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The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of various levels of alcohol consumption on human response to auditory and visual stimuli in terms of reaction time, movement time, total reaction time, and error rate. Placebo level and three low-level alcohol doses were randomly assigned to 20 male university student volunteers. 30 min. after consuming the alcohol or placebo, participants responded to either auditory or visual stimuli. Total reaction time increased significantly at the mid-low dose of alcohol (0.3 g/kg). For alcohol doses less than .5 g/kg, the change in total reaction time was confined to reaction time, i.e., the processing time between onset of stimulus and onset of movement. Effects of alcohol were significantly more pronounced in the choice-type tests. Notably, the effects of alcohol on total reaction time and error rate were significant for auditory but not visual stimuli. DOI 10.2466/13.15.18.22.PMS.111.5.589-607

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive brain imaging technique that measures hemodynamics by determining the optical properties of tissue. Clinical potential of NIRS for monitoring cerebral hemodynamics in cerebrovascular diseases, such as stroke, has been studied. However, inconsistencies in measurements among studies, which are believed to be partly due to anatomical variance and diversity in disease presentation, limit the clinical feasibility of NIRS for stroke monitoring. In the present study, bihemispheric frequency-domain NIRS measurements on middle cerebral artery occlusion rats were performed. The discrepancy in interhemispheric synchronicity in hemodynamic oscillation appeared during the early reperfusion stage is related to the size of infarct that developed three days later. These NIRS parameters may have the potential to be early prognostic biomarkers for long-term stroke monitoring in the future translational investigation.

Diabetic patients with cardiomyopathy show a higher incidence of arrhythmias and sudden death. Chronic hyperglycemia induces the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This study investigated whether inhibition of AGEs formation by aminoguanidine (AG) could prevent cardiac electromechanical and arrhythmogenic remodeling in diabetes mellitus. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats received AG (100 mg/kg daily, i.p.) or vehicle (normal saline, i.p.) for 5 weeks. The rats underwent hemodynamic recording to evaluate cardiac function, and heart preparations were used to determine the electrical, mechanical, and biochemical functions. In vitro high glucose-induced AGEs formation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and action potential changes were examined in HL-1 atrial cells. AG treatment improved the diabetes-induced depression in left ventricular pressure and the relaxation rate, and normalized the prolongation of QTc intervals in anesthetized rats. AG reduced the vulnerabilities to atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias in perfused diabetic hearts. AG normalized the prolonged action potential duration in diabetic atrial and ventricular muscles, which was correlated with the restoration of both transient outward ( I to ) and steady-state outward ( I SS ) K + current densities in cardiomyocytes. The abnormal kinetics of Ca 2+ transients and contraction were reversed in cardiomyocytes from AG-treated diabetic rats, along with parallel preservation of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca 2+ -ATPase (SERCA2a) expression. Furthermore, ex vivo and in vitro studies showed AG attenuated AGEs and ROS formation. Thus, long-term administration of AG ameliorated cardiac electromechanical remodeling and arrhythmogenicity in diabetic rats and may present an effective strategy for the prevention of diabetes-associated arrhythmias., (Copyright © 2018 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.)