Development of between‐limb movement synchronization in the chick embryo

Abstract

Spontaneous between-limb movement synchronization is described as the amount of concurrent limb movement observed in 7--19-day chick embryos. At early stages, a wing moved as often with the ipsilateral leg as with the contralateral wing. Later, between-girdle (ipsilateral wing-leg) synchronization progressively decreased and within-girdle (wing-wing) synchronization increased, especially after 15--17 days. Bilaterally synchronized movements of the wings as in flapping and of the legs as in walking appeared at embryonic stages. Both wing and leg motility increased between 7 and 13 days and declined until hatching. The wings and legs were equally active except at 17 and 18 days when the wings moved more frequently than the legs. The left and right wings were equally active. These behavioral events reflect developmental changes in the motor outflow of the central nervous system.

Limb Movements During Embryonic Development in the Chick: Evidence for a Continuum in Limb Motor Control Antecedent to Locomotion

“…Fourth, 2-to 10-Hz limb excursions emerged at E15-E18, and during the faster movements, mixed muscle synergies were produced resembling EMG patterns during the paw shake in cat. Fifth, wing and leg movements were intermittently coordinated E9 -E18, but an in-phase pattern at E9 and out-of-phase pattern at E18 were the most distinct, confirming and extending an earlier observational study of motility in ovo (Provine 1980).…”

Wing‐flapping develops in chickens made flightless by feather mutations

“…The increased frequency of bilaterally-synchronized (within-girdle) wing movements during development was correlated with a decrease in the between-girdle synchronization of movements of the homolateral wing and leg (Provine, 1980). Although behavioral observations indicate that between-limb synchronization emerges gradually during embryogenesis, electromyographic evidence indicates that within-limb coordination in the legs and, by inference, probably in the wings is present from very early stages (Bekoff, 1976).…”

Shifting patterns of bilateral coordination and lateral dominance in the leg movements of young infants

“…The present results suggest that these presumptive locomotor precursors show not only synergistic contractions of the muscles of a single limb, but alternating movement between the 2 limbs in a manner analogous to the bilateral coordination of mature walking. Similarly, interlimb coordination developed significantly ahead of function in the chick (Provine, 1980), mouse (Fentress, 1978), rat (Bekoff & Trainer, 1979), and cat (Brown, 1915). Bekoff (1976) reported that in the chick embryo, coordi- nated motor output could be detected in the antagonistic muscles of a single leg as early as 7 days, although bilateral coordination was not well-developed until 17 days, a few days before hatching (Provine, 1980).…”

“…Similarly, interlimb coordination developed significantly ahead of function in the chick (Provine, 1980), mouse (Fentress, 1978), rat (Bekoff & Trainer, 1979), and cat (Brown, 1915). Bekoff (1976) reported that in the chick embryo, coordi- nated motor output could be detected in the antagonistic muscles of a single leg as early as 7 days, although bilateral coordination was not well-developed until 17 days, a few days before hatching (Provine, 1980). Since both single-leg and alternating kicks are seen at birth in humans, observations of full-term infants cannot answer the question of whether intralimb coordination matures well before or concurrent to interlimb coordination.…”