neuron, has two components. One component depends on the derivative of the electric field along the straight section of the neuron, and the other on the field magnitude. For bent neurons in a semi-infinite volume conductor, an analytical expression of the activating function (the stimulus) of the neuron was derived. The maximal stimulation point is at the bend of the nerve and its position depends on the nerve shape and coil parameters. The analysis also shows a better performance (a stronger stimulus) for a double-circular (figure eight) coil than for a double-square coil of comparable size. Stimulating bent neurons in the human head is also analyzed. The head model consists of an outer sphere representing the skull and scalp and two inner spheres such that each represents one half of the brain. The 3D-impedance method was used to obtain the induced electric fields by the double-square and double-circular coils. Quasi-static conditions are assumed. The geometry of the neuron in this model approximates the normal configuration of motor neurons in the human head. The analysis shows that the stimulation occurs almost at the highest point on the nerve (the closest point to the coil) with the coil positioned in such a way that its center is directly over the highest point on the nerve. It is also shown that the double-square coil produces a stronger stimulus than the double-circular coil. This result is in contradiction with that for a bent neuron in a semi-infinite volume conductor, however, it agrees with the results obtained for a straight neuron [1]. The analysis of bent neurons represents a more realistic approximation of the actual anatomy. The results of this analyses confirms the conclusions and, therefore, usefulness of simplified analyses of straight neurons. The results are expected to be of some use in clinical applications where non-invasive neural stimulation is desired and location of stimulation needs to be known. / Graduate / 0544

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-160). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 140 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-137).