Randomized double pulse stimulus and paired event analysis
First Claim
1. A method for determining the behavior tendencies in response to repeated stimulation in a system in which a response evoked by such stimulation is measurable, comprising the steps of:
- (1) stimulating said system with a train of pairs of stimuli the first of each pair of stimuli in said train being the conditioning stimulus (CS) and the second of each said pair being the test stimulus (TS), wherein each said test stimulus is maintained at a constant intensity and said conditioning stimuli are applied at a constant frequency and wherein the interstimulus interval between each conditioning stimulus and its associated test stimulus, the conditioning stimulus intensity and/or the conditioning stimulus site is varied randomly between predetermined parameters;
(2) measuring the response of said system evoked by said stimuli; and
(3) analyzing the measured response to determine the behavioral tendencies.
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Abstract
The behavioral tendencies of a system in which responses evoked by stimuli are measurable are determined by means of a method and apparatus for applying a train of paired stimuli to the system and measuring and analyzing the response. The first of each pair of stimuli (conditioning stimulus) is applied at randomly varying intensities and at a constant interval. The second of each pair of stimuli (test stimulus) is applied at a constant intensity and a randomly varying interval from its associated test stimulus. By appropriate analysis of the amplitude and latency of the evoked responses, important information about fatigue, refractory period, supernormal period, threshold and dynamical fluctuation can be determined.
134 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for determining the behavior tendencies in response to repeated stimulation in a system in which a response evoked by such stimulation is measurable, comprising the steps of:
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(1) stimulating said system with a train of pairs of stimuli the first of each pair of stimuli in said train being the conditioning stimulus (CS) and the second of each said pair being the test stimulus (TS), wherein each said test stimulus is maintained at a constant intensity and said conditioning stimuli are applied at a constant frequency and wherein the interstimulus interval between each conditioning stimulus and its associated test stimulus, the conditioning stimulus intensity and/or the conditioning stimulus site is varied randomly between predetermined parameters; (2) measuring the response of said system evoked by said stimuli; and (3) analyzing the measured response to determine the behavioral tendencies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for determining the behavior tendencies in a system undergoing repeated and varied perturbation, comprising the steps of:
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measuring the intensity and time period from the immediately preceding perturbation (interperturbation interval) for each perturbation; selecting each perturbation having an intensity which is substantially the same as a predetermined intensity; and analyzing the intensity and interperturbation intervals of said selected perturbations to determine the behavior tendencies.
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20. An apparatus for determing behavioral tendencies i response to repeated stimulation in a system in which a response evoked by such stimulation is measurable, comprising:
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(1) generating means for generating a train of pairs of stimuli, the first of each pair of stimuli in said train being the conditioning stimulus (CS) and the second of each said pair being the test stimulus (TS), wherein each said test stimulus is maintained at a constant intensity and said conditioning stimuli are generated at a constant frequency and wherein the interstimulus interval between each conditioning stimulus and its associated test stimulus and/or the conditioning stimulus intensity is randomly varied between predetermined parameters; (2) application means for applying said stimuli to the system being studied; (3) detection means for detecting and measuring a response of said system to each said stimulus applied by said application means; and (4) processing means for analyzing said measured responses to determine the behavior tendencies. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification