Contractile activity of the uterus prior to labor alters the temporal organization of spontaneous motor activity in the fetal sheep

Developmental Psychobiology
S S RobertsonP W Nathanielsz

Abstract

Contractile activity of the uterus before the onset of labor (uterine contractures) has been described in a number of species and provides a powerful source of repeated stimulation for the fetus throughout much of gestation. To understand how fetal behavior responds to this dynamic aspect of the intrauterine environment, we investigated the effects of uterine contractures on the temporal organization of spontaneous motor activity in the fetal sheep during the last fifth of gestation. Eleven fetuses were instrumented on 113-116 days of gestation (dGA). Electromyogram (EMG) activity was recorded from flexor and extensor muscles in the fetal forelimbs and hindlimbs, and from the uterus. Pooled limb EMG activity from 2300 hr to 0700 hr on 118, 125, 132, and 139 dGA before, during, and after uterine contractures was spectral analyzed to detect and quantify the cyclic organization in fetal motor activity. There was strong evidence of cyclic organization in fetal motor activity (CM) at each gestational age, similar to what has been described in the fetal rat and human. There was no evidence of developmental changes in the baseline spectral measures of CM. The most prominent feature of the response of CM to uterine contractures was a t...Continue Reading

References

Aug 1, 1979·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·C A JansenP W Nathanielsz
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Dec 1, 1963·The Quarterly Review of Biology·V HAMBURGER

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Citations

Aug 18, 2001·Behavioral Neuroscience·S S RobertsonN L Huntington
Dec 10, 2002·Developmental Psychobiology·Steven S Robertson, LeRoy J Dierker
Oct 5, 2010·Developmental Psychobiology·K A E KarlssonM S Blumberg
Jan 16, 2009·Developmental Science·Marco Del GiudiceChristian Keysers
Oct 23, 1998·The Journal of Physiology·N Shinozuka, P W Nathanielsz
Jun 24, 2020·FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·Sonnet S JonkerSamantha Louey

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