[Comparative studies on bone growth in experimental animals. 1. Bone growth and ossification in mice (author's transl)]

Comparative studies are needed on the bilogical stage of the bone growth in experimental animals and human to extrapolate the data from animals to for estimating the risk of bone seeking redionuclides in man. The growth of bone length and the appearance and fusion of the secondary ossification centers of seven long bones were compared between both species. The stage of ossification was determined radiographically. The results showed that the ossifying process of the secondary ossification centers could be divided into the following three categories in mice; (1) acute ossification type, (2) remaining metastable stage type which is specific in mice and generally at the proximal end of bone, and (3) delayed ossification type. Compared with the average life span, differences in ossification between both species were that the appearance of secondary ossification centers was observed within concentrated period in mice and not in man, and that the fusion of these was observed with long duration in mice and not in man. From 17 weeks of age, the metastable status of the bone appeared in mice without complete fusion even at 27 weeks of age, for the experiment with bone seeking radionuclides, mice of age 17 weeks or more should be used consequently.

Lymph macrophages enter the germinal center of lymph nodes of guinea pigs

To determine the fate of macrophages within the afferent lymph stream, the popliteal lymph nodes at various times (3 h to 6 months) after subcutaneous injection of india ink into the footpads of guinea pigs were examined. Two types of cells which had phagocytized india ink were observed in the germinal centers. A small number of type I phagocytes (engulfing india ink as small particles which were often found together with tingible bodies in their cytoplasm) were scattered through the germinal center. A large number of type II phagocytes (packed full of india ink) presented preferentially in the medullary portion of the germinal center, together with many pyroninophil lymphoblastoid cells. In the second experiment, the afferent lymphatics of the popliteal lymph node were ligated 15-20 min after india ink injection. Although the type I phagocytes were distributed as in the first experiment, the type II phagocytes were scanty. In the third experiment, the afferent lymphatics of the popliteal lymph node were ligated 7 days after india ink injection. The type II phagocytes disappeared rapidly from the germinal center, whereas the type I phagocytes remained and were not affected by ligature. These results suggest that the type I phagocytes are the fixed macrophages or tingible body macrophages in the germinal center, and that the type II phagocytes are the macrophages migrating from the peripheral tissues. It was also shown that many macrophages reaching the regional node via afferent lymphatics entered the germinal center through the medullary pole where the cap of small lymphocytes became thinner or disappeared.

State-dependent learning produced by chlordiazepoxide and its transfer at different dose levels

In Experiment I, the rat was given 15 mg/kg of chlordiazepoxide (CDP) and trained on a black-white discrimination task, motivated by electric shocks; the same animal, when given saline, was treated similarly with the reversed cue relationship on different and usually alternate sessions. Training was continued until a learning criterion under both drug and saline states and then tested with only one of five testing CDP doses (2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 25 mg/kg). During training, the rat made more errors under drug than under saline but there were little differences in starting and running times at least during the last sessions. In the transfer test, choice responses showed a bi-directional gradient around the training dose as in stimulus generalization gradient. Experiment II was identical to Experiment I, except that the same drug was tested at all five transfer doses and the resulting transfer gradient was a simple monotonic increasing function of dose levels. Discrepancy between the two experiments was discussed.

Abolition of the hippocampal theta activity and drug-learning dissociation

Rats were trained to escape electric shock by running into one arm of a T-maze on 10-trial daily sessions with pentobarbital (10 mg/kg), and to the opposite arm of the maze on other sessions with saline, the drug and saline sessions being alternated. This drug-learning dissociation or state-dependent learning was achieved by rats with medial septal lesions, abolishing hippocampal theta activity, as efficiently as rats with cortical lesions and intact rats. The suggested relationship between drug-learning dissociation and the suppression of hippocampal theta waves, produced by the drug, was not evidenced.

Several clinical aspects of thalamic pulvinotomy

Several clinical aspects of thalamic pulvinotomy were investigated. Influence of electrical stimulation of pulvinar on consciousness, speech, memory, evoked response, emotion, intelligence, character, ophthalmic and auditory examinations were studied during operation and compared between pre-, post, and during operation.