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Notes: Abstract The use of orally administered interferon-α as a treatment for retroviral disease was evaluated in the experimental model of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)-induced erythroid aplasia. Progressive anaemia, FeLV viraemia, and leukopenia developed in cats inoculated with the Kawakami-Theilen isolate of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV-KT). A treatment regimen with orally administered recombinant interferon-α or natural interferon-α as employed in this study had no significant effects on viraemia, course of disease, or differential leucocyte counts. The results of this study did not reveal any beneficial effects of human interferon-α administered by the oral route for treatment of cats with experimentally induced FeLV infection.

Notes: Abstract The relationships between bone mineral content (BMC), bone calcium, and bone strength were studied in fractionally demineralized feline femurs. In 44 pairs of cat femurs, the right bones were decalcified in ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid (EDTA) to 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of the mineral content of the intact left bone (=control). The bones were then loaded to failure, and maximum strength values were recorded. The data were then used to calculate the percentage strength of the right relative to the left femurs. A correlation coefficient (r) of 0.970 was found between the percentage decalcification and percentage bending strength. A direct relationship (r=0.876) was also observed between the total calcium extracted and total loss in BMC. The EDTA solutions were spot checked for protein content to determine if the organic matrices had been altered by demineralization. Protein was never detected. Nor did the demineralized tissues display histologic evidence of gross microscopic damage. This study has shown that in cat femurs, 20% decalcification led to about 35% loss in bending strength, and 60% decalcification caused 75% loss in strength. These values are significant as they highlight the importance of calcium to the strength of osteopenic bone.

Notes: Abstract The effect of large, low thoracic (T10–T11), partial spinal lesions involving the ventral quadrants of the spinal cord and, to a different extent, the dorsolateral funiculi, on fore-hindlimb coordination was examined in cats walking overground at moderate speeds (40–100 cm/s). Three different forms of impairment of fore-hindlimb coordination depending on the extent of the lesions, were observed. Lesions sparing the dorsolateral or the ventral funiculus on one side preserved the equality of the fore- and hindlimb locomotor rhythms but changed the coupling between the movements of both girdles as compared to intact animals. Larger lesions in which, in addition to the ventral quadrants of the spinal cord, also major parts of the dorsolateral funiculi were destroyed elicited episodes of rhythm oscillations in both girdles, which appeared at the background of a small difference in these rhythms. Lesions destroying almost the whole spinal cord induced a permanent difference (about 200 ms) in the step cycle duration of the fore- and the hindlimbs. However, even in these animals some remnant form of fore-hindlimb coordination was found. The results suggest that dorsolateral funiculi play a major role in preserving the equality of rhythms in the foreand the hindlimbs, while lesions of the ventral quadrants change the coupling between limbs.

Notes: Abstract During normal postnatal development, there is an overproduction and subsequent partial elimination of the callosal projections of cortical areas 17 and 18 in the cat. In the present study, we investigated how neonatal splitting of the optic chiasm affects this process. Our results indicate that neonatal splitting of the optic chiasm exaggerates the normally occurring partial elimination of immature callosal projections: it causes a significant reduction in the total number of neurons in the supragranular layers that send an axon through the corpus callosum. It does not, however, cause a significant change in the number of callosally projecting neurons in the infragranular layers. These data suggest that in addition to other factors previously described, the level or spatial distribution of correlated binocular input to visual cortical neurons may influence the stabilization/elimination of immature callosal connections.

Notes: Abstract The effects of dopamine and its agonists on transmission from muscle afferents to spinal neurones were investigated in the cat and guinea-pig spinal cord, by measuring the drug effects on the amplitude of monosynaptic field potentials evoked by electrical stimulation of group I and group II muscle afferents. Local iontophoretic application of dopamine, the dopamine D1/D5 agonist SKF-38393 and the D2/D3/D4 agonist quinpirole all depressed the group II field potentials evoked at the base of the dorsal horn. Group II field potentials in the intermediate zone were depressed by dopamine to a similar degree as the dorsal horn field potentials, whereas the dopamine agonists were without effect upon them. The intermediate zone field potentials evoked by group I muscle afferents were not depressed by any of the drugs. The dopamine-evoked depression of the group II-evoked field potentials in the dorsal horn in the guinea-pig spinal cord was reduced by the simultaneous application of haloperidol. The results demonstrate that dopamine receptors mediate the depression of transmission from group II muscle afferents to interneurones in the dorsal horn, but not to neurones in the intermediate zone of the spinal cord.

Notes: Abstract Transmission from single, identified, slowly adapting type II (SAII) tactile fibers to their target neurons in the cuneate nucleus was examined in anesthetized cats. Simultaneous recordings were made from cuneate neurons and from fine, intact fascicles of the superficial radial nerve in which it was possible to identify and monitor the activity of each group II fiber. Selective activation of individual SAII fibers was achieved by means of skin stimulation with fine probes, in conjunction with extensive forelimb denervation. Responses were studied for seven SAII-driven cuneate neurons. For three there was unequivocal monitoring of the identified SAII input fiber. However, in six of the seven there was evidence that just one SAII fiber provided suprathreshold input to the cuneate neuron, and neither temporal nor spatial summation was required for reliable transmission. Cuneate impulse rates, in response to SAII inputs lasting 1 s, were less than 250 impulses per second, even though the SAII impulse rates could be 500 s-1. Responses to individual SAII impulses consisted of a burst of 2–3 impulses at low SAII input rates, but burst responses disappeared at high SAII rates. In all three SAII-cuneate pairs studied, the transmission security (the percentage of SAII impulses that evoked cuneate spike output) exceeded 80% in response to static skin displacement and in response to certain frequencies of skin vibration, in particular, at 100–200 Hz, exceeded 98% when the SAII fiber responded near the 1∶1 level (one impulse per vibration cycle). Transmission characteristics for the SAII-cuneate linkage resulted in the cuneate neuron showing tight phaselocking of responses to high-frequency (〉100 Hz) vibrotactile stimuli and higher impulse rates than its SAII input (up to input rates of ∼50 impulses s-1). Security of transmission across the SAII-cuneate synapse is similar to that demonstrated previously for tactile fibers of the SAI and Pacinian corpuscle (PC)-related classes, which suggests that there is no marked differential specialization in transmission characteristics for dorsal column nuclei neurons that receive input from different tactile fiber classes. Furthermore, it means that the reported failure of individual SAII fiber inputs to generate conscious sensation in man following intraneural microstimulation is not related to transmission failure at the first central relay.

Notes: Abstract This study was designed to examine the changes in the modulation of small populations of cerebellar neurons during the acquisition of a complex, operantly conditioned forelimb task in cats. The experiments are based on the general postulate that, during the learning of a complex motor behavior, the cerebellum is important for generating a coordinated movement that meets the task's objectives, and that, as the cerebellum participates in this process, it acts to reinforce the effective motor pattern once it has been established. This specific study examines whether the changes in the modulation of cerebellar nuclear neurons during the learning of this task are consistent with this view. Cats were required to learn to move the manipulandum through a novel pattern of 2–3 consecutive straight grooves connected end to end in different spatial configurations, e.g., the letter L, an inverted L, and the letter C. Throughout the acquisition process, 6–12 single units were recorded simultaneously in the cerebellar nuclei, and the kinematics of the movement were evaluated using an Optotrak system. Cells were recorded from the two interposed nuclei and the dentate nucleus in these initial studies. Trials were sorted off-line based on the level of skill at which the required movement was performed. This was assessed using several objective criteria such as movement times, kinematic characteristics, and smoothness (number of peaks in the velocity profile). Event-related histograms then were constructed from each group of sorted trials. Changes in modulation related to a specific event were measured in successive histograms for each neuron. One of the most consistent findings across the cells in all nuclei was that the magnitude of the task-related modulation reached a peak at the time the task was first performed reasonably well and then progressively decreased (but did not disappear) as the task became well practiced. Both the initial increase and the subsequent decrease in response amplitude were significant statistically. The implications of these observations are discussed in the context of the role the cerebellum may play in the acquisition of complex motor tasks.

Notes: Abstract Saccadic eye movements to visual, auditory, and bimodal targets were measured in four adult cats. Bimodal targets were visual and auditory stimuli presented simultaneously at the same location. Three behavioral tasks were used: a fixation task and two saccadic tracking tasks (gap and overlap task). In the fixation task, a sensory stimulus was presented at a randomly selected location, and the saccade to fixate that stimulus was measured. In the gap and overlap tasks, a second target (hereafter called the saccade target) was presented after the cat had fixated the first target. In the gap task, the fixation target was switched off before the saccade target was turned on; in the overlap task, the saccade target was presented before the fixation target was switched off. All tasks required the cats to redirect their gaze toward the target (within a specified degree of accuracy) within 500 ms of target onset, and in all tasks target positions were varied randomly over five possible locations along the horizontal meridian within the cat's oculomotor range. In the gap task, a significantly greater proportion of saccadic reaction times (SRTs) were less than 125 ms, and mean SRTs were significantly shorter than in the fixation task. With visual targets, saccade latencies were significantly shorter in the gap task than in the overlap task, while, with bimodal targets, saccade latencies were similar in the gap and overlap tasks. On the fixation task, SRTs to auditory targets were longer than those to either visual or bimodal targets, but on the gap task, SRTs to auditory targets were shorter than those to visual or bimodal targets. Thus, SRTs reflected an interaction between target modality and task. Because target locations were unpredictable, these results demonstrate that cats, as well as primates, can produce very short latency goal-directed saccades.

Notes: Abstract Ipsilateral and contralateral pairs of augmenting expiratory neurons were recorded simultaneously from the Bötzinger complex using glass-coated tungsten microelectrodes in pentobarbitone-anaesthetized cats. The neurons were identified both by firing pattern and by antidromic activation from the contralateral site of the dorsal respiratory group. Cross-correlation histograms of the extracellularly recorded action potentials were calculated in order to detect short time-scale synchronizations of firing indicative of synaptic connections between the neurons. The cross-correlation histograms for 40 ipsilateral pairs of neurons less than 1 mm apart showed eight (20%) narrow troughs (mean half-amplitude width ±SD, 1.1±0.37 ms) at short latencies (mean latency±SD, 1.0±0.35 ms) suggestive of monosynaptic inhibition. These included two cross-correlation histograms which showed troughs on both sides of time zero, indicating a mutual inhibition. For another four pairs of neurons (10%), a central broad peak suggestive of common activation due to either excitation or release from inhibition was evident. Contralateral pairs of expiratory neurons of the Bötzinger complex were examined in a similar manner. The cross-correlation histograms for 43 pairs of neurons showed five (12%) narrow troughs (mean half-amplitude width±SD, 1.2±0.67 ms) at short latencies (mean latency±SD, 2.7±1.47 ms) suggestive of monosynaptic inhibition. These included one cross-correlation histogram which showed troughs (one not statistically significant) on both sides of time zero, indicating a mutual inhibition. For another two pairs of neurons (4.6%) a central, broad peak suggestive of common activation due to either excitation or release from inhibition was evident. We conclude that inhibitory interconnections exist between augmenting expiratory neurons of the Bötzinger complex ipsilaterally and contralaterally. These connections may synchronize the expiratory burst of activity within this population and assist in the patterning of the burst.

Notes: Abstract The corpus callosum, the principal neocortical commissure, allows for the interhemispheric transfer of lateralized information between the hemispheres. The aim of the present experiment was to study callosal transfer of auditory information in the cat, with particular reference to its contribution to sound localization. The corpus callosum was approached under direct visual control, and axonic responses were recorded under light anesthesia using glass micro-pipettes. Results showed that auditory information is transmitted in the posterior portion of the callosum. Diotic presentations, in which interaural time delay was manipulated, indicated that, for a large number of fibers, the largest excitatory or inhibitory interactions were obtained at null interaural time delay, a condition which supports the notion of a callosal contribution to auditory midline fusion. However, an important number of callosal fibers was also found to be excited maximally at specific, non-zero interaural time delays, suggesting that they preferred sounds situated at spatial locations other than the midline. The results are discussed in relation to those obtained electrophysiologically for the visual and somesthesic modalities and in terms of results obtained in human and animal behavioral experiments.

Notes: Abstract We studied changes in retinogeniculate transmission that occur during variation of modulatory brainstem input and during variation of stimulus contrast. Responses of single cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) to a stationary flashing light spot of varying contrast were measured with and without electrical stimulation of the peribrachial region (PBR) of the brain-stem. PBR stimulation increased the contrast gain (slope of response versus contrast curve) and the dynamic response range (range between spontaneous activity and maximal firing). Lagged and nonlagged X-cells reached the midpoint of the dynamic response range at lower contrasts during PBR stimulation than in the controls. No comparable change was seen for Y-cells. Only minor changes of threshold contrast were seen. The characteristics of the retinogeniculate transmission were directly studied by comparing the response of dLGN cells with their retinal input (slow potentials, S-potentials). With increasing contrast there was a marked increase in the transfer ratio (proportion of impulses in the input that generates action potentials in the dLGN cell). The transfer ratio seemed to be primarily determined by the firing rate of the retinal input. The transfer ratio increased with increasing input rates from low values near threshold to values that could approach 1 at high-input firing rates. PBR stimulation increased the transfer ratio, particularly at moderate input firing rates. The increased transfer ratio, caused by increasing input firing rates, enhanced the response versus contrast characteristics through an increase in contrast gain and dynamic response range. The modulatory input from the PBR further enhanced these characteristics.

Notes: Abstract The cortical auditory fields of the two hemispheres are interconnected via the corpus callosum. We have investigated the topographical arrangement of auditory callosal axons in the cat. Following circumscribed biocytin injections in the primary (AI), secondary (AII), anterior (AAF) and posterior (PAF) auditory fields, labelled axons have been found in the posterior two-thirds of the corpus callosum. Callosal axons labelled by small individual cortical injections did not form a tight bundle at the callosal midsagittal plane but spread over as much as one-third of the corpus callosum. Axons originating from different auditory fields were roughly topographically ordered, reflecting to some extent the rostro-caudal position of the field of origin. Axons from AAF crossed on average more rostrally than axons from AI; the latter crossed more rostrally than axons from PAF and AIL Callosal axons originating in a discrete part of the cortex travelled first in a relatively tight bundle to the telo-diencephalic junction and then dispersed progressively. In conclusion, the cat corpus callosum does not contain a sector reserved for auditory axons, nor a strictly topographically ordered auditory pathway. This observation is of relevance to neuropsychological and neuropathological observations in man.

Notes: Abstract The effects of short trains of electrical stimuli applied within the cuneiform nucleus and the subcuneiform region were examined on transmission from group I and group II muscle afferents to first-order spinal neurons. Variations in the effectiveness of transmission from these afferents were assessed from changes in the sizes of the monosynaptic component of extracellular field potentials evoked following stimulation of muscle nerves. Field potentials evoked from group II muscle afferents in the dorsal horn of the midlumbar and sacral segments and in the intermediate zone of the midlumbar segments were reduced when the test stimuli applied to peripheral nerves were preceded by conditioning stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus or the subcuneiform region. The depression occurred at conditioning-testing intervals of 20–400 ms, being maximal at intervals of 32–72 ms for dorsal horn potentials and 40–100 ms for intermediate zone potentials. At the shortest intervals, both group II and group I field potentials in the intermediate zone were depressed. Conditioning stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus depressed group II field potentials nearly as effectively as conditioning stimulation of the coerulear or raphe nuclei. We propose that the nonselective depression of transmission from group I and II afferents at short intervals is due to the activation of reticulospinal pathways by cells or fibers stimulated within the cuneiform area. We also propose that the selective depression of transmission from group II afferents at long intervals is mediated at least partly by monoaminergic pathways, in view of the similarity of the effects of conditioning stimulation of the cuneiform nucleus and of the brainstem monoaminergic nuclei and by directly applied monoamines (Bras et al. 1990). In addition, it might be caused by primary afferent depolarization mediated by non-monoaminergic fibers (Riddell et al. 1992).

Notes: Abstract We applied supramaximal, repetitive stimulation to the lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiters' nucleus, DN) at 200 Hz to evoke steady-state synaptic potentials in ipsilateral triceps surae motoneurons of the cat. The effective synaptic currents underlying these potentials were measured using a modified voltage-clamp technique. The steady-state effective synaptic currents evoked by activating DN were generally small and depolarizing (mean±SD 2.5±2.6 nA). DN stimulation generated hyperpolarizing synaptic currents in 2 of the 34 triceps motoneurons studied. The effective synaptic currents from DN tended to be larger in putative type F motoneurons than in putative type S cells (type F mean 3.0±3.1 nA; type S mean 1.8±1.0 nA). There was a statistically significant difference between the inputs to putative type FF and putative type S motoneurons (mean difference 2.8 nA, t=2.87, P〈0.01). The synaptic input from DN to medial gastrocnemius motoneurons had approximately the same mean amplitude as that from homonymous la afferent fibers. However, the distribution of DN input with respect to putative motor unit type was the opposite of that previously reported for Ia afferent input. Thus, the synaptic input from DN might act to compress the range of recruitment thresholds within the motoneuron pool and thereby increase the gain of its input-output function.

Notes: Abstract We have previously shown, using a local inactivation technique, that layer VI provides a facilitatory input to the majority of hypercomplex cells located in layer IV above, and hence to layers II/III, which in many cases enhances length selectivity. However, many cells in these layers are not tuned for stimulus length, being equally responsive to long and short stimuli. Thus it is important to know whether layer VI can influence the responses of these cells. We have now used a similar paradigm of iontophoretic application of GABA to examine the effect of blockade of layer VI on the length tuning profiles of these cells in layers II–IV. During the blockade of layer VI, the most common effect, seen in 41% of the cells, was inhibition of visual responses, (i.e. commensurate with loss of a facilitatory input). An increase in response magnitude was found in 21% of the population, and responses were unaffected in 36% of cells tested. This suggests that the predominant influence of local regions of layer VI on this cell type, located in layers II/III and IV, is facilitatory, with a smaller proportion of cells receiving an inhibitory input. Such effects were seen even with the shortest lengths tested, suggesting once more that elements of layer VI are responsive to stimuli much shorter than was previously accepted. Thus these data suggest that layer VI plays a role in the generation of the response dynamics of non-length-tuned cells in overlying layers II/III and IV.

Notes: Abstract Prior studies have led to the gaze feedback hypothesis, which states that quick orienting movements of the visual axis (gaze shifts) are controlled by a feedback system. We have previously provided evidence for this hypothesis by extending the original study of Mays and Sparks (1980) to the cat with unrestrained head (Pélisson et al. 1989). We showed that cats compensated for a stimulation-induced perturbation of initial gaze position by generating, in the dark, an accurate gaze shift towards the remembered location of a flashed target. In the present study, we investigate goal-directed gaze shifts perturbed “in flight” by a brief stimulation of the superior colliculus. The microstimulation parameters were tuned such that significant perturbations were induced without halting the movement. The ambient light was turned off at the onset of the gaze shift, suppressing any visual feedback. We observed that, following stimulation offset, the gaze shift showed temporal and spatial changes in its trajectory to compensate for the transient perturbation. Such compensations, which occurred “on-line” before gaze shift termination, involved both eye and head movements and had dynamic characteristics resembling those of unperturbed saccadic gaze shifts. These on-line compensations maintained gaze accuracy when the stimulation was applied during the early phase of large and medium (about 60 and 40°) movements. These results are compatible with the notion of a gaze feedback loop providing a dynamic gaze error signal.

Notes: Abstract A somaesthetic pathway to the magnocellular red nucleus (RNm) via relays other than corticoor cerebello-rubral relays was previously found to exist in the cat. At the brainstem level, the ascending spinorubral fibres follow the medial lemniscus (LM). The present paper aims at describing in detail and evaluating the quantitative importance of the short-latency responses in RNm cells after microstimulation performed in the LM through a monopolar electrode. The RNm cells, tested intracellularly in cats anaesthetized with α-choralose and placed in a stereotaxic device, were identified by their antidromic activation to stimulation of the rubrospinal tract in the cervical cord. It was established that single-shock stimulation below 100 μA current delivered to the LM induced short-latency postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) in 87% of all the rubrospinal cells tested. The responses were indeed due to activation of LM fibres, as demonstrated by different tests: the location of the electrode tip in the LM was verified by recording, with the same electrode, the potentials evoked by stimulating the dorsal columns of the cord. The site was later confirmed histologically. The absence of stimulus spread from the LM to the underlying pyramidal tract was systematically checked by simultaneously recording the responses evoked in RNm cells and in the motor cortex. Monosynaptic excitatory responses (EPSPs) were evoked in RNm cells with a minimum stimulating current of less than 20 μA in the LM and a mean threshold of 42 μA. Disynaptic inhibitory potentials (IPSPs) were evoked in 23% of these cells with single-pulse stimulation. These latter responses showed a temporal facilitation with short trains of three pulses, which indicated that they were transmitted through inhibitory interneurones. Recordings were also performed from presumed LM fibre terminals running inside the RNm. The results therefore confirm the existence of strong lemniscal projections to RNm and demonstrate that they transmit both excitatory and inhibitory messages to rubrospinal cells. As the somaesthetic pathway to the RNm was previously found to come from the spinal cord, where it is located in the ventral portion, the present results also confirm that the LM is composed of fibres originating not only from neurones in the dorsal column nuclei, but also from cells placed at the segmental levels of the cord. The presumed sensorimotor function of this ascending pathway is discussed.

Notes: Abstract The functional relation between receptive fields of climbing fibres projecting to the C1, C3 and Y zones and forelimb movements controlled by nucleus interpositus anterior via the rubrospinal tract were studied in cats decerebrated at the pre-collicular level. Microelectrode tracks were made through the caudal half of nucleus interpositus anterior. This part of the nucleus receives its cerebellar cortical projection from the forelimb areas of these three sagittal zones. The C3 zone has been demonstrated to consist of smaller functional units called microzones. Natural stimulation of the forelimb skin evoked positive field potentials in the nucleus. These potentials have previously been shown to be generated by climbing fibre-activated Purkinje cells and were mapped at each nuclear site, to establish the climbing fibre receptive fields of the afferent microzones. The forelimb movement evoked by microstimulation at the same site was then studied. The movements usually involved more than one limb segment. Shoulder retraction and elbow flexion were frequently evoked, whereas elbow extension was rare and shoulder protraction never observed. In total, movements at the shoulder and/or elbow occurred for 96% of the interpositus sites. At the wrist, flexion and extension movements caused by muscles with radial, central or ulnar insertions on the paw were all relatively common. Pure supination and pronation movements were also observed. Movements of the digits consisted mainly of dorsal flexion of central or ulnar digits. A comparison of climbing fibre receptive fields and associated movements for a total of 110 nuclear sites indicated a general specificity of the input-output relationship of this cerebellar control system. Several findings suggested that the movement evoked from a particular site would act to withdraw the area of the skin corresponding to the climbing fibre receptive field of the afferent microzones. For example, sites with receptive fields on the dorsum of the paw were frequently associated with palmar flexion at the wrist, whereas sites with receptive fields on the ventral side of the paw and forearm were associated with dorsiflexion at the wrist. Correspondingly, receptive fields on the lateral side of the forearm and paw were often associated with flexion at the elbow, whereas sites with receptive fields on the radial side of the forearm were associated with elbow extension. The proximal movements that were frequently observed also for distal receptive fields may serve to produce a general shortening of the limb to enhance efficiency of the withdrawal. It has previously been suggested that the cerebellar control of forelimb movements via the rubrospinal tract has a modular organisation. Each module would consist of a cell group in the nucleus interpositus anterior and its afferent microzones in the C1, C3 and Y zones, characterised by a homogenous set of climbing fibre receptive fields. The results of the present study support this organisational principle, and suggest that the efferent action of a module is to withdraw the receptive field from an external stimulus. Possible functional interpretations of the action of this system during explorative and reaching movements are discussed.

Notes: Abstract Group I afferents in nerves innervating the lateral gastrocnemius-soleus (LG-Sol), plantaris (P1), and vastus lateralis/intermedius (VL/VI) muscles were stimulated during walking in decerebrate cats. The stimulus trains were triggered at a fixed delay following the onset of bursts in the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Stimulation of all three nerves with long stimulus trains (〉600 ms) prolonged the extensor bursts and delayed the onset of flexor burst activity. LG-Sol nerve stimulation had the strongest effect; often delaying the onset of flexor burst activity until the stimulus train was ended. By contrast, flexor bursts were usually initiated before the end of the stimulus train to the P1 and VL/VI nerves. The minimum stimulus strength required to increase the cycle period was between 1.3×threshold and 1.6×threshold for all three nerves. Simultaneous stimulation of the P1 and VL/VI nerves produced a larger effect on the cycle period than stimulation of either nerve alone. The spatial summation of inputs from knee and ankle muscles suggests that the excitatory action of the group I afferents during the stance phase is distributed to all leg extensor muscles. Stimulation of the group I afferents in extensor nerves generally produced an increase in the amplitude of the heteronymous extensor EMG towards the end of the stance phase. This increase in amplitude occurred even though there were only weak monosynaptic connections between the stimulated afferents and the motoneurones that innervated these heteronymous muscles. This suggests that the excitation was produced via oligosynaptic projections onto the extensor motoneuronal pool. Stimulation with 300 ms trains during the early part of flexion resulted in abrupt termination of the swing phase and reinitiation of the stance phase of the step cycle. The swing phase resumed coincidently with the stimulus offset. Usually, stimulation of two extensor nerves at group I strengths was required to elicit this effect. We were unable to establish the relative contributions of input from the group 1a and group 1b afferents to prolonging the stance phase. However, we consider it likely that group Ib afferents contribute significantly, since their activation has been shown to prolong extensor burst activity in reduced spinal preparations. Thus, our results add support to the hypothesis that unloading of the hindlimb during late stance is a necessary condition for the initiation of the swing phase in walking animals.

Notes: Abstract The maps of visual and auditory space within the superior colliculus are in approximate register both with each other and with the underlying motor maps associated with orienting responses. The fact that eyes and ears can move independently poses a problem for the sensorimotor organization of these two modalities. By monitoring eye and pinna positions in alert, head-fixed cats, we showed that the accuracy of saccadic eye movements to auditory targets was little affected by eye eccentricity (range ±15 deg) at the onset of the sound. A possible neural basis for this behavioral compensation was suggested by recordings from superior colliculus neurons. The preferred sound directions of some neurons in the deep layers of this midbrain nucleus exhibited a shift with the direction of gaze, while in others the response throughout the auditory receptive field was either increased or decreased, suggesting that changes in eye position alter the gain of the auditory response.

Notes: Abstract The effects of bilateral focal cooling of dorsolateral thoracic spinal cord on segmental reflex pathways to the triceps surae muscles were assessed in decerebrate cats from the reflex forces produced by single shocks or trains of electrical stimuli applied to the ipsilateral caudal cutaneous sural and the contralateral tibial nerves. The validity of the dorsal cold block technique as a substitute for acute surgical dorsal hemisection was established by showing that focal cooling reliably reproduced the stretch-induced “clasp knife” inhibition of triceps surae reflexive force seen following dorsal hemisection. Under control (warm) conditions, the inhibitory components of electrically evoked ipsilateral sural and contralateral tibial reflexes faded rapidly during sustained trains, with a resultant production of large-amplitude reflex force as measured from either the entire triceps surae or from the medial gastrocnemius muscle alone. Dorsal cold block greatly reduced the amplitude of reflexive force evoked by sustained electrical stimulation of either nerve. Indeed, the cold block completely reversed the sign of train-evoked reflexes to a net inhibition of reflex force output in one-half of the sural and one-half of the contralateral tibial stimulation experiments. Peak transient forces evoked by single shocks to the sural or contralateral tibial nerves were also sometimes reduced, but this result was more variable than for prolonged nerve stimulation. The persistence of activity in segmental inhibitory pathways during dorsal cold block, as indicated by instances of reflex sign reversal, suggests that descending bulbospinal pathways traversing the dorsolateral funiculi may be responsible for “fading” of segmental inhibitory reflex components in decerebrate cats with intact spinal cords during sustained afferent input. The possibility that the enhanced magnitude and duration of segmental inhibition during cold block will increase the likelihood of disruption of the size principle for motoneuron recruitment is also discussed.

Notes: Abstract The temporal structure of spike trains recorded from optic fibers and single units of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and primary visual cortex of the cat was studied with a novel method of inter-spike interval analysis. ON type relay cells of the LGN exhibited a multimodal interval distribution preferring a distinct interval (fundamental interval) and its multiples during the sustained light response, whereas most OFF cells showed a broad, unimodal distribution. The general pattern of the interval distribution was relatively independent of stimulus size and contrast and the degree of light adaptation. Simultaneously recorded S-potentials originating from the retinal input generally produced only a single peak at the fundamental interval length. Therefore, the multimodal interval distribution of LGN cells seems to be a result of intra-geniculate inhibition. Cortical cells also showed a weak tendency to fire with spike intervals similar to LGN cells. Therefore, the regular firing pattern observed at peripheral stages of the visual pathway can persist at higher levels and might promote the occurrence of oscillatory activity.

Notes: Abstract Experiments were done in cats decerebrated at the precollicular postmammillary level to determine how a tonic increase of presynaptic inhibition of the intraspinal terminals of muscle spindle afferents changes the mechanical properties of the soleus stretch reflex (s.r.). Baclofen, a specific GABAB receptor agonist, was injected i.v. (1–2 mg/kg) so as to induce a tonic increase in presynaptic inhibition. The effects of baclofen on the stiffness and threshold of the s.r. were determined, respectively, from plots of stiffness vs background force and force vs length (length-tension plot). Baclofen, at these doses, had no effect on the excitation-contraction coupling properties of muscle or on the intrinsic stiffness-force relation. Changes of the soleus background force, required to obtain the stiffness vs force plots, were produced by stimulation of the contralateral common peroneal nerve or the posterior tibial nerve and occasionally by electrical stimulation in the area of the red nucleus. The stiffness of the s.r. as a function of the background force level was determined by stretching the muscle with a square pulse of 1–2 mm amplitude and 200–300 ms duration. The stiffness at each force level was calculated by dividing the change in force by the change in length, at a point where the force trace had stabilized. The length-tension relation of the s.r. was determined by stretching the muscle 12–17 mm at a constant rate of 1–2 mm/s. At all force levels, baclofen produced a significant decrease (40% or more) in the s.r. stiffness, within 10–15 min of injection as determined from the stiffness-force plots. The length-tension plots revealed that the decrease of s.r. stiffness was always accompanied by an increase in the s.r. threshold (typically 2–3 mm). It is suggested, therefore, that the s.r. threshold is not an independent variable, depending on the membrane potential of the α- motoneurons, and additionally on the level of presynaptic inhibition of the muscle spindle afferent terminals. The present results also imply that it may be possible for the CNS to adaptively modify the s.r. stiffness via presynaptic inhibition of the intraspinal terminals of muscle afferents. However, any such change of s.r. stiffness will be accompanied by a change in the s.r. threshold.

Notes: Abstract Many neurons in the deeper layers of the superior colliculus (SC) respond to multiple sensory inputs — visual, auditory, and somatic — as well as provide signals essential for saccadic eye movements to targets in different modalities. When the eyes and pinnae are in primary position, the neural map of auditory space is in rough topographic alignment with the map of visual space, and if the auditory map is based solely on head-pinna coordinates, any changes in eye position in the orbit will cause misalignment of the maps. We investigated the effects of eye position on the response of sound-sensitive neurons in the SC of cats because previous work on cats and on monkeys had suggested the possibility of species differences in the representation of auditory signals in the SC. We also investigated the effects of eye position on the accuracy of saccades to auditory, visual, and bimodal stimuli. All studies were conducted in alert, trained cats with the head restrained in a fixed position. Neuronal and behavioral responses were studied during periods when the eyes were steadily directed to different positions relative to the position of the sound. Cats showed partial compensation for eye position in making saccades, regardless of the modality of the target, and they showed similar patterns of error in saccades to auditory and visual targets. These behavioral data are consistent with coding the location of visual and auditory targets in the same coordinate system. In the vast majority of intermediate-layer neurons, eye position significantly affected the number of spikes evoked by sound stimuli. For most of these neurons, changes in eye position produced significant shifts in the speaker location producing maximal response. In some neurons, eye position significantly facilitated the magnitude of neuronal response evoked by sounds from a variety of speaker locations. Because few pinna movements could be detected, it is unlikely that these changes in neuronal response could be due to changes in the position of the pinnae. Our results indicate that the deep layers of the SC contain an eye-centered representation of sound location. Because eye position did not affect the percentage of neurons exhibiting multimodal integration, visual and auditory maps appear to remain integrated in the SC even when the eyes are directed eccentrically. Examination of the effects of eye position on neuronal responses to visual stimuli revealed that a substantial minority of neurons showed quantitative changes in the magnitude of response to visual stimuli when the retinal locus of stimulation was held constant.

Notes: Abstract Neurons with orofacial cutaneous receptive fields that responded to jaw movements were recorded in the trigeminal subnucleus interpolaris of the cat. Movement-related neuronal activity was identified by imposing passive ramp and hold stretches of the jaw at four different rates. Thirty-nine neurons with hair (26), skin (9), or convergent (4) receptive fields were studied. Thalamic projection neurons were identified by antidromic stimulation of the ventroposteromedial nucleus of the thalamus. The receptive fields of movement-related hair units included multiple hairs located mainly around the angle of the jaw and chin. The receptive fields of movement-related skin units were smaller than those of hair units and they were located primarily around the angle of the mouth. The convergent units had more than one receptive field that usually included hair or skin. All of the hair units were activated both during opening and closing jaw movements. They typically responded with short bursts of action potentials. Four units with skin receptive fields exhibited similar responses. The five skin units that did not show bursting activity included two that were active during both opening and closing of the jaw, two that were active only during opening, and one that was tonically active during maintained open position. All of the convergent units showed biphasic responses, and three responded with bursts. The maximum discharge rate, the mean discharge rate (mean bursting rate for units with bursting responses), and the total number of spikes per movement were measured. Statistical analysis was performed on these variables to assess functional properties of each unit. The results were used to classify units as velocity, speed, direction, or transient motion detectors. Thirty-three percent of the neurons were trigeminothalamic neurons.

Notes: Abstract We constructed average histograms from responses evoked by flashing stimuli and noted previously described variations in the shape of the response profile, particularly with respect to sharpness of the peak. To express this variable, we measured the half-rise latency, which is the latency from stimulus onset required to reach half the maximum response. A short half-rise latency, which is characteristic of nonlagged cells, is associated with a brisk response and sharp peak; a long half-rise latency, characteristic of lagged cells, is associated with a sluggish response and broad peak. Nonlagged cells were readily seen; we attempted to identify cells with long latencies as lagged, but we were unable to do so unambiguously due to failure to observe lagged properties other than latency. We thus refer to these latter cells as having “lagged-like” responses to indicate that we are not certain whether these are indeed lagged cells. In addition to the histograms, we analyzed the individual response trials that were summed to create each histogram, and we used spike density analysis to estimate the initial response latency to the flashing spot for each trial. We found that lagged-like responses were associated with more variability in initial response latency than were nonlagged responses. We then employed an alignment procedure to eliminate latency variation from individual trials; that is, responses during individual trials were shifted in time as needed so that each had a latency equal to the average latency of all trials. We used these “aligned” trials to create a second, “aligned” response histogram for each cell. The alignment procedure had little effect on nonlagged responses, because these were already well aligned due to consistent response latencies amongst trials. For lagged-like responses, however, the alignment made a dramatic difference. The aligned histograms looked very much like those for nonlagged responses: the responses appeared brisk, with a sharply rising peak that was fairly high in amplitude. We thus conclude that the slow build up to a relatively low peak of firing of the lagged-like response histogram is not an accurate reflection of responses on single trials. Instead, the sluggishness of lagged-like responses inferred from average response histograms results from temporal smearing due to latency variability amongst trials. We thus conclude that there is relatively little difference in briskness between nonlagged and lagged-like responses to single stimuli.

Notes: Abstract A population of last-order interneurones within the rostrodorsal part of the oral nucleus of the spinal trigeminal tract (NVspo-γ) has been investigated in 21 chloralose anaesthetised cats. The neurones were identified by their antidromic (AD) response to microstimulation (median current 9 μA, range 3–39 μA) of the ipsior the contralateral masseteric subnucleus of the trigeminal motor nucleus. Fifty-one of 113 interneurones tested were discharged from the ipsilateral and eight from the contralateral motor nucleus. The average conduction time was 0.50 ms from the ipsilateral and 0.74 ms from the contralateral motoneurone pool. Conduction velocities of the axons ranged from 2.0 to 14.0 ms. The pattern of primary afferent input onto the selected neurones was analysed by graded electrical stimulation of dissected trigeminal nerves. Low-threshold afferents innervating the intraoral mucosa including the tongue and the perioral skin of the lower lip were the most effective inputs, as judged from both the frequency of occurrence and from the latencies of the evoked spike discharges. Ninety-six percent of the neurones responded to stimulation of the inferior alveolar nerve (Alv inf) and 83% responded to stimulation of the lingual nerve (Ling). The median threshold strength required to evoke the Alv inf and the Ling responses was 1.7 T (range 1.0–3.6 T) and 1.3 T (range 1.0–5.0 T), respectively. The median latency to spike discharges evoked by the Alv inf was 2.0 ms (range 1.3–4.8 ms) and to the Ling it was 2.5 ms (range 1.4–7.0 ms). Action potentials elicited by stimulation of the masseteric and digastric nerves were observed in 40% and 10% of the neurones, respectively. These responses, which had median latencies of more than 8 ms (range 4.7–16.0 ms), were only seen at stimulation intensities above 2 T (range 2.5–25 T). An input from the maxillary whisker nerve was seen in only one case. Postspike averages of the extracellular field potentials within the trigeminal motoneurone subnuclei evoked by interneuronal spikes were made in a subsample of 51 NVspo-γ neurones activated by iontophoresis of L-glutamic acid. Excitatory synaptic effects within the masseteric subnucleus were observed in eight cases. An inhibitory effect was seen in one case. One specific neurone gave an excitatory extracellular field potential within the digastric motoneurone subnucleus. This interneurone was AD activated from the digastric, but not from the masseteric subnucleus. The physiological properties of the NVspo-γ-mass interneurones are discussed in relation to their suggested roles in the phase-dependent control of the trigeminal motoneurones during oro-facial masticatory behaviours.

Notes: Abstract An extracellular microstimulation technique has been used to investigate and compare the properties of group I primary afferent myelinated fibres in the dorsal column and group Ia unmyelinated terminations in the lumbar spinal cord of cats anaesthetised with pentobarbitone sodium. Fibres were distinguished from terminations on the basis of location, anodic blocking factor and sensitivity to GABAA mimetics. The recovery curves of threshold following an orthodromic impulse provided an estimate of both action potential duration and rate of repolarization. The action potentials of group Ia terminations were of briefer duration (by a factor of approximately 2) with more rapid rates of repolarization (factor of approximately 3) than those of the myelinated fibres. The prolongation of termination but not fibre action potentials by microelectrophoretic tetraethylammonium and 4-aminopyridine indicated the presence of voltage-activated potassium channels in the termination membrane. Differences in the effects on Ia termination action potentials of depolarizations (reductions in threshold) associated with a preceding action potential, synaptically released GABA, microelectrophoretic piperidine-4-sulphonic acid or dl-homocysteic acid suggest that an increase in termination membrane conductance is the major factor in the reduction of transmitter release during the activation of presynaptic GABAA receptors.

Notes: Abstract It is generally accepted that in cats smooth pursuit velocity of the eye never exceeds a few degrees per second. This is in contrast with observations in primates, where smooth pursuit velocity can reach values as high as 100°/s. Cats were trained to fixate and pursue spots of light appearing on a translucent screen. Spots were moved in the horizontal and vertical planes at different constant velocities up to 80°/s. Eye position was recorded with the sclerai search coil technique. Naive cats did not pursue moving targets with high efficiency. Smooth eye movement velocity saturated at 5°/s. After a few days of training, smooth-pursuit eye velocity increased with target velocity and saturated at 25°/s on average. However, velocities twice as high have been observed frequently. When the target was unexpectedly extinguished, smooth eye movement velocity dropped to values close to 0°/s in approximately 350 ms. After a short training period (usually 5 times the same target presentation), the eye continued to move smoothly until the target reappeared. These data suggest that smooth pursuit eye movements of the cat are qualitatively similar to those of primates, but reach lower velocities and are more variable in their characteristics.

Notes: Abstract Purpose: To determine the axial and lateral resolution of a rotating intravascular ultrasound system and the diagnostic implications for the diagnosis of early artherosclerosis. Methods: The resolution of a 20 MHz rotating transducer was tested in a specially designed high-resolution phantom and in five aortic autopsy specimens with varying degrees of early atherosclerosis. Results: The best lateral resolution is at the minimal distance between transducer and object. Measurements in the wire phantom showed this to be better than 0.43 mm. This is less than the axial resolution which is better than 0.13 mm. Decreasing lateral resolution with increasing distance between transducer and object is manifested by arcing and overestimation of the extent of focal atherosclerotic lesions. Conclusion: Axial resolution is significantly better than lateral resolution. Rapid deterioration of lateral resolution affects the diagnostic ability to characterize the extent of early atherosclerosis. Eccentric positioning of the transducer tip, particularly in larger vessels, will therefore influence diagnostic accuracy in vivo.

Notes: Abstract A large multi-center, double-blind, parallel trial to assess the efficacy of brofaromine in the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) failed to show a significant difference between the brofaromine and placebo treatment groups. The placebo response rate in this study was higher than that in previously published double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of PTSD.

Notes: Abstract We examined the effect of exposure to ozone on the epithelium-dependent relaxation (EpDR) of bronchioles evoked by electrical field stimulation (EFS) in a feline model with hyperresponsive airways induced by exposure to ozone. Airway responsiveness was assessed by measuring the increases in total pulmonary resistance (RL) produced by aerosolized acetylcholine (ACh) in vivo. Airway responsiveness was also measured in vitro in dissected bronchiolar ring preparations. Exposure to ozone (3 ppm, 2 h) significantly increased the airway responsiveness in vivo. The concentration of ACh required increasing R L to 200% of the baseline value, decreased from 1.97 mg/ml (GSEM 1.94) to 0.12 mg/ml (GSEM 1.77, p 〈 0.01) after exposure to ozone. EFS evoked atropine-, guanethidine-, and tetrodotoxin-resistant relaxations in the control bronchiolar rings precontracted by 5-hydroxytryptamine. Such relaxation was significantly suppressed by the mechanical denudation of epithelium, confirming that it was epithelium dependent. The amplitude of EpDR was significantly suppressed in the animals exposed to ozone. These results suggest that EpDR is present in cats, and that its inhibition may contribute to the development of airway hyperresponsiveness.

Notes: Abstract Previous studies have shown that lowering the GABAergic activity in the sub-pallidal area (SP) in the cat results in the display of oro-facial dyskinesia (OFD). There exists an intense, mutual anatomical connection between the SP and the subthalamic nucleus and the adjoining lateral hypothalamic area (STH). The present study investigated whether the STH is also involved in OFD. Once this turned out to be true (see below), it was investigated whether the SP-specific OFD is funneled via the STH, or vice versa. Bilateral injections of low doses (50–250 ng) of picrotoxin, a non-competitive GABA antagonist, into the STH were found to elicit OFD. This effect which was quantified in terms of numbers of tongue protrusions, was dose-dependent: a bell-shaped dose-response was found (50–500 ng). The OFD elicited by the most effective dose of picrotoxin (250 ng) was significantly antagonized by muscimol, a specific GABAA agonist, in a dose (50 ng) which itself was ineffective, indicating GABA specificity. In addition, it was found that OFD elicited by local injections of picrotoxin (250 ng) into the STH was significantly attenuated by SP injections of the broad spectrum glutamate antagonist kynurenic acid in a dose (1000 ng) which itself was ineffective, but not by muscimol (100 ng), indicating that the STH-elicited OFD needs an intact and functioning glutaminergic, but not GABAergic, transmission process in the SP for its expression. Finally, it was found that OFD elicited by picrotoxin injections (500 ng) into the SP was significantly attenuated by muscimol injections (50 ng) into the STH, indicating that the SP-elicited OFD needs an intact and functioning GABAergic transmission process in the STH for its expression.

Notes: Abstract. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected into the left dorsal column nuclei of adult cats. Large dorsal funiculi axons of the C3, C5, C8 and L7 segments were searched for HRP-activity after 12, 24, 36 and 48 h using light and electron microscopy. Accumulations of intra-axonal HRP-positive bodies occurred at nodes of Ranvier in the C3–C8 segments at 12, 24 and 36 h and in the L7 segments at 24, 36, and 48 h. The accumulations of HRP in three spatio-temporally different consecutive patterns, noted earlier at nodes of Ranvier in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) portion of feline alpha motor axons for more than 70 h after an intramuscular injection of the enzyme, were not observed in the present material. We suggest that the differences in the modes in which large PNS and CNS axons interact with retrogradely transported HRP are due to differences in the organization of the respective nodal regions. We also emphasize that endocytosis via axon terminals in the CNS normally represents uptake of material from an extracellular space which is controlled and protected by the blood-brain barrier. This is in contrast to endocytosis via axon terminals in a muscle, which represents uptake of material from an extracellular space openly exposed to influx of different substances from the blood stream.

Notes: Abstract. Superfast-contracting muscle fibres (II M) were identified by ATPase staining and after incubation with an antiserum raised against myosin type II M and with an antibody raised against the Galα1–3Galβ1–4GlcNAc structure. II M fibres were present in masseter muscles from cat, dog and Macaca fascicularis but not in limb muscles from the same animals and not in masseter muscles from rat, pig, cow or man. Electrophoresis and staining of blots from myosin preparations showed that the anticarbohydrate antibody detected myosin heavy chains from cat masseter but not myosin heavy chains from cat biceps. The α-galactose specific lectin Griffonia simplicifolia isolectin B4 (GS I B4) did not stain muscle fibres or myosin heavy chains. Therefore, the epitope on myosin heavy chains defined by the anticarbohydrate antibody is presumably not Galα1–3Galβ1–4GlcNAc although the antibody staining was strongly inhibited after absorption by 10 mM of this trisaccharide. Antibody staining of the muscle fibres was totally inhibited by adding 10 mM p-nitrophenyl β-D-glucuronide to the incubation medium. The results thus imply that an anticarbohydrate antibody distinctively detects a carbohydrate epitope specific for myosin in superfast contracting muscle fibres from jaw-closing muscles and confirm that this epitope is not present in other muscle fibre types. This appears to be the first report on differentiated glycosylation among myosin isoforms.

Notes: Abstract. A combination of methods is described to identify and reconstruct corpuscular and non-corpuscular sensory endings of group II and group III nerve fibers following functional examination by electrophysiology. Afferent units activated by electrical stimulation of the medial articular nerve of the cat’s knee were analyzed by single fiber recordings and characterized by their responsiveness to mechanical stimuli. The receptive fields of the units were closely demarcated by fine needles when the responses elicited by insertion of the needles were being recorded. After fixation, the tissue around the demarcated field was dissected and histologically processed. Series of semithin sections were cut from the embedded tissue blocks containing the receptive fields. Corpuscular endings of group II fibers and peripheral myelinated group III nerve fibers, presumably corresponding to the characterized units, were identified by light microscopy of semithin sections and localized within the demarcated area. Non-corpuscular endings were identified by electron microscopy of ultrathin sections cut in alternation with, or after re-embedding of, semithin sections. Morphometric analysis of ultrathin section series allowed the measurement of parameters such as the mean axon diameter and the organelle content of the sensory endings. The methods described are appropriate for collecting data that correlate the structural and functional characteristics of sensory endings in deep tissues.

Notes: Abstract A close topographical association between neuroepithelial bodies and immune cells is occasionally observed in the lungs of various neonatal mammalian species. The immune cells concerned are mast cells and neutrophil or eosinophil granulocytes. In the lungs of newborn puppies having undergone left lung autotransplantation, mast cells are particularly numerous in the airway mucosa of both right and left lungs and their association with neuroepithelial bodies is highly significant. Several of the substances known to be synthesized by the neuroepithelial bodies have a chemoattractive effect on immune cells. Thus, our observations indicate that intrapulmonary neuroepithelial bodies contribute to the local immune response.

Notes: Abstract. A close topographical association between neuroepithelial bodies and immune cells is occasionally observed in the lungs of various neonatal mammalian species. The immune cells concerned are mast cells and neutrophil or eosinophil granulocytes. In the lungs of newborn puppies having undergone left lung autotransplantation, mast cells are particularly numerous in the airway mucosa of both right and left lungs and their association with neuroepithelial bodies is highly significant. Several of the substances known to be synthesized by the neuroepithelial bodies have a chemoattractive effect on immune cells. Thus, our observations indicate that intrapulmonary neuroepithelial bodies contribute to the local immune response.

Notes: Abstract A combination of methods is described to identify and reconstruct corpuscular and non-corpuscular sensory endings of group II and group III nerve fibers following functional examination by electrophysiology. Afferent units activated by electrical stimulation of the medial articular nerve of the cat's knee were analyzed by single fiber recordings and characterized by their responsiveness to mechanical stimuli. The receptive fields of the units were closely demarcated by fine needles when the responses elicited by insertion of the needles were being recorded. After fixation, the tissue around the demarcated field was dissected and histologically processed. Series of semithin sections were cut from the embedded tissue blocks containing the receptive fields. Corpuscular endings of group II fibers and peripheral myelinated group III nerve fibers, presumably corresponding to the characterized units, were identified by light microscopy of semithin sections and localized within the demarcated area. Non-corpuscular endings were identified by electron microscopy of ultrathin sections cut in alternation with, or after re-embedding of, semithin sections. Morphometric analysis of ultrathin section series allowed the measurement of parameters such as the mean axon diameter and the organelle content of the sensory endings. The methods described are appropriate for collecting data that correlate the structural and functional characteristics of sensory endings in deep tissues.

Notes: Abstract We examined the effects of acute intraocular pressure elevation on the intraretinal electroretinogram in the cat dark-adapted eye. Perfusion pressure of the eye (mean arterial pressure minus intraocular pressure) was regulated within the range of 25–75 mm Hg by increasing the intraocular pressure, which was adjusted by changing the height of the reservoir of balanced salt solution perfused into the eye through a needle placed in the anterior chamber. The vitreal electroretinogram, transepithelial c-wave, slow PIII and light-evoked decrease in extracellular K+ concentration were recorded during intraocular pressure elevation in the darkadapted retina. The c-wave increased in amplitude between 40 and 75 mm Hg of perfusion pressure and decreased below 40 mm Hg in some cases. These changes were unrelated to the standing potential. The transepithelial c-wave, slow PIII and light-evoked decrease in extracellular K+ concentration were larger in the range of perfusion pressure examined. These suggest that some factor induces electroretinographic changes that are not readily explained by hypoxia or pH changes alone.

Notes: The use of effective core potentials in the calculation of the geometrical parameters of the ferrocene molecule and its heavier analogs is reported. It is shown that a critical factor in these calculations is the efective core-core (ECC) potential and, in the absence of ECCs for first-row atoms that are involved in short bonds, calculations of the geometrical parameters are not reliable. Good agreement with experimental geometries may be obtained by using the Los Alamos ECPs for atoms of the second and higher rows of the periodic table at the MP2 level. DFT calculations have been performed and found to give numerical results comparable to MP2 in the same basis. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: In this article, we report an efficient computational procedure for electron scattering matrix elements in the previously developed cubic-grid Gaussian basis sets. The Green function matrix elements derived for the cubic-grid basis set are simpler and easier to calculate than are those available in the literature for conventional Gaussian basis sets. Special features of the cubic-grid basis sets may also be exploited for a very efficient computation of Coulomb and exchange integrals. Inelastic scattering amplitudes for vibrational excitations may be efficiently calcualted in the harmonic approximation by numerical differention of the T-matrix elements. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Previously developed cubic-grid basis sets of various sizes were used for the calculation of cross sections for elastic and inelastic electron scattering by the He and Ne atoms and the H2O molecule by the T-matrix expansion method. The aim was to test the invariance of calculated cross sections with respect to the translation of the target molecule and to examine the effect of basis-set size on the results. We also present a simple procedure for accounting for long-range interactions from the part of space that lies outside the volume that contains the cubic-grid basis set. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Atomic charge and momentum densities of 91 atoms (He—U) are classified in terms of their L1, L2, and entropic measures of distance from the densities of the preceding atoms. The relationship between these distances and the first ionization energies is also considered. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The subject of this article is the self-consistent-field (SCF) treatment of low-lying molecular vibrations in molecules subject to solvent effects and light atom migration. The analyses use a Cartesian Gaussian basis and Gaussian functional expansions of potential energy operators. The objective of the work was to establish approximate and practical methods of analysis of vibrational degrees of freedom in molecules that build on and compare well with the highly accurate treatments of vibrations in small molecular systems of the past decade. An application to a system in which hydrogen bonding contributes the major anharmonic effect illustrates the method. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: This article presents methods for computing matrix elements with Cartesian Gaussian wave functions of potential energy operators that depend on functions of the form (r-r0)n exp[-a(r - r0)] as well as matrix elements of the class of polynomial many-body potentials developed by Murrell et al. The matrix elements arise in the analyses of anharmonic vibrations in molecules. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The extension of the PPP Hamiltonian for alternant cyclic polyenes to noninteger values of the pseudomomentum by imposing modified boundary conditions is discussed in detail. It is shown that a computer program for periodic boundary conditions can be easily adapted to the new boundary conditions. Full CI computations are carried out for some low-lying states of the PPP model of altemant cyclic polyenes (CH)N, (N even) at half-filling. The energy values obtained by using periodic (Bloch) and antiperiodic (Möbius) orbitals are used to perform energy extrapolations for N → ∞. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: General formalism for evaluation of multiparticle integrals involving J̌2 and J̌z operators over explicitly correlated Cartesian Gaussian functions is presented. The integrals are expressed in terms of the general overlap integrals. An explicitly correlated Cartesian Gaussian function is a product of spherical orbital Gaussian functions, powers of the Cartesian coordinates of the particle, and exponential Gaussian factors, which depend on interparticular distances. This development is relevant to both adiabatic and nonadiabatic calculations of energy and properties of multiparticle systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The molecular g-tensors for the molecules NO2, CO2-, C3H5, H2CO+, and NF3+ are calculated at the unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) level using the Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbation approach. All one-electron terms have been evaluated, including the relativistic mass correction, the one-electron spin-Zeeman gauge correction, and a second-order term involving the spin-orbit coupling and the orbital-Zeeman interaction. The relative importance of the first-order terms is found to be quite substantial. For first-row molecules, their total contribution is often of the same order of magnitude as of the second-order contribution, in some instances even larger. A study on the basis-set dependence of these g-tensors has been conducted. At this level, the most important basis-set criterion is shown to be a satisfactory description of the valence regions. Finally, the gauge dependence of these g-tensor calculations has been systematically studied. This dependence seems to be substantially reduced for basis sets which include polarization functions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: A scaling procedure is used for the force constants generated by the SINDO1 method in internal coordinates to achieve better agreement with experimental frequencies of molecules. The procedure is subsequently used to calculate frequency shifts for adsorbed molecules. The results for CO2 and CO adsorption at NaCl cluster surfaces are in good agreement with experimental data. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Ab initio self-consistent-field calculations are reported for electronic states of beryllium clusters comprised of 93, 105, 111, and 123 atoms. The respective clusters correspond to coordination shells 12-15 of a central Be atom with internuclear separations derived from the lattice constants of the bulk metal. Ab initio effective core potentials have been employed to replace the 1 s electrons, thereby reducing the complexity of the calculations. In addition, use of the full D3h point group symmetry of the clusters results in a substantial reduction of the numbers of two-electron integrals that must be computed and processed. Binding energies, orbital energies, electric field gradient, nuclear-electrostatic potential, diamagnetic shielding constant, second moments, and Mulliken populations are calculated for selected electronic states. Calculated binding energies when compared among the different clusters as well as to smaller and larger fragments from earlier studies provide evidence for the onset of convergence to the Hartree-Fock limit of the bulk. Lowest-state ionization potentials are consistently above and agree to within 14% of the experimental workfunction. The net charge on the central beryllium atom decreases toward zero. The variability of observed bulklike behavior for the different properties indicates that the transition between cluster and bulklike behavior is not sharp and depends on the quantity of interest. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The discrete variable representation method (DVR) is applied to the calculation of the J = 0 vibrational energy levels of the ground electronic state of nitrogen dioxide, a molecule which shows a large amplitude bending vibration. The Hamiltonian is expressed in Johnson hyperspherical coordinates and developed on a DVR basis set for each coordinate. A successive diagonalization-truncation method is applied which gives accurate values for the energy levels up to ≃ 7000 cm-1. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: A procedure for finding transition states ( TS) that does not require the evaluation of the second derivatives during the search is proposed. The procedure is based on connecting a series of points representing products Pi and reactants Ri and taking conservative steps along the difference vector from Pi toward Ri and from Ri toward Pi until the two points coalesce. Although the points Po and Ro represent the product and reactant specifically, other Pi and Ri are determined by minimization in hyperplanes perpendicular to Pi -1 and Ri-1. We apply this technique to six well-known potential functions and compare these results with those obtained from other well-known procedures. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Potential energy curves for the ground and low-lying excited states of the AH2+ (A = Mg - Ar) dications have been calculated using high-level ab initio methods with large atomic orbital basis sets. Quasi-bound potential energy curves with local minima and deprotonation barriers have been found for most of the dications studied. The energies, tunneling lifetimes, and widths of the quasi-bound states have been calculated by numerical solution of the radial Schrodinger equation using the Numeov method. All these dications except ArH2+ have low-lying states which support quasi-bound vibrational states. The ArH2+ dication has a 2∏i potential energy curve with a minimum so shallow that it does not support any quasi-bound vibrational states. Results of our calculations are compared with previous ab initio calculations and available experimental data. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: A bond-energy formula deduced by means of the Hellmann-Feynman theorem is applied to selected simple hydrocarbons. The required potentials at the nuclei are calculated with the help of large basis-set expansions including polarization functions. The carbon-carbon bond energy of ethane is evaluated at ∼ 70 kcal mol-1. The CC bond energies of ethane, ethylene, acetylene, benzene, and cyclopropane are approximately in a ratio of 1: 2.0: 3.0: 1.65 1.0. Limitations and possible improvements in future applications of this energy formula are discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations with the 3-21G and 6-31G basis sets are carried out on a series of complexes of NH3 with Li+, C≡N-, LiCN, and its isomer LiNC. The BSSE-corrected interaction energies, geometrical parameters, internal force constants, and harmonic vibrational frequencies are evaluated for 15 species. Complexes with trifurcated (C3v) structures are calculated to be saddle points on the potential energy surfaces and have one imaginary frequency each. Calculated energies, geometrical parameters, internal force constants, and harmonic vibrational frequencies of the various species considered are discussed in terms of the nature of association of LiCN with ammonia. The vibrational frequencies of the relevant complexed species are compared with the experimental frequencies reported earlier for solutions of lithium cyanide in liquid ammonia. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: When two electronic potentials present an avoided crossing, the adiabatic approximation breaks down in the energy region near to the crossing. In particular, the correspondence between exact energy levels of the two-state system and the adiabatic levels of the lower and upper adiabatic potentials becomes ambiguous. This implies that the term “nonadiabatic effect,” used for the difference between exact and adiabatic energy eigenvalues, loses its meaning in the crossing regime unless an unambiguous way of assigning an adiabatic to an exact level is defined. This is important in order to investigate where nonadiabatic schemes, such as the generator coordinate approximation, fit in between the adiabatic approximation and quasi-exact approaches. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The application of the Σ-separation method to the calculation of multicenter two-electron molecular integrals with Slater-type basis functions is reported. The approach is based on the approximation of a scalar component of the two-center atomic density by a two-center expansion over Slater-type functions. A least-squares fit was used to determine the coefficients of the expansion. The angular multipliers of the atomic density were treated exactly. It is shown that this approach can serve as a sufficiently accurate and fast algorithm for the calculation of multicenter two-electron molecular integrals with Slater-type basis functions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The intersystem crossing (ISC) between the lowest triplet and singlet states occurring in the reaction of atomic oxygen with ethylene was studied. The importance of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in oxirane biradicals (ĊR′R″ - CRR* - Ȯ) is stressed through calculations where the spin-orbit matrix elements over the full Breit-Pauli SOC operator has been obtained in the singlet-triplet crossing region. The calculations are performed with a multiconfigurational linear response approach, in which the spin-orbit couplings are obtained from triplet response functions using differently correlated singlet-reference-state wave functions. Computational results confirm earlier semiempirical predictions of the spin-orbit coupling as an important mechanism behind the ring opening of oxiranes and addition of oxygen O(3P) atoms to alkenes. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: We consider a crystal as partitioned into a localized molecular cluster (containing a defect or not) and an embedding region. Within the Hartree-Fock formalism, an expression is derived for an effective potential due to the embedding region of crystal. This potential is part of the cluster Fock operator and requires input from a perfect crystal calculation. Special features of the derivative are rigorous inclusion of cluster-embedding overlap and orthogonality between single-electron states of the embedding region and the function-space manifold of the cluster; physically correct normalization of the Fock eigenstates; and a nontrivial total-energy algorithm. Computational requirements are qualitatively compared with those for an isolated cluster. The method allows for intracluster (and intraembedding) correlation and can be adapted straightforwardly to local density functional approaches. Fundamental aspects of the embedding problem are addressed in a general formulation that is, nevertheless, oriented toward explicit calculations. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: An efficient procedure for third-order electron propagator calculations of ionization energies and electron affinities is reported. Diagonal self-energy expressions that are suitable for large molecules are empolyed. The outer-valence Green's function method also is implemented. An integral transformation program for direct and semidirect algorithms is modified to store only nonzero integrals according to Abelian point group symmetry. Contributions to self-energy matrix elements that depend on electron repulsion integrals with four virtual orbital indices are computed in a direct way. Intermediate batches of integrals are created by sort procedures while avoiding storage of transformed integrals in the main memory. This method permits calculation of electron binding energies for C72- with a 231 atomic orbital basis and for Zn(C5H5)2 with a 220 atomic orbital basis on an IBM RISC/6000 Model 550. During these calculations, the CPU is engaged approximately 90% of the time. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The intermolecular potentials for the X 2σ and A2Π states of Li… Ar were studied by a variety of multiconfiguration, single-configuration, and perturbation methods (CASPT2). The A 2Π excited state was calculated to have a well depth of 811 cm-1 at an internuclear separation of 2.59 Å, in excellent agreement with the 810 cm-1 derived from experimental data. A smaller well of 77 cm-1 was found for the X 2σ ground state at an intermolecular separation of 4.8 Å. These results are in better agreement with experimental results than were the previously reported pseudopotential calculations. The comparison of CI calculation with the CAPST2 results shows that the latter is able to give good results for interacting metal-rare gas systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: This article is a brief review of the work formalism of electronic structure, its recent developments, and the results of its application to spherically symmetric and nonspherical density atoms. The formalism, which is founded in Schrödinger theory, is derived by physical arguments based on Coulomb's law. The fundamental quantity in the formalism is the pair-correlation density that constitutes the nonlocal quantum-mechanical source charge distribution giving rise to both a local potential representing electron correlations as well as the electron interaction energy. The potential is the work done to move an electron in the force field of the pair-correlation density and the energy the interaction energy between the electronic and pair-correlation densities. (For systems for which the curl of the force field may not vanish, the potential is obtained from the irrotational component of the field, the solenoidal component being neglected). The differential equation governing the system is a Sturm-Liouville equation, and as such, the exact wave function can in principle be obtained as an infinite linear combination of Slater determinants of the self-consistently determined spin-orbitals of the occupied and virtual states. The correctness of the interpretation for the local potential representing electron interaction is evidenced as follows: In the Pauli-correlated and central field approximations, ground-state energies of atoms (2 He -86Rn) lie within 50 ppm of those of Hartree-Fock theory, differing by less than 10 ppm for atoms with Z 〉 35. The densities thus generated clearly exhibit atomic shell structure and also satisfy the Kato-Steiner electron-nucleus cusp condition to 2 ppm. Another attribute of the formalism is that the asymptotic structure of the potential (when both Pauli and Coulomb correlations are considered) is that of the Pauli-correlated approximation. This is rigorously the case as shown for the He atom for which the potential vanishes in the classically forbidden region, the potential there being the exchange potential. As such, it is meaningful to compare the highest occupied eigenvalue of the differential equation in the Pauli-correlated approximation to experiment. A comparison for atoms and atomic ions of this eigenvalue to experimental ionization potentials and electron affinities show them to be consistently superior to the corresponding eigenvalue of Hartree-Fock theory. Transition energies determined from eigenvalue differences are also superior to those obtained from total energy calculations via Hartree-Fock theory when compared to experiment. Further, by considering the carbon atom in one of its degenerate ground states for which the curl of the field due to the Fermi hole does not vanish, it is shown that the solenoidal component of the field is negligible and two orders of magnitude smaller than is the irrotational component. Thus, the approximation of obtaining a path-independent potential for nonspherical density systems from the irrotational component of the field is accurate. Finally, Coulomb correlation effects can be incorporated within the work formalism in practice via the configuration interaction approximation. The self-consistent orbitals thus obtained explicitly incorporate the effects of both Pauli and Coulomb correlations in their structure because the source charge from which they are generated is a pair-correlation density. Furthermore, these orbitals possess the correct asymptotic structure since they are also generated by a potential that is local. The work formalism also provides a physical interpretation for the local potential representing electron correlations of Kohn-Sham density functional theory. Further, the exchange potential of the work formalism satisfies analytically two requisite conditions of the Kohn-Sham theory exchange potential. These are the scaling requirement and the sum rule relating the exchange energy to its functional derivative. The work formalism also leads to a deeper understanding of electron correlations in various approximations within Kohn-Sham theory. For example, it can be rigorously shown that the pair-correlation density in the local density approximation contains a term proportional to the gradient of the density. Thus, in contrast to the Kohn-Sham theory interpretation that electron correlations in this approximation are those of the uniform electron gas assumed valid locally, we learn that the nonuniformity of the electronic density is, in fact, explicitly accounted for by the approximation. This then explains the accuracy of the approximation. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The aziridine analogues of the epoxide metabolites of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have greater mutagenic potency than the epoxides. Like their well-studied analogues, the aziridines undergo a pH-dependent decomposition that leads to a reactive carbocation intermediate. In aqueous solution the nucleophile with which the carbocation generally reacts is water. The kinetics of this pH-dependent reaction have been experimentally characterized by others. Although the effect of DNA on this reaction has not been studied, we hypothesize that, like their epoxide analogues, the aziridine derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons undergo a DNA-catalyzed reaction leading through a carbocation to either a DNA-adduct or a hydrolysis product. Using Poisson-Boltzmann calculations in conjunction with Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations and energy-minimized conformations, we predict the DNA-dependence of the acidcatalyzed decomposition of the K-region aziridine, phenanthrene[9,10]imine. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: A QSAR analysis of a series of Valproic Acid (vpa) derivatives is given, which shows the importance of hydrophobic and electronic effects as determinants of the anticonvulsivant activity. The statistical analysis allows one to infer that the electron acceptor capability of the carboxylic carbon atom may guide electrostatic interactions of the molecules with the receptor site, in those cases where the lipophilic requirements are satisfied. Both the anticonvulsivant activity and the calculated lipophilic parameters (log P values) are taken from the literature, whereas the electronic descriptors result from Intermediate Neglect of Differential Overlap calculations at the Configuration Interaction level, (INDO/S-CI parametrization), for the most stable conformers of each derivative. The protein environment is modeled as a dielectric continuum in a Self-Consistent Reaction Field approach. The conformational analysis is based on AMI calculations. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: A new form of second-order multireference perturbation theory coupled with finite-field perturbation theory is applied to evaluate some one-electron molecular properties. Several possible definitions of the zeroth-order Hamiltonian are considered and results tested against bench-mark full CI calculations. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The correlation present in the nondegenerate ground state of an interacting Fermi system is discussed in terms of reduced density matrices and their cumulant expansion. By generalizing a result obtained for the interacting uniform electron gas (correlation induced exchange-hole narrowing), possible measures of the correlation strength in terms of natural occupation numbers (the eigenvalues of the true one-particle density matrix) are introduced. These quantities-the v-order nonidempotency and the information entropy of the natural occupation numbers-result from the correlated many-body wave function and characterize the ground-state correlation in addition to the usual correlation energy. The uniform electron gas serves as a first illustrative example. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: In the present work, we reexamined the gradient expansion of the exchange energy of an electron gas with a slowly varying charge density. We stay within the exchange-only approximation of Sharp, Horton, Talman, and Shadwick but go to second order in the deviation from the homogeneous limit. The coefficient of the lowest-order gradient correction is obtained analytically both for a bare and a screened Coulomb interaction - the former yielding the value previously obtained by Kleinman numerically and by Engel and Vosko analytically. A screened Coulomb interaction gives Sham's coefficient in the limit of infinite screening length. The cause of the difference between the coefficients of Kleinman and Sham is clearly exhibited. The coefficients of the two next highest-order gradient corrections, one of which originates in second-order response theory, is shown to diverge as the screening length becomes large. The bare Coulomb interaction gives finite coefficients of which the one originating from linear response is obtained analytically and differs from the presumably correct result obtained by Engel and Vosko. This discrepancy demonstrates the extreme sensitivity of the analytical expressions to different regularization procedures. We suggest that coefficients should rather be chosen according to the performance of the resulting gradient approximations in weakly perturbed electron gases. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The focal point of the present work is the single-particle kinetic energy density tensor in D dimensions. This quantity enters both differential and various integral forms of the virial theorems, which are again set up in D dimensions. Major new results lie in (i) demonstrating that, by one-dimensional quadrature, it is possible to construct the Pauli potential directly from the kinetic energy tensor, without the need for functional differentiation and (ii) generating the gradient expansion for the kinetic energy tensor, in D dimensions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The geometries of the two most important tautomeric forms of adenine and the corresponding methyladenines are investigated by means of quantum chemical calculations at different level of sophistication, ranging from semiempirical methods to correlation corrected ab initio methods at second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory level (MP2). The relative stability of the N(7)H ↔ N(9)H tautomeric forms of adenine are investigated with highly correlation corrected methods, MP3 and MP4. The relative stability is also corrected for solvent interactions and compared with experimental information. N(9)H-adenine is predicted to be the most stable tautomer in both vacuum and in solution. The relative stability is predicted to be between 24.5 and 35.0 kJ/mol in vacuum depending on computation method. In water solution N(7)H-adenine is stabilized more by the solvent, and the corresponding relative energies were found to be between 4.9 and 10.2 kJ/mol. We also found that correlation effects are essential to describe the ground state geometry with a high accuracy. The geometries predicted by semiempirical methods and ab initio calculations without correlation correction show large deviations in some parts of the molecule compared to the MP2 results as well as compared with experimental geometries. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Ab Initio crystal orbital calculations on three-dimensional crystals/crystallohydrates of a number of diprotonated mononucleotides have been performed using the CRYSTAL92 routine package. The present results help to gain a deeper insight into the physical mechanisms of nucleic acid semiconductivity, as well as into the essence of intermolecular interactions and solvent effects in solid-state samples of nucleic acids. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Experimentally measured rates for the oxidation of p-substituted benzyl amines by bovine monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B) derived from the literature were examined with respect to the effects of molecular (semiempirically (AM1) derived) electronic, steric, and lipophilicity parameters. These properties included vertical and adiabatic ionization potential, LUMO energy, the LUMO-HOMO difference, molecular hardness, absolute electronegativity, calculated log P values, molecular volume, surface area, and ovality. Substrate oxidation rates (log kcat/Km) were found to correlate with molecular ovality and vertical ionization potential while the rate of enzymatic (flavin) reduction associated with substrate oxidation (log kred) was described by a two-parameter model containing an ovality and an absolute electronegativity term. These results are consistent with an initial one-electron substrate oxidation mechanism. In previous work, use of classical Hansch analysis suggested that electronic terms were not important in the enzymatic reactions. This discrepancy may be related to nontransferability inherent in fragment approaches which assume that the substituent of interest behaves similarly in all molecular scaffolds. Analysis of substrate binding (log Kd) to the enzyme was described by a two-parameter model containing a calculated log P term as well as LUMO energy. The significant correlation found with LUMO energy is consistent with studies suggesting that this property is important for drug-receptor interactions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The integrated molecular transform (FTm) is a unitary structure index that has been successfully used for the correlation of 2- and 3-dimensional structure representations with their physicochemical and pharmacological properties. In the present instance the reported pKa values in a series of 30 compounds consisting of five subseries were correlated with their FTm indices. The omission of four outliers gave a moderate correlation across the entire series; within the individual subseries the correlations were considerably improved even with inclusion of the outliers. In general, the logarithmic transform of the pKa did not improve the correlations. This method gives a relatively simple means of estimating pKa in several structure classes. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: We investigated Raman and infrared spectra of the Watson-Crick type of the guanine cytosine base pair and of the individual guanine and cytosine nucleic acid bases by ab initio Hartree-Fock theory using the 6-31G* basis set. IR and Raman intensities and Raman depolarization ratios were predicted using the double-harmonic approximation. The effects of a polar solvent were modeled by the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) approximation. Variations in geometries, harmonic force constants, and vibrational spectra of the studied nucleobases due to the specific hydrogen-bonding interactions are discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: We present here a perturbative analysis of the coupled cluster response method for molecular static properties with Euler and extended coupled cluster functionals under cubic truncation. Comparative analysis is meant to cater to both pedagogical and practical interests. Comprehensive tables for energy-derivative expressions and equations at the stationary point are presented. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The ground-state potential energy curve of the F2 molecule as well as spectroscopic constants were calculated by means of the second-order quasi-degenerate many-body perturbation theory within a full (eight) valence orbital space using a DZP basis set. The problem encountered with a large number of valence electrons is avoided by a proper redefinition of the Fermi vacuum. A comparison with other related multireference techniques is also provided. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Correlation holes of electrons with the same (Fermi hole) and different (Coulomb hole) spins in the ground (X1Σ+), first (A1Σ+) and second (B1II) excited states of LiH were constructed from full configuration interaction (CI) wave functions. It was found that the shapes of both the Fermi and Coulomb holes in these states are dependent on the location of the reference electron. When the reference electron is chosen to be close to the Li nucleus, the Fermi correlation results in a large negative hole for all three states. However, the A1Σ+ excited state is further characterized by displaying a second hole around the H nucleus, and in the B1II state, the hole is elongated along the molecular axis. Coulomb correlation shows up strongly in the A1Σ+ state and, in addition, there is clearly correlation of electrons at the two nuclei. These features of the correlation holes were compared with those from a two-Slater-determinant model wave function. The Hartree, Fermi, and Coulomb screening potentials in these states were also studied in the light of possible modeling of the correlation functionals for the excited states. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The link between a uniform scaling of the electron density and a scaling of the electron-electron interaction is reviewed. The effective potential along the coupling constant path which connects a noninteracting and a fully interacting system with the same electron density is considered. The effective potential for an arbitrary coupling constant is here expressed in terms of the exchange-correlation potential at a coupling constant of unity. The effective potential is then investigated for ionization processes. Use of the fact that the ionization energy is determined by the exponential decay of the electron density allows us to derive new formulas for the ionization energy. Based on the Taylor expansion of the effective potential along the coupling constant path, a density functional perturbation theory is introduced which leads to a formally exact Kohn-Sham KS formalism. To first order, this formalism gives identities for the exchange potential in terms of KS orbitals and orbital eigenvalues. Moreover, higher-order terms give identities for the correlation potential as well as for the exchange potential. These identities are pointwise as well as integrated. Hence, various new requirements for the exchange and correlation functionals are derived. New insight into the optimized effective potential method is gained by discussing it in the light of the results obtained here. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Available approximations to Exc[{nσ}], the exchange-correlation energy functional of spin-density-functional theory, do not include self-interaction corrections (SIC). This leads to Kohn-Sham (KS) potentials, Vxcσ, that fail to satisfy some important analytic properties known to be exhibited by the exact potential. To resolve these difficulties, we consider a KS theory for orbital-dependent exchange-correlation energy functionals that explicitly includes SIC. Recent work by Krieger, Li, and lafrate (KLI), which considers the analytic properties of the spin-polarized optimized effective potentials (OEP), Vxcσ0, i.e., the KS potentials corresponding to Exc = Exc[{φiσ,}], is reviewed as well as the properties of VxcσKLI, an easily calculated approximation to the exact result which, unlike Vxcσ0, can be employed for systems of arbitrary symmetry. In addition, we compare the results of the exact and approximate OEP calculation of the properties of the ground state of atoms and singly charged negative ions in the exchange-only case in which Ex = ExHF [{φiσ}] where HF = Hartree-Fock. We conclude that VxσKLI maintains most of the important analytic properties of Vxσ0, and provides an excellent numerical approximation to the exact result. We also give detailed consideration to the calculation of the ionization potential, I, and the electron affinity, A, in the exchange-only approximation for atoms with Z ≤ 20. We find that the KLI results for both I and A are always within 0.1 milli-au of the exact KS results, whereas both the local spin density (LSD) approximation and the Becke exchange only energy functional lead to deviations which on average are two orders of magnitude larger and significantly exceed the criterion for quantum chemistry accuracy. Finally, using the KLI method for orbital dependent Exc, we compare the KS results for I and A for Z ≤ 20 with the experimental values by employing various approximations for Exc[{φiσ] including: (1) HF exchange with LSD correlation with SIC, (2) LSD approximation for exchange and correlation with SIC, (3) the conventional spin density LSD approximation, and (4) the Becke exchange-energy functional with LSD correlation. In addition, we examine how closely the ionization theorem for ∊m, the energy eigenvalue for the highest occupied orbital, is satisfied in these approximations. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: First-principles local density functional approximation (LDA) calculations using the linear-response method are more efficient than are traditional supercell or dielectric matrix techniques for determining phonon spectra and dielectric constants. We have implemented this approach using a linearized-augmented-plane-wave (LAPW) basis, which facilitates such calculations for systems containing transition-metal and other atoms with localized orbitals. The accuracy of the method is illustrated with applications to some semiconductors and ferroelectrics. Theoretical work on the perovskite ferroelectrics has focused on the possible roles of disorder and soft-phonon behavior. A complete mapping in the Brillouin zone (BZ) of the ferroelectric instability of KNbO3 has been carried out, revealing a pronounced two-dimensional character. In real space, this instability corresponds to chains oriented along 〈100〉 directions, of displaced Nb atoms. Such instabilities are discussed in relation to the static chain structures in the eight-site order-disorder model introduced by Comes et al. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Electrostatic and dispersion contributions of solute-solvent interactions have been considered in the self-consistent reaction field scheme and implemented in the LCGTO-DF (linear combination of Gaussian-type orbitals-density functional) method. Results for the tautomeric equilibrium of formamide-formamidic acid, for the cis-trans energy difference in dichlorodiammineplatinum(II), and for H2O—HF hydrogen-bond systems are in agreement with the available experimental and previous high-level ab initio data. The role of the dispersion energy is discussed for the different studied systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Local (LSD) and nonlocal (NLSD) spin density calculations using different exchangecorrelation functionals have been performed to determine equilibrium geometries, harmonic vibrational frequencies (ωe), ionization potentials (IP), electron affinities (EA), dipole moments (μ), and singlet-triplet energy gaps (Δ EST) of SiH2, GeH2, and SnH2. Geometrical structures as well as vibrational frequencies are in agreement with the available experimental data and compare favorably with the most sophisticated postHartree-Fock computations performed until now. Both computed IPS (9.15 and 9.25 eV for SiH2 and GeH2, respectively) and EA of SiH2 (1.17 eV) compare favorably with experimental data (9.17, 9.21, and 1.2 eV). Accurate values are obtained also for singlet-triplet energy gaps. We report for the first time the electron affinities of all neutral systems and the spectroscopic constants of the cations and anions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The coupled clusters singles and doubles (CCSD) method for calculations of open-shell systems with the single restricted Hartree-Fock (ROHF) reference determinant is extended by the noniterative triples to give CCSD(T). Our approach profits from the fact that (a) single- and double-excitation amplitudes are spin-adapted, which directly leads to a computationally less demanding algorithm than are nonadapted procedures and produces the spin-adapted CCSD wave function and (b) triple excitations calculated from converged spin-adapted (SA) CCSD amplitudes are also obtained more effectively. Altogether, computer demands of our SA CCSD(T) approach, applicable to high-spin open-shell cases which are well represented by a single-determinant reference is comparable to that for closed-shell systems. Our approach is not based on semicanonical orbitals, applied by Bartlett's group. However, we compare some other possible choices of ROHF orbitals to this “standard.” Numerical results for a series of atoms and molecules demonstrate little sensitivity to this selection. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Ab initio accurate all-electron relativistic molecular orbital Dirac-Fock self-consistent field calculations are reported for the linear symmetric XeF2 molecule at various internuclear distances with our recently developed relativistic universal Gaussian basis set. The nonrelativistic limit Hartree-Fock calculations were also performed for XeF2 at various internuclear distances. The relativistic correction to the electronic energy of XeF2 was calculated as ∼ -215 hartrees (-5850 eV) by using the Dirac-Fock method. The dominant magnetic part of the Breit interaction correction to the nonrelativistic interelectron Coulomb repulsion was included in our calculations by both the Dirac-Fock-Breit self-consistent field and perturbation methods. The calculated Breit correction is ∼6.5 hartrees (177 eV) for XeF2. The relativistic Dirac-Fock as well as the nonrelativistic HF wave functions predict XeF2 to be unbound, due to neglect of electron correlation effects. These effects were incorporated for XeF2 by using various ab initio post Hartree-Fock methods. The calculated dissociation energy obtained using the MP2(full) method with our extensive basis set of 313 primitive Gaussians that included d and f polarization functions on Xe and F is 2.77 eV, whereas the experimental dissociation energy is 2.78 eV. The calculated correlation energy is ∼ -2 hartrees (-54 eV) at the predicted internuclear distance of 1.986 Å, which is in excellent agreement with the experimental Xe - F distance of 1.979 Å in XeF2. In summary, electron correlation effects must be included in accurate ab initio calculations since it has been shown here that their inclusion is crucial for obtaining theoretical dissociation energy (De) close to experimental value for XeF2. Furthermore, relativistic effects have been shown to make an extremely significant contribution to the total energy and orbital binding energies of XeF2. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Based on the EHMO approach, the band structures for the Y—Ba—Cu—O superconductors doped by La were calculated. The influence of the partial substitutions of La for Y and Ba in YBa2CU3Oy on its electronic structures was investigated. The results demonstrate that the La doping at the Ba site has a great effect on the electronic structures of the Y—Ba—Cu—O superconductors, whereas the change in the band structures caused by the La doping at the Y site is very small. The increase in the oxygen content caused by the La doping results in an increase in the densities of states at Ef, N(Ef), for La1+x Ba2-xCu3Oy, but the increase in N(Ef) cannot compensate the decrease caused by the La doping at the Ba site. In addition, the 2D Cu—O planes are much more sensitive to the change in N(Ef) than are the 1D Cu—O ribbons, which implies an important role of the 2D Cu—0 planes in the Y—Ba—Cu—O superconducting system, regardless of whether La substitutes for Y or for Ba. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The proof of Parr and Chattaraj for the Principle of Maximum Chemical Hardness is very general and can be applied to many more observables. The case of the physical, or mechanical, hardness of a solid is taken as an example. It is shown that this also should be a maximum in an equilibrium system. Assuming the validity of the argument leads to new information about the compressibility of solids. A simple expression is also given for the Gruneisen constant. These maximum principles are necessary consequences of the equilibrium conditions of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The field theoretical background of relativistic density functional theory is emphasized and its consequences for relativistic Kohn-Sham equations are shown. The local density approximation for the exchange energy functional is reviewed and the importance of relativistic corrections for an accurate representation of the exchange functional is demonstrated. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The dynamics of Jahn-Teller systems has recently been discussed in terms of generalized electronic charge and current densities in nuclear-coordinate space. The introduction of the electronic phase as a function of both electronic and nuclear coordinates, in addition to the electronic density, was a crucial component of this formulation. Here, a densitybased treatment of Born couplings is derived from first-principles quantum mechanics beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Because of the degenerate electronic configuration of a Jahn-Teller molecule, there are an infinite number of ways in which the charge distribution can be oriented for the same energy, leading to a vanishing bond hardness for the molecule in the symmetric nuclear configuration. Further, the moving nuclear framework serves as the perturbation necessary to define the orientation of the charge density, leading to unhindered rotation of the charge cloud. This leads to the dynamical Jahn-Teller problem, namely, the coupling of electronic and nuclear motions through the Born coupling terms. Applications to superconductivity theory are discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: It is possible to reformulate the reaction field (RF) model of continuum solvent effects, by considering an approximate expression describing the energy changes from one ground state to another, in the frame of density functional theory (DFT). The energy functional for an arbitrary electronic system coupled to a spin-independent electrostatic external perturbation is used to derive the well-known Born expression giving the electrostatic component of the solvation energy of an atomic ion. The approximate RF-DFT model is illustrated for a series of representative singly positive and negatively charged atomic ions. A Kohn-Sham (KS)-like formalism is then proposed to compute solvation energies within a self-consistent field scheme. The extension of the RF-DFT model to molecular systems is also outlined. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: Recent reactivity concepts formulated within charge analysis (CSA) are outlined. The charge stability criteria of equilibrium states in open and closed systems are conveniently characterized in terms of the condensed reactant hardness quantities of reactants; their implications for catatytic systems are examined. A use of characteristics associated with selected collective charge displacement modes, including the populational normal modes and minimum-energy coordinates, as diagnostic tools in the theory of chemical reactivity is proposed. The importance of the mapping relations between modes defined in the electron population and nuclear position spaces, respectively, as the unifying concept linking the conjugate charge and geometry displacements, is commented upon. Recent results for model catalytic clusters are used to illustrate some of the concepts introduced. Finally, the relevant contributions to the quadratic interaction energy between reactants are reexamined and expressed in terms of relevant charge sensitivities. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The Boltzmann-Shannon (BS) information entropy Sρ = ∫ ρ(r)log ρ(r)dr measures the spread or extent of the one-electron density ρ(r), which is the basic variable of the density function theory of the many electron systems. This quantity cannot be analytically computed, not even for simple quantum mechanical systems such as, e.g., the harmonic oscillator (HO) and the hydrogen atom (HA) in arbitrary excited states. Here, we first review (i) the present knowledge and open problems in the analytical determination of the BS entropies for the HO and HA systems in both position and momentum spaces and (ii) the known rigorous lower and upper bounds to the position and momentum BS entropies of many-electron systems in terms of the radial expectation values in the corresponding space. Then, we find general inequalities which relate the BS entropies and various density functionals. Particular cases of these results are rigorous relationships of the BS entropies and some relevant density functionals (e.g., the Thomas-Fermi kinetic energy, the Dirac-Slater exchange energy, the average electron density) for finite many-electron systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.