Vol 21, No 1 (2014)

A comparative study of lipid metabolism in 152 men representing two populations of indigenous residents of the Russian North - Komi and Yakut - with normal and overweight or obesity has been carried out. There were detected differences in their lipid profiles. The men from the Yakut ethnic group with the body mass index (BMI) 18.4 < BMI < 25 kg/m 2 had higher concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p < 0.001), what indicated a more atherogenic background in comparison with the Komi group. The study of lipid metabolism in subjects of different ethnic groups with BMI > 25 kg/m 2 showed a similar picture. Higher percentage of palmitoleic acid in the total pool of lipids was observed in the Yakut men compared to that in the Komi volunteers, and the level of the palmitoleic acid correlated with BMI in the men of both ethnic groups (p <0.05). The obtained data showed a correlation of the main blood lipids and fatty acids with BMI, the pattern and extent of changes in the lipid profiles were stipulated by the ethnicity.

Throughout their life, human beings are under constant influence of a whole range of environmental factors. If we analyze the similarity between human beings and animals (the same material composition; recurrence of stages of evolution in development of human embryos, preservation of human rudimentary organs), it can be concluded that appearance of human beings was a logical result of the biosphere development. But at the same time, there are fundamental differences between human beings and animals: conception thinking, speech, labor, which caused separation of human beings from nature, because they were formed due to human socialization. Only in conditions of social development (typical only for humans), there has been formed collective memory that was used for solving human practical problems and transformed the biosphere actively. Biological and social parts act as genetically and functionally related levels of human integral organization. Modern biologists and anthropologists believe that the biological evolution of human beings as a species has stopped since the emergence of Homo sapiens. Therefore the question arises about future directions of development of human beings as a biological species.

The article has presented a review of scientific studies of evoked electrical activity of the brain related to voluntary movements. There have been discussed the main cortical and subcortical sources of the brain potentials associated with movement, their functional value, component representation, age characteristics, features in diseases of the nervous system.