In order to understand heterogeneous behavior amongst agents, empirical data from Learning-to-Forecast (LtF) experiments can be used to construct learning models. This paper follows up on Assenza et al. (2013) by using a Genetic Algorithms (GA) model to replicate the results from their LtF experiment. In this GA model, individuals optimize an adaptive, a trend following and an anchor coefficien...

We hypothesized that long-term facilitation (LTF) is due to decreased upper airway resistance (Rua). We studied 11 normal subjects during stable non-rapid eye movement sleep. We induced brief isocapnic hypoxia (inspired O(2) fraction = 8%) (3 min) followed by 5 min of room air. This sequence was repeated 10 times. Measurements were obtained during control, hypoxia, and at 20 min of recovery (R(...

Only a minority of patients with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) are offered a surgical option. This is mostly due to the fear of potential side effects, the variable success rate, and the extreme alteration of gastric anatomy with the current gold standard, the laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. It has been reported that laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication (LTF) and laparoscopic sphinc...

Withdrawal reflexes of the mollusk Aplysia exhibit sensitization, a simple form of long-term memory (LTM). Sensitization is due, in part, to long-term facilitation (LTF) of sensorimotor neuron synapses. LTF is induced by the modulatory actions of serotonin (5-HT). Pettigrew et al. developed a computational model of the nonlinear intracellular signaling and gene network that underlies the induct...

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OHDPAT) and clonidine reduce sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) and mean arterial pressure (MAP), in part by actions in the medullary lateral tegmental field (LTF). We microinjected these drugs bilaterally into the LTF of baroreceptor-innervated and -denervated cats anesthetized with Dial-urethane. Neit...

We tested the hypothesis that unanesthetized rats exhibit ventilatory long-term facilitation (LTF) after intermittent, but not continuous, hypoxia. Minute ventilation (VE) and carbon dioxide production (VCO(2)) were measured in unanesthetized, unrestrained male Sprague-Dawley rats via barometric plethysmography before, during, and after exposure to continuous or intermittent hypoxia. Hypoxia wa...

We used blockade of excitatory amino acid (EAA) neurotransmission in the medullary lateral tegmental field (LTF) and rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) to assess the roles of these regions in the control of inferior cardiac sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in urethan-anesthetized, baroreceptor-denervated cats. Bilateral microinjection of a non-N-methyl-D-aspa...

Survival in low-oxygen environments requires adaptation of sympathorespiratory control networks located in the brain stem. The molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation are unclear. In naïve animals, acute hypoxia evokes increases in phrenic (respiratory) and splanchnic (sympathetic) nerve activities that persist after repeated challenges (long-term facilitation, LTF). In contrast, our studies...

The induction of different phases of memory depends on the amount and patterning of training, raising the question of whether specific training patterns engage different cellular mechanisms and whether these mechanisms operate in series or in parallel. We examined these questions by using a cellular model of memory formation: facilitation of the tail sensory neuron-motor neuron synapses by sero...

BACKGROUND One major problem in dairy cattle husbandry is the prevalence of udder infections. In today's breeding programmes, top priority is being given to making animal evaluation more cost-effective and reliable and less time-consuming. We proposed tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), lactoferrin (LTF) and macrophage-expressed lysozyme (mLYZ) genes as potential DNA markers in the improvement of ...