伦理,胚胎和干细胞研究

道德是关于规则、直觉、理解和观点的一个复杂系统。而后者影响着我们相互间处理事务的方式。它们交叉地渗入我们的道德思考。这种思维与胚胎、干细胞的伦理密切相关,因为胚胎和干细胞涉及我们对与治疗和移植组织有关的人的生命及其启始问题。就像在许多对待生命及其可以阐释的研究方法方面,要有一个道德的思辩历程一样,解决这些问题,部分地需要讨论,部分地需要回答。只有在我们认定这种讨论能够融入应用干细胞治疗的胚胎及其类源和人体组织的使用中时,我们才会清楚,大多数人体不同部位的干细胞应用是经过了对人的生命启始、我们儿童、家庭进行了思考。     

Reverse correlation in neurophysiology

This article presents a review of reverse correlation in neurophysiology. We discuss the basis of reverse correlation in linear transducers and in spiking neurons. The application of reverse correlation to measure the receptive fields of visual neurons using white noise and m-sequences, and classical findings about spatial and color processing in the cortex resulting from such measurements, are emphasized. Finally, we describe new developments in reverse correlation, including “sub-space” and categorical reverse-correlation. Recent results obtained by applying such methods in the orientation, spatial-frequency and Fourier domains have revealed the importance of cortical inhibition in the establishment of sharp tuning selectivity in single neurons.