Premium
Responses to ecologically relevant stimuli in the rat fetus: Interactive effects of milk and an artificial nipple
Author(s) -
Smotherman William P.,
Arnold H. Moore,
Robinson Scott R.
Publication year - 1993
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.420260606
Subject(s) - psychology , stimulation , presentation (obstetrics) , fetus , tactile stimuli , audiology , neuroscience , developmental psychology , medicine , sensory system , pregnancy , biology , surgery , genetics
Stimuli normally encountered during suckling after birth—the nipple and milk—elicit behavioral responses from fat fetuses on E20. A series of experiments demonstrated that milk, unlike other chemosensory stimuli, consistently evoked mouthing activity during the 15 s after presentation. Unlike other perioral tactile stimuli, an artificial nipple evoked mouthing activity and an active oral grasping response during presentation. Prior exposure to milk altered fetal responsiveness to some forms of perioral tactile stimulation, but did not affect grasping of the nipple. In contrast, prior exposure to an artificial nipple increased mouthing activity in response to milk. The nipple and milk exhibit a temporally asymmetric relationship in fetal rats, which lack experience with suckling stimuli. These findings suggest that responsiveness to ecologically relevant stimuli and their temporal presentation develops before birth, and may facilitate functional behavioral responses of the newborn during the first suckling episode. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.