Journal of neurophysiology
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The non-phase-locked EEG response to painful stimuli has usually been characterized as decreased oscillatory activity (event-related desynchronization, ERD) in the alpha band. Increased activity (event-related synchronization, ERS) in the gamma band has been reported more recently. We have now tested the hypothesis that the non-phase-locked responses to nonpainful electric cutaneous stimuli are different from those to painful cutaneous laser stimuli when the baseline salience of the two stimuli is the same and the salience during the protocol is modulated by count laser and count electric tasks. ⋯ Overall, the main effect for modality was found in window I-delta/theta and window V-gamma, and the Modality with Task interaction was found in all five windows. All significant interaction terms included Modality as a factor. Therefore, Modality was the most common factor explaining our results, which is consistent with our hypothesis.
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Although previous studies have shown that people use both optic flow and target egocentric direction to walk or steer toward a goal, it remains in question how enriching the optic flow field affects the control of heading specified by optic flow and the control of target egocentric direction during goal-oriented locomotion. In the current study, we used a control-theoretic approach to separate the control response specific to these two cues in the visual control of steering toward a goal. ⋯ The improvement in the control of heading with enriched optic flow displays was mirrored by an increase in the accuracy of heading perception. The findings provide direct support for the claim that people use the heading specified by optic flow as well as target egocentric direction to walk or steer toward a goal and suggest that the visual system does not internally weigh these two cues for goal-oriented locomotion control.
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Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a clinical therapy for chronic, neuropathic pain, but an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms underlying SCS contributes to the lack of improvement in SCS efficacy over time. To study the mechanisms underlying SCS, we constructed a biophysically based network model of the dorsal horn circuit consisting of interconnected dorsal horn interneurons and a wide-dynamic range (WDR) projection neuron and representations of both local and surround receptive field inhibition. We validated the network model by reproducing cellular and network responses relevant to pain processing including wind-up, A fiber-mediated inhibition, and surround receptive field inhibition. ⋯ We also studied the impacts on the effects of SCS of loss of inhibition due to the loss of either GABA or KCC2 function. Reducing the influence of local and surround GABAergic interneurons by weakening their inputs or their connections to the WDR neuron and shifting the anionic reversal potential of the WDR neurons upward each reduced the range of optimal SCS frequencies and changed the frequency at which SCS had a maximal effect. The results of this study provide insights into the mechanisms of SCS and pave the way for improved SCS parameter selection.