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Spinal mediation of motor learning and memory in the rat fetus
Author(s) -
Robinson Scott R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21277
Subject(s) - spinal cord , fetus , yoke (aeronautics) , psychology , neuroscience , medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , motor skill , anatomy , pregnancy , biology , fly by wire , genetics , computer science , flight simulator , operating system
Fetal rats can alter patterns of interlimb coordination after experience with a yoke that links two legs together. Yoke training results in a pronounced increase in conjugate limb movements (CLM). To determine whether yoke motor learning is mediated by spinal cord circuitry, fetal subjects at embryonic Day 20 (E20) received yoke training after mid‐thoracic spinal cord transection or sham surgery. Both spinal and sham‐treated fetuses exhibited an increase in CLM during training. In a second experiment, fetuses received initial yoke training, then were transected or sham treated before a 2nd training. Spinal and sham fetuses that were yoked during both training sessions exhibited a more rapid rise in CLM than those yoked only in the later session. These findings indicate that motor learning in fetal rats can be supported by spinal cord circuitry alone, and that savings implies a form of motor memory localized in the spinal cord. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc . Dev Psychobiol 57: 421–434, 2015.