The influence of nutrition on neural and behavioral development: III. Development of some motor, particularly locomotor patterns during infancy

Abstract

Abstract The locomotor development of infant rats nursed by mothers that had free access to food during lactation or were fed during that period 40% or 20% of the ad lib diet were compared. The “spontaneous” emergence or disappearance of several locomotor patterns were sampled daily in an open field situation, and the development of others was studied by inducing them in test situations. The spontaneous motor patterns included general locomotor activity, pivoting, head lifting, and standing on the hindlegs. The induced activities were hanging and moving on a suspended horizontal string, clinging to and descending on vertical ropes, climbing up on a rod, and homing in various test situations. The motor performance of the severely undernourished animals (offspring of mothers on a 20% diet) was inferior to normals in all the observations. This was manifested most commonly in reduced frequency or speed in the performance of certain acts, and in some cases in the prolonged persistence of infantile motor patterns or a delay in the appearance of more advanced patterns.