How the neonatal rat gets to the nipple: Common motor modules and their involvement in the expression of early motor behavior

Eilam, David; Smotherman, William P.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199801)32:1<57::aid-dev7>3.0.co;2-s

Cited by 56 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…For instance, fetal fats move in a uterine environment, in which the myometrial tissue has been shown to have elastic properties [10] and thus can provide contingent movement-related feedback. Additionally, P1 rats have been observed to show stepping movements along the dam’s ventrum as they crawl to gain access to a nipple [18]. Presumably the skin on the dam’s ventrum also is somewhat elastic and not a rigid, hard substance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory feedback modulates quipazine-induced stepping behavior in the newborn rat

Brumley

Roberto

Strain

2012

Behavioural Brain Research

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Research has shown that sensory feedback modulates locomotor behavior in intact as well as spinal adult animals. Here we examined if locomotor activity (“stepping”) in newborn rats is influenced by cutaneous and proprioceptive feedback. One-day-old rats were treated with the serotonergic receptor agonist quipazine (3.0 mg/kg) to induce air-stepping behavior or with saline (vehicle control). During stepping, a substrate/floor (elastic, stiff, or none) was placed beneath their limbs so that the feet could make plantar surface contact with a substrate. Pups treated with quipazine showed significantly more alternated fore- and hindlimb steps and plantar paw contact with the substrate, compared to pups treated with saline. Pups also made proportionately less contact with the stiff substrate versus the elastic substrate during stepping. Different types of movements made on the substrate (paw pushes, taps, swipes, and stances) were also characterized. These results indicate that sensory feedback modulates locomotor mechanisms and behavior in perinatal rats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory feedback modulates quipazine-induced stepping behavior in the newborn rat

Brumley

Roberto

Strain

2012

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…In order to facilitate and standardize the odor exposure procedure the individual subject was strapped and fastened into a ‘vest’ made from ultra-thin, elastic rubber (Petrov, Varlinskaya, & Spear, 2001). The vest was designed to hold the pup in a semi-supine posture, which simulates the natural position of neonatal rats suckling at the maternal nipple (Eilam & Smotherman, 1998). This gentle restraint also prevents a righting reflex but does not otherwise produce apparent discomfort or behavioral incompetence.…”

Section: General Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory learning in the rat immediately after birth: Unique salience of first odors

Miller

Spear

2009

Developmental Psychobiology

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An infant rat’s chance of survival is increased when it remains close to the nest. Early olfactory learning supports such adaptive behavior. Previous experiments indicated that non-associative odor exposure immediately after birth promoted later attachment to a similarly scented artificial nipple. The goal of the current experiments was to extend these findings on olfactory learning in the hours after birth by: exposing pups to more than one odor exposure (Exp. 1), dissecting the role of timing versus order of odor exposure (Exp. 2), testing the odor specificity of these effects (Exp. 3 and 4), and evaluating associative odor conditioning soon after birth (Exp. 5). Without explicit prior odor experience, pups only hours old do not respond much to a novel odor. Prior non-associative odor experience increases later motor activity to that same odor and to novel odors. Furthermore, these findings may be specific to certain amodal dimensions of the (in our case) lemon odor exposure. Single odor non-associative and associative conditioning was equally effective immediately after birth and during the third postnatal hour. Nevertheless, pups given two mere odor exposures responded to the first one more than the second at test, regardless of whether the exposures began immediately or two hours after birth. Possible mechanisms for these findings concerning early olfactory learning are discussed.

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“…The model we propose attempts to shed a light on this matter by proposing a specific integration of sensory modalities, e.g., depth perception, proprioceptive feedback, etc. Related work includes the analysis of reflexive feedback control loops (Steinkühler and Cruse 1998;de Vlugt et al 2001), motor modular organization (Bizzi et al 1998;Eilam and Smotherman 1998;Loeb et al 1999), the interactions between different motor components (e.g. between eye and head control signals, Edward and Freedman 2001), construction of movement (Tresch et al 1999;Sumbre et al 2001), action selection (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Schema-based learning of adaptable and flexible prey-catching in anurans I. The basic architecture

et al. 2005

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A motor action often involves the coordination of several motor synergies and requires flexible adjustment of the ongoing execution based on feedback signals. To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying the construction and selection of motor synergies, we study prey-capture in anurans. Experimental data demonstrate the intricate interaction between different motor synergies, including the interplay of their afferent feedback signals (Weerasuriya 1991; Anderson and Nishikawa 1996). Such data provide insights for the general issues concerning two-way information flow between sensory centers, motor circuits and periphery in motor coordination. We show how different afferent feedback signals about the status of the different components of the motor apparatus play a critical role in motor control as well as in learning. This paper, along with its companion paper, extend the model by Liaw et al. (1994) by integrating a number of different motor pattern generators, different types of afferent feedback, as well as the corresponding control structure within an adaptive framework we call Schema-Based Learning. We develop a model of the different MPGs involved in prey-catching as a vehicle to investigate the following questions: What are the characteristic features of the activity of a single muscle? How can these features be controlled by the premotor circuit? What are the strategies employed to generate and synchronize motor synergies? What is the role of afferent feedback in shaping the activity of a MPG? How can several MPGs share the same underlying circuitry and yet give rise to different motor patterns under different input conditions? In the companion paper we also extend the model by incorporating learning components that give rise to more flexible, adaptable and robust behaviors. To show these aspects we incorporate studies on experiments on lesions and the learning processes that allow the animal to recover its proper functioning.

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How the neonatal rat gets to the nipple: Common motor modules and their involvement in the expression of early motor behavior

Cited by 56 publications

References 25 publications

Sensory feedback modulates quipazine-induced stepping behavior in the newborn rat

Sensory feedback modulates quipazine-induced stepping behavior in the newborn rat

Olfactory learning in the rat immediately after birth: Unique salience of first odors

Schema-based learning of adaptable and flexible prey-catching in anurans I. The basic architecture

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