History-dependent Changes Research Articles

History-dependent changes to distribution of dominance phases in multistable perception.

Multistability - spontaneous switches of perception when viewing a stimulus compatible with several percepts - is often characterized by the distribution of durations of dominance phases. For continuous viewing conditions, these distributions are similar for various multistable displays and share two characteristic features: a Gamma-like distribution shape and dependence of dominance durations on the perceptual history. Both properties depend on a balance between self-adaptation (also conceptualized as a weakening stability prior) and noise. Prior experimental work and simulations that systematically manipulated displays showed that faster self-adaptation leads to a more "normal-like" distribution and, typically, to more regular dominance durations. We used a leaky integrator approach to estimate accumulated differences in self-adaptation between competing representations and used it as a predictor when fitting two parameters of a Gamma distribution independently. We confirmed earlier work showing that larger differences in self-adaptation led to a more "normal-like" distribution suggesting similar mechanisms that rely on the balance between self-adaptation and noise. However, these larger differences led to less regular dominance phases suggesting that longer times required for recovery from adaptation give noise more chances to induce a spontaneous switch. Our results also remind us that individual dominance phases are not "independent and identically distributed."

Neural signature of flexible coding in prefrontal cortex

The ability of prefrontal cortex to quickly encode novel associations is crucial for adaptive behavior and central to working memory. Fast Hebbian changes in synaptic strength permit forming new associations, but neuronal signatures of this have been elusive. We devised a trialwise index of pattern similarity to look for rapid changes in population codes. Based on a computational model of working memory, we hypothesized that synaptic strength-and consequently, the tuning of neurons-could change if features of a subsequent stimulus need to be "reassociated," i.e., if bindings between features need to be broken to encode the new item. As a result, identical stimuli might elicit different neural responses. As predicted, neural response similarity dropped following rebinding, but only in prefrontal cortex. The history-dependent changes were expressed on top of traditional, fixed selectivity and were not explainable by carryover of previous firing into the current trial or by neural adaptation.

The control and training of single motor units in isometric tasks are constrained by a common input signal.

Recent developments in neural interfaces enable the real-time and non-invasive tracking of motor neuron spiking activity. Such novel interfaces could provide a promising basis for human motor augmentation by extracting potentially high-dimensional control signals directly from the human nervous system. However, it is unclear how flexibly humans can control the activity of individual motor neurons to effectively increase the number of degrees of freedom available to coordinate multiple effectors simultaneously. Here, we provided human subjects (N = 7) with real-time feedback on the discharge patterns of pairs of motor units (MUs) innervating a single muscle (tibialis anterior) and encouraged them to independently control the MUs by tracking targets in a 2D space. Subjects learned control strategies to achieve the target-tracking task for various combinations of MUs. These strategies rarely corresponded to a volitional control of independent input signals to individual MUs during the onset of neural activity. Conversely, MU activation was consistent with a common input to the MU pair, while individual activation of the MUs in the pair was predominantly achieved by alterations in de-recruitment order that could be explained by history-dependent changes in motor neuron excitability. These results suggest that flexible MU recruitment based on independent synaptic inputs to single MUs is unlikely, although de-recruitment might reflect varying inputs or modulations in the neuron's intrinsic excitability.

History-dependent changes in the recovery process of the middle latency cutaneous reflex gain after ankle sprain injury.

We previously reported that suppressive middle latency cutaneous reflexes (MLRs) in the peroneus longus (PL) are exaggerated in subjects with chronic ankle instability, and the changes are related to functional instability. However, the time-varying history of these neurophysiological changes after an ankle sprain is yet to be elucidated. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the time course of the changes in the PL MLR after an ankle sprain in relation to the number of sprain recurrences. Twenty-three subjects with ankle sprain were classified into 3 groups according to their history of ankle sprain: first ankle sprain, 2-3 ankle sprains, and ≥4 ankle sprains. Twenty-three age-matched control subjects also participated. The PL MLRs were elicited by stimulating the sural nerve while the subjects performed different levels of isometric ankle eversion. Gain of MLR was estimated using linear regression analysis (slope value) of the amplitude modulation of MLRs obtained from graded isometric contractions. The gain of MLRs first increased 4 weeks after the injury. In subjects with their first ankle sprain, the MLRs returned to almost baseline levels after 3 months. In contrast, the increase in MLR gain persisted even after 3 months in subjects with recurrent ankle sprains. In addition, the MLR gains were closely related to functional recovery of the ankle joint. Our findings suggest that the recovery process of MLR gains were strongly affected by the history of ankle sprains as well as the functional recovery of the ankle joint.

Neural Variability in Premotor Cortex Is Modulated by Trial History and Predicts Behavioral Performance

In the study of decision making, emphasis is placed on different forms of perceptual integration, while the influence of other factors, such as memory, is ignored. In addition, it is believed that the information underlying decision making is carried in the rate of the neuronal response, while its variability is considered unspecific. Here we studied the influence of recent experience on motor decision making by analyzing the activity of neurons in the dorsal premotor area of two monkeys performing a countermanding arm task. We observe that the across-trial variability of the neural response strongly correlates with trial history-dependent changes in reaction time. Using a theoretical model of decision making, we show that a trial history-monitoring signal can explain the observed behavioral and neural modulation. Our study reveals that, in the neural processes that culminate in motor plan maturation, the evidence provided by perception and memory is reflected in mean rate and variance respectively.

Modification of anxiety-like behaviors by nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) and time-dependent changes in N/OFQ-NOP gene expression following ethanol withdrawal.

Anxiety is a key consequence of ethanol withdrawal and important risk factor for relapse. The neuropeptide nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) or agonists at this peptide's receptor (NOP) exert anxiolytic-like and antistress actions. N/OFQ dysfunction has been linked to both a high-anxiety behavioral phenotype and excessive ethanol intake. Recent studies suggest a possible link between genetic polymorphisms of the NOP transcript and alcoholism. Thus, in the present study, the effects of intracerebroventricularly administered N/OFQ were tested for modification of anxiety-like behaviors, using the shock-probe defensive burying and elevated plus-maze tests, in ethanol-dependent versus non-dependent rats, 1 and 3 weeks following termination of ethanol exposure. Additionally, prepro-N/OFQ (ppN/OFQ) and NOP receptor gene expression was measured in the central nucleus of the amygdala, in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and in the lateral hypothalamus at the same timepoints in separate subjects. One week post-ethanol, N/OFQ dose-dependently attenuated elevated anxiety-like behavior in ethanol-dependent rats and produced anxiolytic-like effects in non-dependent controls in both behavioral tests. However, 3 weeks post-ethanol, N/OFQ altered behavior consistent with anxiogenic-like actions in ethanol-dependent rats but continued to exert anxiolytic-like actions in non-dependent controls. These findings were paralleled by ethanol history-dependent changes of ppN/OFQ and NOP gene expression that showed a distinctive time course in the examined brain structures. The results demonstrate that ethanol dependence and withdrawal are associated with neuroadaptive changes in the N/OFQ-NOP system, suggesting a role of this neuropeptidergic pathway as a therapeutic target for the treatment of alcohol abuse.

The effect of operant-conditioning balance training on the down-regulation of spinal H-reflexes in a spastic patient

Spasticity in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients has primarily been treated pharmacologically. However, there is increasing evidence that physical rehabilitation can help manage hyper-excitability of reflexes (hyperreflexia), which is a primary contributor to spasticity. In the present study, one chronic hemiparetic stroke patient operantly conditioned the soleus H-reflex while training on a balance board for two weeks. The results showed a minimal decrease in the Hmax–Mmax ratio for both the affected and unaffected limb, indicating that the H-reflex was not significantly altered with training. Alternatively, paired-reflex depression (PRD), a measure of history-dependent changes in reflex excitability, could be conditioned. This was evident by the rightward shift and decreased slope of reflex excitability in the affected limb. The non-affected limb decreased as well, although the non-affected limb was very sensitive to PRD initially, whereas the affected limb was not. Based on these results, it was concluded that PRD is a better index of hyperreflexia, and this measurement could be more informative of synapse function than simple H-reflexes. This study presents a novel and non-pharmacological means of managing spasticity that warrants further investigation with the potential of being translated to the clinic.

NEUTRALITY, CATEGORIZATION, AND THE EVOLVABILITY OF ORGANIZATIONS.

Knowledge creation and innovation is envisioned as an evolutionary process. Knowledge is created by incremental history dependent changes of the existing body of knowledge. Studies in this line of ...

Excitatory and Feed-Forward Inhibitory Hippocampal Synapses Work Synergistically as an Adaptive Filter of Natural Spike Trains

Short-term synaptic plasticity (STP) is an important mechanism for modifying neural circuits during computation. Although STP is much studied, its role in the processing of complex natural spike patterns is unknown. Here we analyze the responses of excitatory and inhibitory hippocampal synapses to natural spike trains at near-physiological temperatures. Our results show that excitatory and inhibitory synapses express complementary sets of STP components that selectively change synaptic strength during epochs of high-frequency discharge associated with hippocampal place fields. In both types of synapses, synaptic strength rapidly alternates between a near-constant level during low activity and another near-constant, but elevated (for excitatory synapses) or reduced (for inhibitory synapses) level during high-frequency epochs. These history-dependent changes in synaptic strength are largely independent of the particular temporal pattern within the discharges, and occur concomitantly in the two types of synapses. When excitatory and feed-forward inhibitory synapses are co-activated within the hippocampal feed-forward circuit unit, the net effect of their complementary STP is an additional increase in the gain of excitatory synapses during high-frequency discharges via selective disinhibition. Thus, excitatory and feed-forward inhibitory hippocampal synapses in vitro act synergistically as an adaptive filter that operates in a switch-like manner and is selective for high-frequency epochs.

History-Dependent Changes in Entrainment of the Activity Rhythm in the Syrian Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

The authors have studied the activity rhythm of Syrian hamsters exposed to square LD cycles with a 22-h period (T22) with the aim of testing the effects of the previous history on the rhythmic pattern. To do so, sequential changes of different lighting environments were established, followed by the same LD condition. Also, the protocol included T22 cycles with varying lighting contrasts to test the extent to which a computational model predicts experimental outcomes. At the beginning of the experiment, exposure to T22 with 300 lux and dim red light occurring respectively at photophase and scotophase (LD300/dim red) mainly generated relative coordination. Subsequent transfer to cycles with approximately 0.1-lux dim light during the scotophase (LD300/0.1) promoted entrainment to T22. However, a further reduction in light intensity to 10 lux during the photophase (LD10/0.1) generated weak and unstable T22 rhythms. When, after that, animals were transferred again to the initial LD300/dim red cycles, the amplitude of the rhythm still remained very low, and the phases were very unstable. Exposure to constant darkness partially restored the activity rhythm, and when, afterwards, the animals were submitted again to LD300/dim red cycles, a robust T22 rhythm appeared. The results demonstrate history-dependent changes in the hamster circadian system because the locomotor activity pattern under the same T22 cycle can show relative coordination or unstable or robust entrainment depending on the prior lighting condition. This suggests that the circadian system responds to environmental stimuli depending on its previous history. Moreover, computer simulations allow the authors to predict entrainment under LD300/0.1 cycles and indicate that most of the patterns observed in the animals due to the light in the scotophase can be explained by different degrees of coupling among the oscillators of the circadian system.

Gene expression in the rat brain during sleep deprivation and recovery sleep: an Affymetrix GeneChip® study

Previous studies have demonstrated that macromolecular synthesis in the brain is modulated in association with the occurrence of sleep and wakefulness. Similarly, the spectral composition of electroencephalographic activity that occurs during sleep is dependent on the duration of prior wakefulness. Since this homeostatic relationship between wake and sleep is highly conserved across mammalian species, genes that are truly involved in the electroencephalographic response to sleep deprivation might be expected to be conserved across mammalian species. Therefore, in the rat cerebral cortex, we have studied the effects of sleep deprivation on the expression of immediate early gene and heat shock protein mRNAs previously shown to be upregulated in the mouse brain in sleep deprivation and in recovery sleep after sleep deprivation. We find that the molecular response to sleep deprivation and recovery sleep in the brain is highly conserved between these two mammalian species, at least in terms of expression of immediate early gene and heat shock protein family members. Using Affymetrix Neurobiology U34 GeneChips® , we also screened the rat cerebral cortex, basal forebrain, and hypothalamus for other genes whose expression may be modulated by sleep deprivation or recovery sleep. We find that the response of the basal forebrain to sleep deprivation is more similar to that of the cerebral cortex than to the hypothalamus. Together, these results suggest that sleep-dependent changes in gene expression in the cerebral cortex are similar across rodent species and therefore may underlie sleep history-dependent changes in sleep electroencephalographic activity.

Signs of muscle thixotropy during human ballistic wrist joint movements

A study was conducted on healthy subjects to determine whether voluntary ballistic wrist flexion movements are influenced by immediately preceding conditioning of the forearm muscles. Single rapid wrist flexion movements were made in response to an auditory "Go" signal. Rectified surface EMG was recorded from wrist flexors and extensors, and joint position was measured by a goniometer. The movements were preceded (2-3 s) by four different conditioning routines: 40-s rest (Rest), 10-s voluntary alternating wrist joint flexion and extension movements (Osc), and 10 s of 25 degrees weak isometric wrist extensor (Ext) or flexor contractions (Flex). When subjects made ballistic movements after Osc compared with Rest, peak velocity was higher (P = 0.02) and movement time shorter (P = 0.06), but there was no difference (P = 0.83) in motor reaction time (time between the onset of the first agonist burst and movement onset). If the movements were preceded by Ext compared with Flex, motor reaction time was longer (P = 0.01), indicating a longer electromechanical delay. There were no indications that postconditioning differences in agonist or antagonist muscle activity could explain the results. It was also demonstrated that, after Rest, peak velocity was lower (P < 0.01) for the first than for the second of a series of repetitive ballistic movements. The observations corresponded to results from passive experiments in which the median nerve was electrically stimulated. In conclusion, history-dependent (thixotropic) changes in skeletal muscle resistance seem to have implications for voluntary ballistic wrist movements. The study also provided evidence that muscle conditioning influences the central nervous reaction time preceding ballistic contractions.

Human motor compensations for thixotropy‐dependent changes in muscular resting tension after moderate joint movements

This study on healthy subjects explores history-dependent changes in the resting tension of relaxed wrist muscles after moderate joint excursions and the motor control consequences of these changes during voluntary wrist joint position maintenance. Integrated surface electromyogram (IEMG) was recorded from wrist extensor/flexor muscles. Angular position and torque were recorded from the wrist joint. Changes in wrist flexor muscle resting tension were sensed by a force transducer pressed against the tendons. Consecutive stepwise changes (7.5 degrees ) in wrist joint position (within the dorsiflexed range) were either imposed on relaxed subjects or actively performed while the subjects under visual guidance tried to mimic the passive movements. In relaxed subjects, passive joint torque resistance at a given steady dorsiflexed position either gradually declined or rose depending on the direction of the previous transition movements. In corresponding voluntary contraction experiments, the IEMG amplitude from position holding wrist extensors was found to vary in a similar way as the passive torque resistance. Further, there was a strong correlation between history-dependent changes in extensor IEMG amplitude and stress alterations exhibited by the relaxed antagonist flexors. The above described, slowly subsiding post-movement mechanical and motor adaptations were accelerated by brief forceful cocontractions of the forearm muscles. Moderate stepwise changes in joint position are sufficient to induce history-dependent after-effects in passive muscular resting tension, after-effects which during voluntary position holding are effectively compensated for by the motor control system.

Cycle-to-cycle variability of neuromuscular activity in Aplysia feeding behavior.

Aplysia consummatory feeding behavior, a rhythmic cycling of biting, swallowing, and rejection movements, is often said to be stereotyped. Yet closer examination shows that cycles of the behavior are very variable. Here we have quantified and analyzed the variability at several complementary levels in the neuromuscular system. In reduced preparations, we recorded the motor programs produced by the central pattern generator, firing of the motor neurons B15 and B16, and contractions of the accessory radula closer (ARC) muscle while repetitive programs were elicited by stimulation of the esophageal nerve. In other similar experiments, we recorded firing of motor neuron B48 and contractions of the radula opener muscle. In intact animals, we implanted electrodes to record nerve or ARC muscle activity while the animals swallowed controlled strips of seaweed or fed freely. In all cases, we found large variability in all parameters examined. Some of this variability reflected systematic, slow, history-dependent changes in the character of the central motor programs. Even when these trends were factored out, however, by focusing only on the differences between successive cycles, considerable variability remained. This variability was apparently random. Nevertheless, it too was the product of central history dependency because regularizing merely the high-level timing of the programs also regularized many of the downstream neuromuscular parameters. Central motor program variability thus appears directly in the behavior. With regard to the production of functional behavior in any one cycle, the large variability may indicate broad tolerances in the operation of the neuromuscular system. Alternatively, some cycles of the behavior may be dysfunctional. Overall, the variability may be part of an optimal strategy of trial, error, and stabilization that the CNS adopts in an uncertain environment.

Blubber development in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

Blubber, the lipid-rich hypodermis of cetaceans, functions in thermoregulation, buoyancy control, streamlining, metabolic energy storage, and locomotion. This study investigated the development of this specialized hypodermis in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) across an ontogenetic series, including fetuses, neonates, juveniles, subadults, and adults. Blubber samples were collected at the level of the mid-thorax, from robust specimens (n = 25) that stranded along the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia. Blubber was dissected from the carcass and its mass, and the depth and lipid content at the sample site, were measured. Samples were prepared using standard histological methods, viewed by light microscopy, and digital images of blubber captured. Images were analyzed through the depth of the blubber for morphological and structural features including adipocyte size, shape, and numbers, and extracellular, structural fiber densities. From fetus to adult, blubber mass and depth increased proportionally with body mass and length. Blubber lipid content increased dramatically with increasing fetal length. Adult and juvenile blubber had significantly higher blubber lipid content than fetuses, and this increase was reflected in mean adipocyte size, which increased significantly across all robust life history categories. In juvenile, subadult, and adult dolphins, this increase in cell size was not uniform across the depth of the blubber, with the largest increases observed in the middle and deep blubber regions. Through-depth counts of adipocytes were similar in all life history categories. These results suggest that blubber depth is increased during postnatal growth by increasing cell size rather than cell number. In emaciated adults (n = 2), lipid mobilization, as evidenced by a decrease in adipocyte size, was localized to the middle and deep blubber region. Thus, in terms of both lipid accumulation and depletion, the middle and deep blubber appear to be the most metabolically dynamic. The superficial blubber likely serves a structural role important in streamlining the animal. This study demonstrates that blubber is not a homogeneous tissue through its depth, and that it displays life history-dependent changes in its morphology and lipid content.

Passive mechanical properties of the medial gastrocnemius muscle of the cat.

1. This is a report on the history dependence of the passive mechanical properties of the medial gastrocnemius muscle of the anaesthetised cat. 2. The muscle was conditioned with an isometric contraction at the test length, or at 3 mm longer than the test length and then returned to the test length, where the level of resting tension was measured, as well as tension changes during a slow stretch. 3. The level of resting tension depended on the form of conditioning and, at the optimum length for active tension, the history-dependent component was 9 % of the total passive tension. 4. During a slow stretch, tension initially rose steeply up to a yield point, beyond which it rose more gradually. The shape of the tension rise depended on the form of conditioning. The level of tension at the yield point consisted of a stretch-dependent component, the 'short-range tension' plus the resting tension for that length. 5. The short-range tension increased with muscle length to peak close to the optimum for active tension. The slope of the tension rise during a stretch, the short-range stiffness, peaked at 2 mm beyond the optimum. 6. The short-range tension was small immediately after a conditioning contraction but grew in size as the interval was increased up to 60 s, with a time constant of 9.9 +/- 0.6 s. After a series of conditioning movements, it recovered more rapidly, with a time constant of 6.6 +/- 0.5 s. 7. The history-dependent changes in passive tension and the response to stretch are interpreted in terms of the presence, in sarcomeres of resting muscle fibres, of crossbridges between actin and myosin which have very slow formation rates, both at rest and during movements.

A novel mechanism for the control of circadian clock period by light.

The free-running period expressed by circadian clocks in constant environmental conditions is history dependent, and one effect of entrainment of circadian clocks by light cycles is to cause long-lasting changes in the free-running period that are termed aftereffects. It has been suggested that aftereffects are a consequence of the particular phase relationships among constituent oscillators of the circadian system that are established by the entrainment. In a test of this hypothesis, it is shown that aftereffects of entrainment of the free-running rhythm of nerve impulse activity from the eye of Bulla gouldiana are completely unaffected by treatment with 12-, 24-, or 48-h pulses of the translation inhibitor cycloheximide or with 24-h pulses of the transcription inhibitor DRB (5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole riboside). These treatments reset the phase of circadian oscillators generally and those in the eye of B. gouldiana specifically. The absence of any effect of the treatments indicates that aftereffects are independent of oscillator phase. These results suggest that history-dependent changes in period result from a novel, long-lasting, and previously unrecognized mechanism of action of light on the circadian pacemaking system. Furthermore, the data indicate that aftereffects can persist in the absence of translation, transcription, or the continued cycling of the circadian system.

History-dependent mechanical behavior of guinea-pig small intestine.

Measurement of pressure-volume relations is a commonly used technique to elucidate small intestinal stiffness. There is a lack of data on the relation between stiffness and history-dependent mechanical properties of the gastrointestinal tract. We aimed to distinguish between passive properties of the tissue that depend on the time-history of load (viscoelastic effects) versus those that depend on the maximum previous load (strain softening effects). Ten repeated pressure-volume relations were measured at each peak pressure level in six isolated, passive guinea-pig jejuni in vitro during balloon inflation and deflation cycles. With inflation to a new higher peak pressure (ranging from 3 to 15 mm Hg), the pressure-volume relation became less stiff, particularly in the low pressure range, without a significant change in unloaded jejunal volume. We computed the jejunal normalized volume change as a function of the integrated volume-time history and maximum volume. Analysis of covariance revealed significant dependence of the normalized volume change on the volume-time history (P < 0.001) and the maximum volume history (P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that approximately 90% of the history dependence could be attributed to the maximum volume. Most softening (loss of stiffness) happens in the low pressure range of the curve (0-3 mm Hg). We adopted the Johnson and Beatty strain softening theory and computed the volume amplification factor. This factor was shown to be a linear function of the normalized peak volume (r2 > 0.999). Since strain softening effects were significantly greater than viscoelastic effects, we conclude that history-dependent changes in jejunal stiffness are more likely to involve alterations to elastic rather than viscous structures in the tissue. These effects must be taken into account when performing balloon distension studies in the gastrointestinal tract for studying physiological and pathophysiological problems in which loading conditions are altered, e.g., mechanoreceptor studies in normal intestine and in acute and chronic obstruction, in order to have an accurate description of the biomechanics.

Vinyl chloride monomer in PVC: from problem to probe

Study of transport of vinyl chloride monomer -(Vc) in PVC was initially undertaken to help design processes for removing residual monomer from polymer. Vapor sorption experiments on PVC powder samples obey simple Fickian kinetics at low VCM concentrations and provide a convenient method of determining diffusivity of VCM in PVC. From a simple model of diffusion in uniform spherical particles, it was' predicted that essentially complete monomer removal from particles of diameter under 5 im could be achieved in a few minutes at temperatures near 100°C. The design of continuous steam stripping systems which exploit this rapid desorpti'on rate, combined with a progressive reduction in non-porous particle content, has re-' sulted in a remarkable reduction in residual VCM concentration of commercial suspension PVC over past five years. In addition to their practical value in helping overcome the VCM problem, vapor sorption experiments have proven to be highly useful in characterizing structure and properties of PVC powders. Analysis of sorption kinetics through a Fickian diffusion model for heterodisperse spheres has been employed to. determine particle size distributions for all common types of PVC resins. Variations of sorption isotherms have been found to reflect history-dependent changes in free volume of PVC, and study of non-Fickian sorption kinetics has led to new methods of observing glassy-state relaxation processes. Vapor sorption techniques have now been applied to a variety of polymer powder/vapor combinations and have shown that effects observed in VCM/PVC system are quite characteristic of general interactions between organic vapors and glassy polymers. The use of small organic molecules as probes in vapor sorption experiments represents a broadly applicable technique for characterization and study of polymer structure and properties.