A population survey of seasonality in six representative cities in Japan was conducted using the Japanese version of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). The questionnaires were given to 951 parents (male: female ratio 1:1 age range 34-59 years) of high-school students. Significant regional differences in seasonal variations of mood, length of sleep, and weight were observed; the proportion of individuals reporting high seasonality in the two northern cities was significantly higher than that in the other areas. These results provide evidence for a northern predominance in the prevalence of seasonal affective disorder in Japan.

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Sato-Suzuki, Ikuko, Ichiro Kita, Mitsugu Oguri, and Hideho 1987). These data were obtained mainly by counting the Arita. Stereotyped yawning responses induced by electrical and number of mouth openings in conscious rats.chemical stimulation of paraventricular nucleus of the rat. J. NeuHowever, it is apparent from observing human subjects rophysiol. 80: 2765-2775, 1998. Yawning was evoked by electri-that yawning is not a behavior restricted to mouth opening cal or chemical stimulation in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) but is a coordinated motor pattern characterized by a deep of anesthetized, spontaneously breathing rats. To evaluate physio-inspiration and stretching of the trunk (Bertolini and Gessa al. 1986, 1987). Furthermore, yawning is a phenomenon electrocorticogram (ECoG) to evaluate autonomic function and that subserves arousal (Concu et al. 1974). It is therefore of arousal responses during yawning. A stereotyped yawning response interest to examine whether these various events of yawning was reproducibly evoked by electrical stimulation or microinjection could be evoked simultaneously by stimulation in the PVN, of L-glutamate or NOC-7, a nitric oxide (NO)-releasing com-on which there is little information. To evaluate various pound, into the PVN. The stereotyped yawning response consisted physiological aspects of yawning, we monitored polygraphic of two sequential events, an initial response represented a depressor measures representing a yawning response in anesthetized, showed the existence of NOS-containing cells in yawning-evoked sites of the PVN. In summary, the sequential events of yawning To pinpoint responsive sites in the PVN, we used a combimay be generated by NOS-containing parvocellular neurons in the nation of electrical stimulation and microinjection of L-glutamedial part of the rostral PVN projecting to the lower brain stem. mate procedures. By using a method of electrical stimulation, we systemically searched for sites in and around the PVN from which a yawning response was evoked. Then we mi-croinjected L-glutamate in responsive sites to verify that responses were caused by neuronal cell bodies rather than The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus fibers of passage (Goodchild et al. 1982). is essential for the occurrence of yawning as demonstratedWe further studied the potential contribution of nitric oxby Argiolas et al. (1987). They found that microinjection ide (NO) to stereotyped yawning responses. In this connecof several substances, including apomorphine, into the PVN tion, Melis and Argiolas (1993, 1995) previously reported increases the frequency of spontaneous yawns (Melis et al. that NO in the PVN is an important factor influencing the 1986, 1987) and electrical lesion of the PVN prevents yawnfrequency of spontaneous yawns. We performed nicotining responses induced by apomorphine (Argiolas et al.amide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH) staining to evaluate whether nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-The costs of publication of this article were defray...

1) In the encephale isole cat preparation the surface of precruciate cortex was electrically stimulated. Intracellular responses underneath the stimulated site were recorded to assess the vertical spread of activities across the cortical layers. 2) To the epicortical stimulation (EPICS) with intensity adjusted to evoke a pure negative wave in the direct cortical response (DCR), only some neurons in relatively superficial layers responded with excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). 3) Stimuli intensified to evoke both the negative and subsequent positive waves in DCR produced in all tested cells either EPSPs, inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs), or both. Direct or axonal antidromic excitation of the cell was observed only infrequently. 4) Cells with EPSPs distributed through all the layers with two peak populations in laminae II and V-VI. Those with IPSPs were located mainly in the upper half of lamina III with a few in more superficial as well as in deeper layers. Both EPSPs and IPSPs showed mono-or oligosynaptic latencies (0.6-10 msec) that tended to become longer in deep than in superficial layers. 5) Some deep layer cells including fast and slow pyramidal tract cells showed slowly rising monosynaptic EPSPs of dendritic origin. 6) Further late responses consisted of EPSPs, IPSPs, disfacilitation (DF), and disinhibition (DI). DF or DI occurred in some deep layer cells. 7) Two modes of vertical spread of activities were postulated : one the cascade transmissions which increased response repertoire toward the depths, and the other the electrotonic spread of EPSPs along dendrites.

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