SENSATION & BEHAVIOR IN FETUS & NEWBORN

幼年哺乳动物的行为生活始于子宫环境， 并突然转变（通过出生）到一个明显不同的 出生后的环境 我们提出了一个研究计划， 阐明大鼠在胎儿晚期和早期的感觉经验 出生后环境-围产期（E15-P5）-作为 行为组织的起源 建议的实验测试 感官发展的假设来自于 胎儿在子宫内的环境，并从相应的适应性 新生儿在产后新生儿小环境中遇到的挑战， 分娩后立即 从这个角度来看，我们建议 确定触觉、化学、前庭功能的开始， 热感 将通过心率测量感觉功能， 行为反应 基于对个体发育适应性的分析， 他们的发展生态位，我们假设和测试预测的模式， 敏感性的模态间发展，以及模态内成熟， 不同的身体区域。 新的研究行为的怀孕和 哺乳期大鼠将有助于确定刺激的种类和数量， 后代通常会暴露在辐射下。 这些实验应该建立一个 胎儿和新生儿心理生物学理论框架数据库 这将支持对早期行为结构的进一步研究， 学习 这项研究可以为我们的研究做出重大贡献。 对神经生物学发展的基本理解，以及应用问题 关于早产儿和高危人类婴儿的护理和管理。

The behavioral life of a young mammal begins within a uterine environment, and makes an abrupt transition (via birth) to a markedly different postnatal environment. We propose a program of research designed to elucidate sensory experience in the rat during late fetal and early postnatal environment - the perinatal period (El5-P5) - as a key to the origins of behavioral organization. The proposed experiments test hypotheses of sensory development derived from adaptive problems faced by the fetus in the uterine environment, and from corresponding adaptational challenges encountered by the newborn in the postnatal neonatal niche, immediately after parturition. From this perspective, we propose to determine onsets of function for the tactile, chemical, vestibular, and thermal senses. Sensory function will be measured by heartrate and behavioral responses. Based on analyses of ontogenetic adaptations to their developmental niches, we hypothesize and test predicted patterns of inter-modal development of sensitivity, and intra-modal maturation in different body regions. Novel studies of behavior of pregnant and lactating rats will help identify kinds and amounts of stimulation to which offspring are normally exposed. These experiments should establish a theoretically-framed database on the psychobiology of fetal and neonatal life that will support additional studies of early behavioral structure and learning. The proposed research can make significant contributions to our basic understanding of neurobiological development, and to applied issues concerning care and management of premature and at-risk human infants.