BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF MILK IN THE FETUS

新生的哺乳动物必须获得乳汁才能生存。 拉伸反应， 典型的运动行为的例子，通常发生在 哺乳乳头，最近已被确定在大鼠胎儿。 使用允许直接观察健康啮齿动物胎儿的技术 和对胎儿受试者的化学感觉流体的受控呈现， 现在可以应用实验方法来研究拉伸反应 以及哺乳动物胎儿发育过程中其他方面的行为 环境 因为胎儿缺乏对牛奶的特殊体验， 不需要牛奶来维持，对牛奶的反应可以是 在一系列产前年龄的幼稚受试者中进行研究。 此外，研究 避免了研究新生儿的一些复杂性， 这是必要的，必须从它的稳态关系， 母亲允许测量运动和感觉能力。 的 因此，产前时期为研究胎儿发育提供了一个独特的试验场。 控制和发展行为模式， 出生后很重要。 胎儿牵张反应的研究将作为 一种产前运动发育的动物模型， 产后行为 在本提案中，我们将：（a）研究感官 影响牵张反应表达的因素，（B） 表征组织拉伸反应的运动行为的变化， (c)操纵胎儿行为以促进早期发育表达 的拉伸反应，和（d）检查胎儿反应的相互作用 牛奶和其他基于感官的行为。 自组织的概念 将应用于研究胎儿对牛奶的行为反应， 理解发展变化过程的模型。

Newborn mammals must acquire milk to survive. The stretch response, an example of species-typical motor behavior that typically occurs during suckling at the nipple, recently has been identified in the rat fetus. Using techniques that permit direct observation of healthy rodent fetuses and controlled presentation of chemosensory fluids to fetal subjects, it is now possible to apply experimental methods to study the stretch response and other aspects of behavior of the developing mammalian fetus in its environment. Because the fetus lacks specific experience with milk and does not require milk for its sustenance, responsiveness to milk can be studied in naive subjects over a range of prenatal ages. Moreover, study of the fetus obviates some of the complexities of studying the newborn, which by necessity must be removed from its homeostatic relationship with the mother to permit measurement of motor and sensory abilities. The prenatal period thus provides a unique testing ground for investigating the control and development of behavioral patterns that become functionally important after birth. Study of the fetal stretch response will serve as an animal model of prenatal motor development with direct relevance for postnatal behavior. In this proposal, we will: (a) investigate sensory factors that influence the expression of the stretch response, (b) characterize changes in motor behavior that organize the stretch response, (c) manipulate fetal behavior to promote earlier developmental expression of the stretch response, and (d) examine the interaction of fetal responses to milk and other sensory-based behavior. The concept of self-organization will be applied to the study of fetal behavioral responses to milk as a model for understanding the process of developmental change.