We recorded EEG in adult volunteers in the course of perception of smells of plant essential oils under conditions of directed attention. It was found that perception of olfactory information, even in the case of mild intensity of the smells inducing no aversive effects, correlates with noticeable changes in the EEG characteristics mostly typical of the reaction of nonspecific EEG activation induced by sensory stimulation and manifested in a decrease in the spectral power, SP, of low-frequency EEG components (6-10 Hz)). In addition, the SP of relatively high-frequency EEG components (11-25 Hz) increased; this effect was most pronounced in the occipital regions of the neocortex. Perception of the smells of essential oils was also accompanied by increases in the coherence of EEG oscillations, most intense in the β2 range (20-25 Hz). Such modifications were maximum in the left temporal/parietal region; this is interpreted as an indication of the special role of these cortical areas in the processes of interaction between the neocortical part of the olfactory analyzer and the respective structures of other analyzer systems. It is hypothesized that such interaction is necessary for the formation of a semantic image of the analyzed stimuli.

We developed a translation model of alcoholic cardiomyopathy in rats. By the end of forced alcoholization (the rats received 10% ethanol solution as the only source of fluid for 24 weeks; mean daily ethanol consumption was 5.0-6.5 g/kg), the rats developed dilated heart failure. Echocardiography and morphometric study of the myocardium revealed a decrease in inotropic function of the heart and dilatation of the right and left ventricles. Fatty degeneration of the myocardium (pathognomonic sign of alcoholic cardiomyopathy) and decrease in electrical stability of cardiomyocytes reliably reproduce the clinical pattern of alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

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We studied modifications of EEG activity related to perception of visual stimuli (pictures) of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) in women during different phases of the ovulatory (menstrual) cycle. We found that the woman's brain is most intensely activated by both emotionally negative and positive visual stimuli during the follicular phase of the ovulatory cycle, while such activation is minimum during ovulation per se. Upon the action of neutral stimuli, cerebral activation was the most intense during the lutein phase (compared with that within other phases); manifestations of activation were concentrated in the right hemisphere. Cognitive and emotional components of perception of affective pictures were expressed to a greatest extent in the course of viewing positive stimuli during the follicular phase. Perception of emotionally pleasant stimuli during other phases was accompanied by lateralization of activation of sensory and analytical processes in the left hemisphere during the ovulatory phase and in the right hemisphere within the lutein phase. The viewing of emotionally negative pictures during the follicular phase led to a rise in the power of theta oscillations in the left frontal region and also to depression of the alpha activity in central/parietal parts of the left hemisphere, which can result from aggravation of anxiety and verbally shaped disturbing ideas upon the action of such stimuli. Presentation of erotically colored visual stimuli caused the most intense changes in the EEG, which depended on the phases of the ovulatory cycle, during post-stimulation time interval but not during the viewing of pictures itself.

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