1,363 research outputs found
Dopamine in Motor Cortex Is Necessary for Skill Learning and Synaptic Plasticity
Preliminary evidence indicates that dopamine given by mouth facilitates the learning of motor skills and improves the recovery of movement after stroke. The mechanism of these phenomena is unknown. Here, we describe a mechanism by demonstrating in rat that dopaminergic terminals and receptors in primary motor cortex (M1) enable motor skill learning and enhance M1 synaptic plasticity. Elimination of dopaminergic terminals in M1 specifically impaired motor skill acquisition, which was restored upon DA substitution. Execution of a previously acquired skill was unaffected. Reversible blockade of M1 D1 and D2 receptors temporarily impaired skill acquisition but not execution, and reduced long-term potentiation (LTP) within M1, a form of synaptic plasticity critically involved in skill learning. These findings identify a behavioral and functional role of dopaminergic signaling in M1. DA in M1 optimizes the learning of a novel motor skill
Hadron calorimeter with MAPD readout in the NA61/SHINE experiment
The modular hadron calorimeter with micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes readout
for the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS is presented. The calorimeter
consists of 44 independent modules with lead-scintillator sandwich structure.
The light from the scintillator tiles is captured by and transported with
WLS-fibers embedded in scintillator grooves. The construction provides a
longitudinal segmentation of the module in 10 sections with independent MAPD
readout. MAPDs with pixel density of /mm ensure good linearity of
calorimeter response in a wide dynamical range. The performance of the
calorimeter prototype in a beam test is reported
Real-time TPC Analysis with the ALICE High-Level Trigger
The ALICE High-Level Trigger processes data online, to either select
interesting (sub-) events, or to compress data efficiently by modeling
techniques.
Focusing on the main data source, the Time Projection Chamber, the
architecure of the system and the current state of the tracking and compression
methods are outlined.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to be published in NIM
Centrality dependence of charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions from d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_{NN})=200 GeV
Charged-particle pseudorapidity densities are presented for the d+Au reaction
at sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV with -4.2 <= eta <= 4.2$. The results, from the BRAHMS
experiment at RHIC, are shown for minimum-bias events and 0-30%, 30-60%, and
60-80% centrality classes. Models incorporating both soft physics and hard,
perturbative QCD-based scattering physics agree well with the experimental
results. The data do not support predictions based on strong-coupling,
semi-classical QCD. In the deuteron-fragmentation region the central 200 GeV
data show behavior similar to full-overlap d+Au results at sqrt{s_{NN}}=19.4
GeV.Comment: 4 pages, 3figures; expanded discussion of uncertainties; added 60-80%
centrality range; added additional discussion on centrality selection bia
Scanning the phases of QCD with BRAHMS
BRAHMS has the ability to study relativistic heavy ion collisions from the
final freeze-out of hadrons all the way back to the initial wave-function of
the gold nuclei. This is accomplished by studying hadrons with a very wide
range of momenta and angles. In doing so we can scan various phases of QCD,
from a hadron gas, to a quark gluon plasma and perhaps to a color glass
condensate.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, proceedings of plenary talk at Quark Matter 2004
conferenc
Dilepton Production at SPS-energy Heavy Ion Collisions
The production of dileptons is studied within a hadronic transport model. We
investigate the sensitivity of the dilepton spectra to the initial
configuration of the hadronic phase in a ultrarelativistic heavy ion collision.
Possible in medium correction due to the modifications of pions and the pion
form factor in a hadronic gas are discussed.Comment: Dedicated to Gerry Brown in honor of the 32nd celebration of his 39th
birthday. 31 pages Latex including 13 eps-figures, uses psfig.sty and
epsf.st
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