卷 45, 编号 6 (2019)

We studied the functional structure of the auditory cortex by identifying and comparing the spatial localization of activation areas in response to speech and non-speech stimuli using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We also performed a similar comparison of activation zones in response to male and female voices. We found that there are specific areas for speech and non-speech auditory stimuli and overlapping areas; the speech area is significantly larger as compared with others. The activation areas responding to male and female voices overlap, though not significantly; the influence of female voice was stronger. These results suggest that there are special areas in the auditory cortex for auditory signal processing.

The paper presents the results of comparative analysis of visual perception (VP) and oculomotor activity in reading tasks of varying complexity in children aged seven to ten years with different levels of reading skills. We observed higher VP variables in children with good reading skills compared with poor readers. The formation of the VP system underlying the basic mechanism of reading, especially at the initial stage of learning, can be assessed by the following key parameters: noise tolerance, spatial relationships, and visual analysis/synthesis affording recognition of the graphic configuration of words, spelling (letter order), and semantics (word meaning). The speed of lexical access and eye movement programming, the accuracy of fixation point positioning, the amount of perceived symbolic information and lexemes and general context stored in the working memory are much higher in children with better qualification and reading experience. When a highly complex text beyond the current educational program is read, discrepancy in the oculomotor activity parameters (duration of progressive and adjustable fixations and the reading speed and time) between groups of children with different reading skills decreases.

To determine the possibility for individualized quantitative prediction of therapeutic responses in depressive patients from the baseline EEG parameters, we conducted a correlational analysis of relationships between the baseline EEG spectral power values (80 variations in total) recorded in 42 depressive patients before the start of the therapeutic course and clinical quantitative assessments of the post-treatment mental conditions of these patients. Based on these data, regression models were built for individualized quantitative prediction of therapeutic response, including no more than three pre-treatment EEG parameters and describing up to 75% of the variance in clinical post-treatment assessment values. On the one hand, our results confirm the possibility of designing fairly accurate mathematical models for the individualized quantitative prediction of therapeutic responses in depressive patients by a small number of baseline neurophysiological parameters. On the other hand, the employed mathematical approaches make it possible to clarify the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying depressive disorders.

The interaction of anticipatory and reflexive changes in the grip force of the right hand was tested for the effect on the grip force developed by the thumb and index finger of the left hand. The test task for the right hand was the same in all test variants, to hold a cup where a weight fell (with the thumb and index finger). Three different tasks were chosen for the left hand. In the first task, the left fingers touched a sensor with a negligible grip force. In the second task, the subject had to hold a force sensor loaded with a 200-g load. In the third task, the subject was instructed to slowly increase the grip force by fingers of both hands. In response to the impact of the falling weight, an involuntary increase was observed in the grip force of the right-hand fingers, depending on the available visual information of the falling weight and being independent of the motor task performed by left hand. When the subject’s eyes were closed, the grip force increased in all tasks as a response to the impact of the weight fall. When the subject’s eyes were open, an automatic increase in the right-hand grip force occurred 200–300 ms before the impact. The left-hand grip force changed in different ways. In the first and second tasks, the grip force of the left hand did not change despite the changes in the grip force of the right hand in response to the impact of the falling weight. In case of a coordinated slow increase in the grip forces of both hands, an increase in the grip force was observed in the unaffected left hand before the impact and during the response to the impact, like in the right hand. Thus, a common motor task for both hands led to similar changes in grip force, which were recorded in both right and left hands not only during the response to an external stimulus, but also during anticipation. Movement planning was assumed to involve the organization of left–right interaction at the supraspinal level, probably, at the level of motor cortex interactions between the left and right hemispheres.

The dynamics of heart rate variability (HRV), electromyography (EMG), and personal endoscopic success were studied in subjects with different extents of neuroticism. The study involved 87 men aged 18–24 years. A pronounced success in endosurgical training was typical of subjects with lower neuroticism scores, reflecting the quality of acquired motor stereotypes. An increase in the lengths of RR intervals during training was characteristic of subjects with higher neuroticism scores. Endosurgical simulator training was accompanied by an increase in the power of the HF-range in the low-neurotic subjects, while the parameter decreased in the high-neurotic subjects. Specific features of physiological support of goal-directed activity in the model of endosurgical training were established for subjects with different extents of neuroticism. The low-neurotic subjects were characterized by an increase in parasympathetic influences on the heart function during goal-directed activity in the model.

Changes in skin temperature induced by the factors causing the activation of non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) were quantitatively described, using dynamic infrared thermography, in 8 physically active men (the mean age was 24.8 ± 4.0 years, body mass index (BMI) was 23.6 ± 0.44) at different body surface locations (the anterior and posterior parts of the neck, the supraclavicular fossae, the sternum, and the interscapular area). During the experiments, the subjects had to undergo, on different days, a glucose-tolerance test, they were locally exposed to cold (feet immersion in water at 0°C for 1 min) and had to perform a single breath-hold test, as well as the aerobic (Ramp) and anaerobic (Wingate) performance tests. The obtained results have shown the presence of thermogenerators, which can cause non-shivering thermogenesis in the human body in response to stimuli of sympathetic and stressogenic origin. A thermogenerator in this context is understood as a cluster of homogeneous cells located subcutaneously or in deeper-laying tissues characterized by elevated heat production whose flow of infrared radiation reaches the body’s surface and shapes a particular thermographic portrait. Deep individual differences have been identified between responses of thermogenerators to the same stimuli. These responses do not differ in synchronicity or intensity and, presumably, depend on a subject's adaptive experience, i.e., on the subject’s life conditions and other epigenetic factors. It has been shown that the thermogenerators located in the supraclavicular region and associated with the brown adipose tissue (BAT) have the highest sensitivity to the tested set of stimuli. A close functional connection has been identified between these thermogenerators and the thyroid gland. Some not at all trivial relationships have been detected between all the studied thermogenerators, and further studies are needed in this area. In particular, we cannot detect any similarities between maximal aerobic and maximal anaerobic exercises in terms of thermogenic response. The glucose response was isolated relative to other stimuli. The data obtained make us think not only about BAT but also about the role of other tissues in energy metabolism regulation. For instance, close attention should be paid to the muscle tissue which has uncoupling protein UCP3. Based on the results, we cannot make an unequivocal conclusion about the nature of investigated thermogenerators. Yet we hope that the widespread usage of non-invasive and safe thermography will allow us to accumulate scientific facts that are necessary to make differential diagnosis for various types of thermogenerators in the human body.

The parameters of phosphorus–calcium metabolism at different levels of 25 (OH)D in young people have been studied. The studied population included 48 young men and 126 young women aged 18 to 20 years. Normal values of vitamin D were found in 40 subjects (23%); the blood level of 25-OH vitamin D was shown to be 20–30 ng/mL in 59 subjects (34%), 10–19 ng/mL in 56 subjects (32%), and <10 ng/mL in 19 subjects (11%). The calcium level proved to be associated with the rate of vitamin D deficiency. The level of parathyroid hormone was not elevated in 75% of the subjects with vitamin D deficiency. There is no correlation between PTH levels and vitamin D levels. The results show the necessity of further studies to find out the causes of insufficient response of parathyroid hormone to vitamin D deficiency.

We studied the effects of melatonin on the oxygen transport in blood and prooxidant−antioxidant balance in males aged from 18 to 21 years in submaximal physical exercise. The subjects received 3 mg of melatonin once a day for two months. As a result of melatonin administration, we observed a shift of oxyhemoglobin dissociation to the right, which results in reduced manifestation of oxidative stress after physical exercise. We found that the increased level of gas transmitters (nitrogen monoxide and hydrogen sulfide) after melatonin administration can influence oxygen transport in blood and prooxidant–antioxidant balance in exercise.

This study involved 27 cosmonauts aged from 37 to 59 years. First, we carried out a correlation analysis of hemostatic parameters and the total duration of space flights. No statistically significant correlation was found for any parameters at any terms of the survey. Then, the sample of cosmonauts was divided into three groups according to the amount of performed flights. We studied the dynamics of parameters within the groups and observed an increase in the coagulation contact phase potential in the dynamics of post-flight studies on the basis of the shortened activated partial thromboplastin time with a tendency of this parameter to restore to the baseline level. This tendency was weakening after three space flights. The observed changes appear to be due to the cumulative effect of space flight factors and the stress of readaptation to terrestrial conditions.