RESUMO
While there are many studies in which body ownership can be transferred to a virtual body, there are few experimental studies of how subjects feel about their own bodies being deformed since a real body cannot be deformed. Here, we propose such an experimental setup, in which a twisted hand is diagonally viewed from behind, which is called a "monkey's hand." Although the subject cannot see the thumb hidden behind his or her arm, he or she feels that the monkey's hand has an ambiguous thumb that functionally never exists but structurally exists. This ambiguity is consistent with experimental results on proprioceptive drift, by which the deformation of the hand is measured. The ambiguity of the presence and absence of the thumb is finally analyzed with a specific algebraic structure called a lattice. This can help us understand disownership as being different from the absence of ownership.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE@#To explore the relationship between neuropeptides and mast cell in the initiation and development of allergic rhinitis.@*METHOD@#Thirty healthy rats were randomly divided into three groups. The rat model of allergic rhinitis was established by using ovalbumin intraperitoneal immunization and nasal antigen challenge. After treating with capsaicin for two weeks, the counts of mast cells and the density of SP distribution were observed routinely in the nasal mucosa obtained from each models by HE, toluidine blue and immunohistochemical staining.@*RESULT@#The counts of mast cells in AR were greatly more than them in normal controls (P 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Capsaicin can decrease the infiltration of mast cells, down regulate the SP expression, and improve the symptoms of AR greatly.