The pupillary response to light in the turtle

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1127-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Granda ◽  
J. R. Dearworth ◽  
C. A. Kittila ◽  
W. D. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
White Light ◽  
Light Adaptation ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Pupillary Dilation ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Visual Threshold ◽  
Color Sensitivity ◽  
Pseudemys Scripta

AbstractWhen intense adapting lights are turned off, the pupil of the turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans, enlarges. The recovery functions for pupillary dilation have different time constants that are defined by red- and green-sensitive cones and rods as they are affected by prior light adaptation and time in the dark. Pupillary area related to dilation responds over at least a three- to four-fold range. Following white-light adaptation, the course of pupil dilation in the dark shows a three-legged curve of differing time constants. With spectral-light adaptations, the contributions of separate classes of photoreceptors can be isolated. Red- and green-sensitive cones contribute shorter time constants of 3.31 and 3.65 min to prior white-light adaptation—4.81 and 4.18 min to prior spectral-light adaptations. Rods contribute a much longer time constant of 6.69 min to prior white-light adaptation—7.60 min to prior spectral-light adaptation. The ratios are in keeping with the flash sensitivities of photoreceptors in this same animal, as well as with psychophysical visual threshold mechanisms of color sensitivity.

scholarly journals Individual motion perception parameters and motion sickness frequency sensitivity in fore-aft motion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tugrul Irmak ◽  
Ksander N. de Winkel ◽  
Daan M. Pool ◽  
Heinrich H. Bülthoff ◽  
Riender Happee
Keyword(s):  
Motion Sickness ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Storage Time ◽  
Velocity Storage ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Subjective Vertical ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Frequency Sensitivity ◽  
Observer Model

AbstractPrevious literature suggests a relationship between individual characteristics of motion perception and the peak frequency of motion sickness sensitivity. Here, we used well-established paradigms to relate motion perception and motion sickness on an individual level. We recruited 23 participants to complete a two-part experiment. In the first part, we determined individual velocity storage time constants from perceived rotation in response to Earth Vertical Axis Rotation (EVAR) and subjective vertical time constants from perceived tilt in response to centrifugation. The cross-over frequency for resolution of the gravito-inertial ambiguity was derived from our data using the Multi Sensory Observer Model (MSOM). In the second part of the experiment, we determined individual motion sickness frequency responses. Participants were exposed to 30-minute sinusoidal fore-aft motions at frequencies of 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 Hz, with a peak amplitude of 2 m/s2 in five separate sessions, approximately 1 week apart. Sickness responses were recorded using both the MIsery SCale (MISC) with 30 s intervals, and the Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire (MSAQ) at the end of the motion exposure. The average velocity storage and subjective vertical time constants were 17.2 s (STD = 6.8 s) and 9.2 s (STD = 7.17 s). The average cross-over frequency was 0.21 Hz (STD = 0.10 Hz). At the group level, there was no significant effect of frequency on motion sickness. However, considerable individual variability was observed in frequency sensitivities, with some participants being particularly sensitive to the lowest frequencies, whereas others were most sensitive to intermediate or higher frequencies. The frequency of peak sensitivity did not correlate with the velocity storage time constant (r = 0.32, p = 0.26) or the subjective vertical time constant (r = − 0.37, p = 0.29). Our prediction of a significant correlation between cross-over frequency and frequency sensitivity was not confirmed (r = 0.26, p = 0.44). However, we did observe a strong positive correlation between the subjective vertical time constant and general motion sickness sensitivity (r = 0.74, p = 0.0006). We conclude that frequency sensitivity is best considered a property unique to the individual. This has important consequences for existing models of motion sickness, which were fitted to group averaged sensitivities. The correlation between the subjective vertical time constant and motion sickness sensitivity supports the importance of verticality perception during exposure to translational sickness stimuli.

Why is the perceptual octave stretched? An account based on mismatched time constants within the auditory brainstem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain de Cheveigné
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Auditory Brainstem ◽  
The Other ◽  
Inhibitory Synapses ◽  
Coincidence Counting ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Direct Pathway ◽  
Lower Tone ◽  
Excitatory And Inhibitory Synapses

This paper suggests an explanation for listener’s greater tolerance to positive than negative mistuning of the higher tone within an octave pair. It hypothesizes a neu- ral circuit tuned to cancel the lower tone, that also cancels the higher tone if that tone is in tune. Imperfect cancellation is the cue to mistuning of the octave. The circuit involves two pathways, one delayed with respect to the other, that feed a coincidence-counting neuron via excitatory and inhibitory synapses. A mismatch between the time constants of these two synapses results in an asymmetry in sen- sitivity to mismatch. Specifically, if the time constant of the delayed pathway is greater than that of the direct pathway, there is a greater tolerance to positive than to negative mistuning, which can lead to a perceptual“stretch” of the octave. The model is applicable to both harmonic and – with qualification – melodic oc- taves. The paper describes the model and reviews the evidence from auditory psychophysics and physiology in favor – or against – it.

scholarly journals Voltage-gated transient currents in bovine adrenal fasciculata cells. I. T-type Ca2+ current.

1993 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Mlinar ◽  
B A Biagi ◽  
J J Enyeart
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Zona Fasciculata ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Boltzmann Function ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Ca2 Channels

The whole cell version of the patch clamp technique was used to identify and characterize voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in enzymatically dissociated bovine adrenal zona fasciculata (AZF) cells. The great majority of cells (84 of 86) expressed only low voltage-activated, rapidly inactivating Ca2+ current with properties of T-type Ca2+ current described in other cells. Voltage-dependent activation of this current was fit by a Boltzmann function raised to an integer power of 4 with a midpoint at -17 mV. Independent estimates of the single channel gating charge obtained from the activation curve and using the "limiting logarithmic potential sensitivity" were 8.1 and 6.8 elementary charges, respectively. Inactivation was a steep function of voltage with a v1/2 of -49.9 mV and a slope factor K of 3.73 mV. The expression of a single Ca2+ channel subtype by AZF cells allowed the voltage-dependent gating and kinetic properties of T current to be studied over a wide range of potentials. Analysis of the gating kinetics of this Ca2+ current indicate that T channel activation, inactivation, deactivation (closing), and reactivation (recovery from inactivation) each include voltage-independent transitions that become rate limiting at extreme voltages. Ca2+ current activated with voltage-dependent sigmoidal kinetics that were described by an m4 model. The activation time constant varied exponentially at test potentials between -30 and +10 mV, approaching a voltage-independent minimum of 1.6 ms. The inactivation time constant (tau i) also decreased exponentially to a minimum of 18.3 ms at potentials positive to 0 mV. T channel closing (deactivation) was faster at more negative voltages; the deactivation time constant (tau d) decreased from 8.14 +/- 0.7 to 0.48 +/- 0.1 ms at potentials between -40 and -150 mV. T channels inactivated by depolarization returned to the closed state along pathways that included two voltage-dependent time constants. tau rec-s ranged from 8.11 to 4.80 s when the recovery potential was varied from -50 to -90 mV, while tau rec-f decreased from 1.01 to 0.372 s. At potentials negative to -70 mV, both time constants approached minimum values. The low voltage-activated Ca2+ current in AZF cells was blocked by the T channel selective antagonist Ni2+ with an IC50 of 20 microM. At similar concentrations, Ni2+ also blocked cortisol secretion stimulated by adrenocorticotropic hormone. Our results indicate that bovine AZF cells are distinctive among secretory cells in expressing primarily or exclusively T-type Ca2+ channels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Identification of Time-Varying Time Constants of Thermocouple Sensors and Its Application to Temperature Measurement

2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Kar ◽  
Akshya K. Swain ◽  
Robert Raine
Keyword(s):  
Kalman Filter ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Identification Problem ◽  
Basis Functions ◽  
New Technique ◽  
Ratio Test ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Orthogonal Least Squares

The present study addresses the problem of estimating time-varying time constants associated with thermocouple sensors by a set of basis functions. By expanding each time-varying time constant onto a finite set of basis sequences, the time-varying identification problem reduces to a parameter estimation problem of a time-invariant system. The proposed algorithm, to be called as orthogonal least-squares with basis function expansion algorithm, combines the orthogonal least-squares algorithm with an error reduction ratio test to include significant basis functions into the model, which results in a parsimonious model structure. The performance of the method was compared with a linear Kalman filter. Simulations on engine data have demonstrated that the proposed method performs satisfactorily and is better than the Kalman filter. The new technique has been applied in a Stirling cycle compressor. The sinusoidal variations in time constant are tracked properly using the new technique, but the linear Kalman filter fails to do so. Both model validation and thermodynamic laws confirm that the new technique gives unbiased estimates and that the assumed thermocouple model is adequate.

Voltage Dependence of the Glycine Receptor–Channel Kinetics in the Zebrafish Hindbrain

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 2120-2129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Legendre
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Rise Time ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Voltage Dependence ◽  
Good Description ◽  
Glycine Receptor ◽  
Relative Amplitude ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Low Concentration ◽  
Voltage Dependent

Electrophysiological recordings of outside-out patches to fast-flow applications of glycine were made on patches derived from the Mauthner cells of the 50-h-old zebrafish larva. As for glycinergic miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs), depolarizing the patch produced a broadening of the transient outside-out current evoked by short applications (1 ms) of a saturating concentration of glycine (3 mM). When the outside-out patch was depolarized from −50 to +20 mV, the peak current varied linearly with voltage. A 1-ms application of 3 mM glycine evoked currents that activated rapidly and deactivated biexponentially with time constants of ≈5 and ≈30 ms (holding potential of −50 mV). These two decay time constants were increased by depolarization. The fast deactivation time constant increased e-fold per 95 mV. The relative amplitude of the two decay components did not significantly vary with voltage. The fast component represented 64.2 ± 2.8% of the total current at −50 mV and 54.1 ± 10% at +20 mV. The 20–80% rise time of these responses did not show any voltage dependence, suggesting that the opening rate constant is insensitive to voltage. The 20–80% rise time was 0.2 ms at −70 mV and 0.22 ms at +20 mV. Responses evoked by 100–200 ms application of a low concentration of glycine (0.1 mM) had a biphasic rising phase reflecting the complex gating behavior of the glycine receptor. The time constant of these two components and their relative amplitude did not change with voltage, suggesting that modal shifts in the glycine-activated channel gating mode are not sensitive to the membrane potential. Using a Markov model to simulate glycine receptor gating behavior, we were able to mimic the voltage-dependent change in the deactivation time course of the responses evoked by 1-ms application of 3 mM glycine. This kinetics model incorporates voltage-dependent closing rate constants. It provides a good description of the time course of the onset of responses evoked by the application of a low concentration of glycine at all membrane potentials tested.

scholarly journals Elaborate pupils in skates may help camouflage the eye

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Youn ◽  
Corey Okinaka ◽  
Lydia M Mäthger
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Primary Factor ◽  
Natural Substrate ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Changing Light

AbstractThe little skate Leucoraja erinacea has elaborately shaped pupils, whose characteristics and functions have not been studied extensively. It has been suggested that such pupil shapes may camouflage the eye; yet, no experimental evidence has been presented to support this claim. Skates are bottom-dwellers that often bury into the substrate with their eyes protruding. If these pupils serve any camouflage function, we expect there to be a pupillary response related to the spatial frequency (“graininess”) of the background against which the eye is viewed. Here, we tested whether skate pupils dilate or constrict in response to background spatial frequency. We placed skates on background substrates with different spatial frequencies and recorded pupillary responses at three light intensities. In experiment 1, the skates’ pupillary response to three artificial checkerboards of different spatial frequencies was recorded. Skates responded to changing light intensity with pupil dilation/constriction; yet, their pupils did not change in response to spatial frequency. In experiment 2, in which skates could bury into three natural substrates with different spatial frequencies, such that their eyes protruded above the substrate, the pupils showed a subtle but statistically significant response to changes in substrate spatial frequency. Given the same light intensity, the smaller the spatial frequency of the natural substrate, the more constricted the pupil. While light intensity is the primary factor determining pupil dilation, these experiments are the first to show that pupils also change in response to background spatial frequency, which suggests that the pupil may aid in camouflaging the eye.

Effect of amobarbital on the course of human dark adaptation

1961 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Granger
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Oral Administration ◽  
White Light ◽  
Dark Adaptation ◽  
Light Adaptation ◽  
Visual Adaptation ◽  
Test Field ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Stability

Following light adaptation to a luminance of 120 mL for 5 minutes, absolute thresholds for a centrally fixated, 7-degree test field in 'white' light were measured during the course of 30 minutes' dark adaptation. Viewing was monocular and the measuring light was exposed in 0.018-second flashes. The resulting curves, defining the relation between log threshold luminance and time in the dark, displayed the typical features of 'rod' dark adaptation and were found to be highly reproducible in three experienced observers. Neither the shape of the curves nor their position along the log luminance axis was affected by the oral administration of a sedative dose (0.30 gm/70 kg) of amobarbital. It was concluded that the results supported the views of Hecht and other photochemical theorists concerning the stability of human dark adaptation and its resistance to fluctuations in the state of the central nervous system, but were not necessarily incompatible, as was sometimes supposed, with the hypothesis of a neural component in visual adaptation. Submitted on May 23, 1960

The Effects of Expansion Time Constants on the Objective Performance of Hearing Instrument Users

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (08) ◽  
pp. 614-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick N. Plyler ◽  
Ashley Blair Hill ◽  
Timothy D. Trine
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Speech Test ◽  
Hearing In Noise ◽  
Expansion Time ◽  
Objective Performance ◽  
Noise Test

The present study investigated the effects of expansion time constants on the objective performance of 20 hearing instrument users fitted binaurally with digital in-the-ear products. Objective performance was evaluated in quiet using the Connected Speech Test and in noise using the Hearing in Noise Test. Results indicated that objective performance in quiet and in noise decreased as the expansion time constant increased. Furthermore, expansion time constants affected the objective performance of listeners with varying degrees of hearing loss in a similar manner.

Effect of catecholamine-induced cardiac hypertrophy on the force–interval relationship

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Taylor ◽  
Reinhard K. Helbing ◽  
Sean Rourke ◽  
Dennis Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Hypertrophy ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Papillary Muscle ◽  
Tissue Growth ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Maximum Force ◽  
Total Force ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
Atrial Muscle ◽  
The Right

Cardiac hypertrophy was induced in adult female Wistar rats following 12 days of daily subcutaneous injections of isoproterenol (ISO). The left atria responded with a 13–14% increase in tissue growth, while the ventricles achieved a 34–39% increased tissue mass. Maximum force generation and twitch characteristics in 1.0 mM external Ca2+ for the left atria or the right papillary muscle were unchanged in the ISO-treated animals. The force–interval relation was determined at 26 °C between 0.5 and 120 s. The development of maximum force clearly passed through two phases identified as alpha and beta. To characterize these two processes the data were fitted to a two-term linear combination of exponentials (two-compartment model). The time constant and capacity of each process to contribute to the whole force–interval curve was determined by a four-parameter least square fit method. In control atrial muscle the time constants for the alpha and beta processes were 0.47 and 11.23 s, respectively. The contribution of each process to the total force curve in control atrial muscle was approximately 50% alpha and 50% beta. Following ISO-induced growth the time constants were 0.38 and 13.33 s with a shift of contributions towards 60% alpha and 40% beta. Control papillary muscle from the right ventricle had a similar alpha time constant of 0.49 s compared with atrial muscle but possessed a considerably slower beta time constant of 26.17 s. The contribution of each process to interval-dependent force development was 44.5 and 55.5%, respectively. Treatment with ISO to induce ventricular growth resulted in a 20% reduced alpha time constant, with a 45% increased contribution by the alpha process. These results suggest that during the development of catecholamine-induced hypertrophy, there is a significant change in the fundamental alpha process which appears to be mediated by a reduced time constant and an enhanced capacity to contribute to force development.Key words: excitation–contraction, interval-dependent force recovery, post-rest contractions, cardiac muscle, sarcoplasmic reticulum.

scholarly journals II. On the principal electric time-constant of a circular disk

1887 ◽  
Vol 42 (251-257) ◽  
pp. 289-296 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Infinite Series ◽  
Circular Disk ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Experimental Point ◽  
Normal Type ◽  
Time Constants ◽  
The One ◽  
Original Strength ◽  
Different Parts

The time-constant for currents of any normal type in a given conductor is the time in which free currents of that type fall to 1/ e of their original strength. In strictness there are for any conductor an infinite series of time-constants, corresponding to the various normal types, but in such a case as that of a coil of wire one of these is very great in comparison with the rest, which belong to types in which the current is in opposite directions in different parts of a section of the wire. And in all cases the time-constant corresponding to the most persistent type which can be present under given circumstances is, of course, the one which is most important from an experimental point of view.

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