Cognitive and Tactile Factors Affecting Human Haptic Performance in Later Life

Background: Vision and haptics are the key modalities by which humans perceive objects and interact with their environment in a target-oriented manner. Both modalities share higher-order neural resources and the mechanisms required for object exploration. Compared to vision, the understanding of haptic information processing is still rudimentary. Although it is known that haptic performance, similar to many other skills, decreases in old age, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. It is yet to be determined to what extent this decrease is related to the age-related loss of tactile acuity or cognitive capacity. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated the haptic performance of 81 older adults by means of a cross-modal object recognition test. Additionally, we assessed the subjects ’ tactile acuity with an apparatus-based two-point discrimination paradigm, and their cognitive performance by means of the non-verbal Raven-Standard-Progressive matrices test. As expected, there was a significant age-related decline in performance on all 3 tests. With the exception of tactile acuity, this decline was found to be more distinct in female subjects. Correlation analyses revealed a strong relationship between haptic and cognitive performance for all subjects. Tactile performance, on the contrary, was only significantly correlated with male subjects ’ haptic performance. Conclusions: Haptic object recognition is a demanding task in old age, especially when it comes to the exploration o

Mediastinal Tumor Presenting as Expanding Aortic Aneurysm Diagnosed by Transesophageal Echocardiography

This article describes a patient with suspected expanding ascending aortic aneurysm in whom transesophageal echocardiography appropriately determined the presence of a mediastinal soft tissue mass and visualized compression of the superior vena cava. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 13, November 1996

Conduction velocity of the rabbit facial nerve: a noninvasive functional evaluation Velocidade de condução no nervo facial do coelho: uma avaliação funcional não invasiva

The aim of this study was to evaluate standardized conduction velocity data for uninjured facial nerve and facial nerve repaired with autologous graft nerves and synthetic materials. An evaluation was made measuring the preoperative differences in the facial nerve conduction velocities on either side, and ascertaining the existence of a positive correlation between facial nerve conduction velocity and the number of axons regenerated postoperatively. In 17 rabbits, bilateral facial nerve motor action potentials were recorded pre- and postoperatively. The stimulation surface electrodes were placed on the auricular pavilion (facial nerve trunk) and the recording surface electrodes were placed on the quadratus labii inferior muscle. The facial nerves were isolated, transected and separated 10 mm apart. The gap between the two nerve ends was repaired with autologous nerve grafts and PTFE-e (polytetrafluoroethylene) or collagen tubes. The mean of maximal conduction velocity of the facial nerve was 41.10 m/s. After 15 days no nerve conduction was evoked in the evaluated group. For the period of 2 and 4 months the mean conduction velocity was approximately 50% of the normal value in the subgroups assessed. A significant correlation was observed between the conduction velocity and the number of regenerated axons. Noninvasive functional evaluation with surface electrodes can be useful for stimulating and recording muscle action potentials and for assessing the functional state of the facial nerve.<br>O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os dados padronizados de velocidade de condução para o nervo facial não lesado e o nervo facial reparado com enxerto autógeno e com materiais sintéticos. Na avaliação foram medidas as diferenças pré-operatórias de velocidade de condução do nervo facial em cada lado e verificada a existência de uma correlação positiva entre a velocidade de condução do nervo facial e o número de axônios regenerados no pós-operatório. O potencial de ação motora bilateral do nervo facial de 17 coelhos foi registrado no pré e no pós-operatório. Os eletrodos superficiais de estimulação foram colocados no pavilhão auricular (tronco do nervo facial) e os eletrodos superficiais de gravação foram colocados no músculo quadratus labii inferior. Os nervos faciais foram isolados, transeccionados e separados a 10 mm. O espaço entre os dois cotos nervosos terminais foi reparado com enxertos nervosos autólogos e PTFE-e (politetrafluoretileno) ou tubos de colágeno. A média da máxima velocidade de condução do nervo facial foi 41,10 m/s. Nenhuma condução nervosa foi observada no grupo avaliado após 15 dias. A velocidade de condução média nos subgrupos avaliados para o período de 2 e 4 meses foi de aproximadamente 50% do valor normal. A avaliação funcional não invasiva com eletrodos de superfície pode ser útil para a estimulação e registro do potencial de ação muscular e para medir o estado funcional do nervo facial