Attention electrophysiology

Electrophysiologic and behavioral observations in LSD-treated animals may give some hint as to the switch in attentiveness in the presence of a moderately high state of arousal, which is characteristic of LSD in man. One would expect further clarification of the physiologic role of the raphe with respect to REM sleep because, in nature, this is one state in which a natural shift to primary process thinking and plastic and sensory thought and perceptual processes (with a compelling sense of conviction) can occur. 

Attention must be paid to the viability of the exeised tissue under in vitro conditions. Electrophysiologic characterization appears to be a valuable tool to indicate the viability of the tissue following excision. The viability of the tissue can be retained by continuous bubbling with O2/CO2 mixtures and addition of glucose to the buffer medium [11]. 

While the focus of work in the past century has been on the biological and biochemical causes of disease and its treatment, there is another aspect that has received little attention. This is the electrophysiological aspect, and it suffers much from the poor development of theory at a biomolecular level. There is also a further aspect to disease, the psychosomatic. There is much evidence that one can think one s self ill and think one s self well. What is not yet understood is the relation between the electrochemical aspects of disease and the psychosomatic. Are they two sides of the same coin Should not their study be greatly intensified ... 

Basinska A. 1998. Altered electrophysiological pattern of target detection in schizophrenia in the Continuous Attention Test. Acta Neurobiol Exp 58 207-220. 

Martinez A, Di Russo F, Anllo-Vento L, Hillyard SA. 2001. Electrophysiological analysis of cortical mechanisms of selective attention to high and low spatial frequencies. Clin Neurophysiol 112 1980-1998. 

Briefly, evaluation of the effects of hypnotics on sleep physiology and sleep architecture, as measured by electroencephalography, has received increased attention. Continuous all-night electrophysiological measurement of sleep termed polysomnography (PSG) has made it possible to evaluate the action of hypnotics on sleep. PSG assessment as a means of evaluating the hypnotic effects of a drug candidate is now required by the U.S. FDA. 

Ischemic heart disease results in over 500,000 deaths in the United States each year. The overwhelming majority of deaths attributable to atherosclerotic heart disease results from electrophysiological alterations in zones of ischemic myocardium which predispose to ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia. Accordingly, a substantial amount of attention has focused on identifying the biochemical mechanisms which precipitate the lethal electrophysiological sequelae of coronary artery disease. 

Otto D, Robinson G, Baumann S, et al 5-Year follow-up of children with low-to-moder-ate lead absorption electrophysiological evaluation. Environ Res 38 168-186,1985 Padich RA, Dietrich KN, Pearson DT Attention, activity level, and lead exposure at 18 months. Environ Res 38 137-143, 1985... 

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