Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 45, Issue 1, 13 October 1972, Pages 127-134
Brain Research

Neural correlates of embryonic motility in the chick

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(72)90220-XGet rights and content

Summary

The neurogenic nature of spontaneous embryonic motility in the chick was established in embryos ranging in age from 4 to 21 days. This was done by demonstrating that polyneuronal burst discharges within the spinal cord were correlated with either simultaneously observed body movements or motor nerve discharges. The spinal cord burst discharge was found to be a good neural correlate of general body motility.

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Cited by (68)

  • A role for correlated spontaneous activity in the assembly of neural circuits

    2013, Neuron
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    This evoked, correlated activity alternates between left and right sides of the spinal cord and is thought to contribute to the development of locomotion, which shows similar alternating activity patterns. Correlated spontaneous depolarizations of motoneurons are thought to drive early spontaneous limb movements of developing embryos (Blumberg et al., 2013; Crisp et al., 2011, 2008), a phenomenon that was first observed several decades ago (Hamburger and Balaban, 1963; Ripley and Provine, 1972). In addition, SNA has been implicated in several aspects of spinal cord circuit development, including axon pathfinding, changes in connectivity, cellular excitability, maturation of synaptic strength, and possibly functional circuit refinement (reviewed in Wenner, 2012).

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    I discovered massive bursts of synchronized neuronal firing within the ventral part of the spinal cord that swept through the cord's rostro-caudal axis (Provine, 1971, 1972a). These remarkable and previously undescribed discharges were synchronized with embryonic movements and bursts of activity in peripheral motor nerves (Provine et al., 1973; Ripley and Provine, 1972). As inferred by previous behavioral work by Viktor and colleagues, these bursts of spinal electrical activity develop in embryos with chronic spinal transections performed at early developmental stages; they do not require brain input for either their development or maintenance (Provine and Rogers, 1977).

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Present address: Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. 63130, U.S.A.

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