Purkinje Cell Impairment Induced by Early Movement Restriction

Abstract

In the present work the effects of movement restriction imposed during the early postweaning period on both Purkinje cell dendritic development and exploratory behavior were analyzed. Male and female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were reared either in isolated-restricted or social-standard environments from postnatal day 18 to 30. On the 31st postnatal day, all rats were behaviorally evaluated by the open-field test and then sacrificed under deep ether anesthesia. Vermian cerebellar sections were later stained with the Golgi-Cox-Sholl method and the Purkinje cell dendritic morphology was quantified under light microscopy. The results indicate that early somatomotor restriction severely impairs both exploratory behavior and Purkinje cell dendritic growth.

Non-nutritive suck parameters in preterm infants with RDS

“…Unfortunately, these procedures produce unexpected tactile stimulation and movement restriction of the lower face that may negatively affect the development of the sCPG (Comrie & Helm, 1997;Finan & Barlow, 1996). In animal models, the combination of sensory deprivation and motor restriction has been shown to disrupt development of key brain structures involved in sensorimotor control, including motor cortex and cerebellum (Pascual & Figueroa, 1996;Pascual et al, 1993;Pascual et al, 1998). This is consistent with the notion of a critical period during early postnatal life, when manipulations in trigeminal sensory systems may significantly alter the structure and function of the developing brain (Bosma, 1973).…”

“…Bosma (1973) suggested that "appropriate oral experiences may be critical in the final weeks of gestation, and that their interruption may impair fragile syntheses of central neural representations of these functions." The importance of experience in brain development and plasticity is highlighted by the resultant physiological and cortical structural changes that modify motor and sensory system circuitry (Pascual et al, 1993;Pascual et al, 1998). Infants with perinatal distress and neurologic impairment compared to normal full-term infants manifest a significantly slower mean rate of NNS and a greater intra-individual variability of rate (Dreier & Wolff, 1972).…”

Synthetic orocutaneous stimulation entrains preterm infants with feeding difficulties to suck

“…Neuronal circuits are shaped by experience during critical periods of early postnatal life and may remain in a waiting state until appropriate sensory 9 This notion is supported by animal studies in which deprivation of somatosensory experiences and motor restriction during the early postnatal period has been shown to negatively influence dendritic length and density of pyramidal neurons in the sensorimotor cortex of the cerebrum and Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, and degrade fine motor control. 26,27 Conversely, sensorimotor enhancement during the early postnatal period produces elaboration of pyramidal neuron dendritic length and arborization in motor cortex and enhanced behavioral motor responses. 28 Critical periods are described as windows in development in which systems or processes are particularly vulnerable.…”

Role of an enriched environment on the restoration of behavioral deficits in Lurcher mutant mice

“…At this time the mother was taken away, and within the litter, males and females were separated and reared apart in similar cages until the adult period. We chose to place the animals in the enriched cages from birth because it has been demonstrated that preweaning environmental conditions influence both behavior (Labarba, Fernandez, White, & Stewart, 1974;Labarba & Stewart, 1976;Pascual, Hervias, & Figueroa, 1996) and development of the central nervous system (Fulker & Rick, 1973;Pascual, Hervias, Toha, Valero, & Figueroa, 1998;Sanchez, Aguado, Sanchez-Toscano, & Saphier, 1995;Venable, Fernandez, Diaz, & Pinto-Hamuy, 1989) and, interestingly, that in rats, preweaning was more efficient than postweaning enrichment in their learning capabilities (Venable et al, 1988).…”