Role of gravity in the development of posture and locomotion in the neonatal rat

This report describes the early motor behaviour in the neonatal rat in relation with the maturation of sensory and motor elements of the central nervous system (CNS). The role of vestibular information during the week before (E14-21) and the 2 weeks after (P0-15) birth will be considered. There is a rostro-caudal gradient in the maturation of posture and locomotion with a control of the head and forelimbs during the first postnatal week and then a sudden acceleration in the functional maturation of the hindlimb. At birth, the neonatal rat is blinded and deaf; despite the immaturity of the other sensory systems, the animal uses its olfactory system to find the mother nipple. Vestibular development takes place between E8 and P15. Most descending pathways from the brainstem start to reach the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord a few days before birth (reticulo-, vestibulospinal pathways as well as the serotonergic and noradrenergic projections); their development is not completed until the end of the second postnatal week. At birth, in an in vitro preparation, a locomotor activity can be evoked by perfusing excitatory amino acids and serotonin over the lumbar region. The descending pathways which trigger the activity of the CPG are also partly functional. At the same age both air stepping and swimming can be induced. Complex locomotion such as walking, trotting and galloping start later because it requires the maturation of the vestibular system, descending pathways and postural reflex regulation. The period around birth is critical to properly define how the vestibular information is essential for the structuring of the motor behaviour. Different types of experiments (hypergravity, microgravity) are planned to test this hypothesis. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.