Responses modal

Batch DM, Braver TS, Akbudak E, Conturo T, Olhnger 1, Snyder A (2001) Anterior cingulate cortex and response conflict effects of response modality and processing domain. Cereb Cortex ll(9) 837-848... 

The response modality is certainly the question which creates the least difficulties. Three modalities are usually employed the keyboard, the mouse and, more rarely, the sensitive screens. Because of the well known parallax phenomenon, the sensitive screens (as the electronic pencils) don t allow an exact pointing on limited surfaces. Using keyboard implies more often that the available keys must be clearly located if not the response system becomes a task in itself. So can be explained the success of the mouse system which is the easiest. In our own experiments we have observed that very young children (they were 5 years old) could learn to move the mouse and to click in only four or five minutes. So it seems there is no problem here. 

A peripheral nerve comprises different axons responsible for different modalities. It may contain efferent myelinated motor fibres, efferent unmyelinated autonomic fibres... 

Promoting an Optimal Response to Therapy The patient with a musculoskeletal disorder may be in acute pain or have longstanding mild to moderate pain, which can be just as difficult to tolerate as severe pain. Along with pain, there may be skeletal deformities, such as the joint deformities seen with advanced rheumatoid arthritis. For many musculoskeletal conditions, drug therapy is a major treatment modality. Therapy with these drugs may keep the disorder under control (eg, therapy for gout), improve the patient s ability to carry out the activities of daily living, or make the pain and discomfort tolerable. 

The expected outcomes of the patient may include an optimal response to therapy, management of common adverse reactions, a reduction in anxiety, and an understanding of the prescribed treatment modalities. 

That the sweet and bitter responses are intimately associated is clear from the results of gustatory studies of all of the conformationally defined sugars and of other organic compounds. If a carbohydrate has any taste at all, this is invariably sweet, bitter-sweet, or bitter. Chemical modification may alter the taste of a sweet compound so that the product is bitter-sweet or bitter, and it is now generally agreed that the two basic tastes may each be a feature of a single compound. It appears, therefore, that the interactions of these polyfunctional stimulants involve two different sets of receptor sites, representing sweet and bitter modalities. ... 

This being the case, a purely sweet molecule may be expected to interact with structurally suitable features distributed over the areas SB and SB (see Fig. 35,ii) interactions in the area of overlap SB do not produce a secondary bitter note, but are essential for the generation of the sweet taste. A bitter taste can be produced only when suitable features in the area of the overlap and in the whole of the bitter area (SB) interact, as in Fig. 35,iii (pure bitter). Fig. 35,iv (bitter-sweet), and Fig. 35,v (sweet with a secondary bitter taste). Therefore, as long as the interactions are distributed over the whole area representing a modality, that modality will be identified by higher centers, provided that its intensity is not subliminal. If interactions are distributed over a part of a modal area (see Fig. 35,vi), identification of the modality will not result, so that no response will be produced. Interactions in the bitter or in the sweet area have a low efficiency, or they may be effective but involve only a small fraction of the sites. This can only affect the intensity of the generated response. 

Studies on the biochemistry of the taste system should take into account results obtained at other levels, such as electrophysiological recordings and, particularly, behavioral responses to taste stimuli. The term sweetness should strictly be used only in studies conducted on humans, because the description of taste modality is a verbal response. It is usually concluded that positive behavioral responses in animals, that is, preferences, or electrophysiological response to a stimulus compound that is known to be sweet to man, are due to the sweet taste. This may not necessarily be true in some cases, because behavioral or electrophysiological response may result from other taste modalities. It is, therefore, critical that comparative aspects be carefully interpreted. 

The taste receptors allow for the collection of only a small amount of information, enabling us to distinguish the taste modalities, namely, sweet, bitter, saline, or acid. Responses to the true taste-receptors are produced with a high degree of probability over relatively simple pathways, containing few fibers. The cortical centers for tastes, if present at all, are small. ... 

Complicated processes govern wakefulness, sleep, and the transitions leading to sleep initiation and maintenance. Although the neurophysiology of sleep is complex, certain neurotransmitters promote sleep and wakefulness in different areas of the central nervous system (CNS). Serotonin is thought to control non-REM sleep, whereas cholinergic and adrenergic transmitters mediate REM sleep. Dopamine, norepinephrine, hypocretin, substance P, and histamine all play a role in wakefulness. Perturbations of various neurotransmitters are responsible for some sleep disorders and explain why various treatment modalities are beneficial. 

Since POAG is a chronic, often asymptomatic condition, the decision of when and how to treat patients is difficult since the treatment modalities are often expensive and have potential adverse effects or complications. The clinician should evaluate the potential effectiveness, toxicity, and the likelihood of patient adherence for each therapeutic modality. The ideal therapeutic regimen should have maximal effectiveness and patient tolerance to achieve the desired therapeutic response. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) publishes Preferred Practice Patterns for POAG and POAG Suspect.2... 

There are no well-defined clinical characteristics or established tests to identify patients likely to benefit from chemotherapy. Factors associated with an increased probability of response that have been identified include a good performance status, a limited number (one to two) of disease sites, and patients who respond to chemotherapy or hormonal therapy with a long disease-free interval. Patients who have progressive disease during chemotherapy have a lower probability of response to a different type of chemotherapy. However, this is not necessarily true for patients who are given chemotherapy after some interval during which they have received no chemotherapy. Patients who do not respond to endocrine therapy are as likely to respond to chemotherapy as patients who are treated with chemotherapy as their initial treatment modality. Age, menopausal status, and receptor status have not been associated with favorable or unfavorable response to chemotherapy. 

Clinical trials combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy are based on the observations of independent clinical activity of each of these treatment modalities in treating metastatic MM. This combination is known as biochemotherapy. Only one phase III clinical trial showed significant improvement in response rate, time to progression, and median survival favoring the biochemotherapy arm versus the combination-chemotherapy arm.59 Currently, the use of biochemotherapy is not justified outside a clinical trial in patients with stage IV MM.53,58,60... 

Polymodal sensory neurons in C. elegans are also mechanoreceptors. Polymodal sensory neurons in C. elegans seem to fall into the TRP class of mechanoreceptors as they apparently rely on several TRP channels for mechanosensation [4]. These sensory neurons respond to nose touch, hyperosmolarity and volatile repellents by triggering a backward response in the worm the OSM-9 and OCR-2 channels apparently mediate these responses, and the pathways differ for each sensory modality. However, little is known about the transduction mechanism in these cells. 

The number of chemical sensors based on LPGs coated with a chemo-sensitive overlay is still quite limited and even lower is the number of those sensors for which the phenomenon of the modal transition is knowingly used to enhance the performances of the devices. Some of them are based on overlays with low refractive index and/or on thick overlays, which have the drawback of slow diffusion limited response times. One application that seems to attract particular interest is the measurement of the relative humidity (RH). 

---