The stroboscopic human vision

When the frequency of seeing light from a pair of point flashes is beyond the probability summation of the separate flashes, the surplus is due to the successful interaction of subliminal responses from the different flashes. Experiments with various distances and various periods of the pair show thet successful interaction occurs when in each of two successive time-quanta of 0.04 seconds and in each of two adjacent distinct receptor groups at least one subliminal receptor response occurs. An autonomous source produces the time-quanta. It serves the time-processing of the central nervous system and of the motor system. Posdsibly, action potentials from the purkinje cells of the myocardium play a role. Hyper acuity in direction and in depth, flicker fusion, perceptual rivalry and ather phenomena follow from the quantized spatiotemporal signal processing

Decision making as a predictor of first ecstasy use: a prospective study

Ecstasy (+/- 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a widely used recreational drug that may damage the serotonin system and may entail neuropsychological dysfunctions. Few studies investigated predictors for ecstasy use. Self-reported impulsivity does not predict the initiation of ecstasy use; the question is if neuropsychological indicators of impulsivity can predict first ecstasy use. This study tested the hypothesis that a neuropsychological indicator of impulsivity predicts initiation of ecstasy use. Decision-making strategy and decision-making reaction times were examined with the Iowa Gambling Task in 149 ecstasy-naive subjects. The performance of 59 subjects who initiated ecstasy use during a mean follow-up period of 18 months (range, 11-26) was compared with the performance of 90 subjects that remained ecstasy-naive. Significant differences in decision-making strategy between female future ecstasy users and female persistent ecstasy-naive subjects were found. In addition, the gap between decision-making reaction time after advantageous choices and reaction time after disadvantageous choices was smaller in future ecstasy users than in persistent ecstasy-naives. Decision-making strategy on a gambling task was predictive for future use of ecstasy in female subjects. Differences in decision-making time between future ecstasy users and persistent ecstasy-naives may point to lower punishment sensitivity or higher impulsivity in future ecstasy users. Because differences were small, the clinical relevance is questionabl

Clinical impact of additional findings detected by genome-wide non-invasive prenatal testing:Follow-up results of the TRIDENT-2 study

In the TRIDENT-2 study, all pregnant women in the Netherlands are offered genome-wide non-invasive prenatal testing (GW-NIPT) with a choice of receiving either full screening or screening solely for common trisomies. Previous data showed that GW-NIPT can reliably detect common trisomies in the general obstetric population and that this test can also detect other chromosomal abnormalities (additional findings). However, evidence regarding the clinical impact of screening for additional findings is lacking. Therefore, we present follow-up results of the TRIDENT-2 study to determine this clinical impact based on the laboratory and perinatal outcomes of cases with additional findings. Between April 2017 and April 2019, additional findings were detected in 402/110,739 pregnancies (0.36%). For 358 cases, the origin was proven to be either fetal (n = 79; 22.1%), (assumed) confined placental mosaicism (CPM) (n = 189; 52.8%), or maternal (n = 90; 25.1%). For the remaining 44 (10.9%), the origin of the aberration could not be determined. Most fetal chromosomal aberrations were pathogenic and associated with severe clinical phenotypes (61/79; 77.2%). For CPM cases, occurrence of pre-eclampsia (8.5% [16/189] vs 0.5% [754/159,924]; RR 18.5), and birth weigh

On threshold mechanisms for achromatic and chromatic vision

On the basis of measurements of the achromatic zone for red light in the fovea and for green light in the periphery, a discussion is given on the possible difference in threshold mechanisms for the achromatic (scotopic) and chromatic (photopic) retinal systems. A specific suggestion for this distinction is given that not directly refers to the usual rod-cone concept but is based on the occurrence of multiple coincidence of quantum absorptions by multiple hits per receptor no matter rod or cone as photopic signals, versus multiple coincidences by single hits per receptor in a distinct ommatidium type group of receptors as scotopic signals