Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “sensorimotor behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Dopaminergic modulation of visual responses in toads. I. Apomorphine-induced effects on visually directed appetitive and consummatory prey-catching behavior.

This study confirms for a phylogenetically basal terrestrial vertebrate that dopaminergic modulations interfere with the visually directed appetitive and consummatory feeding behaviors orienting and snapping, respectively. (1) In common toads Bufo bufo, intralymphatic administration of the dopamine D2/D1-receptor agonist apomorphine led to a dose-dependent facilitation of prey-snapping in response to moving objects. The snapping activity reached a maximum 15-35 min after apomorphine injection. (2) To changes in configurational stimulus features, the basic pattern of discrimination was maintained; however, the acuity of discrimination was reduced due to the high snapping response level. (3) The apomorphine-induced facilitation of snapping was accompanied by a suppression of prey-oriented lunging and turning. Toads snapped only if prey occurred frontally in the visual field at a relatively short distance. The snapping behavior was fixed in its form and stereotyped regarding its immediate release. (4) About 90 min after apomorphine administration, prey-oriented turning behavior was restored and displayed a facilitatory rebound. (5) In comparative experiments with the species B. marinus, both prey-oriented turning and snapping responses were suppressed by apomorphine in a dose-dependent manner. (6) After pre-treatment with the dopamine antagonist haloperidol, apomorphine showed no measurable effect on the visual release of prey orienting or snapping. (7) The results contribute to the sensorimotor and the motivation hypothesis of dopamine function proposed for higher vertebrates and stimulate a comparative discussion of anatomic homologies and functional analogies.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Behavioural recovery following transplantation of substantia nigra in rats subjected to 6-OHDA lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway. II. Bilateral lesions.

Rats with a unilateral transplant of embryonic substantia nigra, placed in a cortical cavity overlying the caudate-putamen, were compared with control animals on a range of behavioral tests following bilateral 6-OHDA lesions of the ascending dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway. Tests designed to reveal behavioural asymmetry--such as spontaneous, tail-pinch and amphetamine-induced rotation, sensorimotor orientation, and side preference in a T-maze--revealed that the rats with bilateral 6-OHDA lesions and a unilateral transplant are similar to unilaterally lesioned animals with one intact nigrostriatal pathway. Both transplanted and bilaterally lesioned control rats became spontaneously akinetic after the second 6-OHDA lesion. This akinesia could be reversed by a low dose of amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) in the transplanted but not in the non-transplanted control rats. The attenuated effects of apomorphine and L-DOPA on activity and rotation suggest that the nigral transplant produced a partial reversal of receptor supersensitivity following the 6-OHDA lesion on the same side as the transplant. However, other effects of the bilateral 6-OHDA lesion, including the development of aphagia, adipsia and akinesia, were not reversed by the presence of the transplant. The transplants were shown by fluorescence histochemistry to have densely reinnervated the dorsal parts of the denervated caudateputamen on the side ipsilateral to the transplant. The results show that intracortical nigral grafts reinnervating parts of the dorsal caudate-putamen can reverse some, but not all, functional impairments associated with bilateral destruction of the nigrostriatal pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

One-trial associative odor learning in neonatal mice.

Behavior genetics studies in mice demand efficient training protocols for rapid phenotypic screening. However, the capacity of neonatal mice to form and retain associative memories has been difficult to study due to their limited sensorimotor capacities. The present study describes a method for robust, naturalistic associative learning in neonatal mice as young as 3 days old. After removal of the dam from the home cage for 2 h, preweanling CD-1 mice of ages 3, 5, and 10 days postnatal were conditioned to associate an arbitrary odorant with the suckling and milk delivery that ensued upon her return to the home cage. After a second maternal deprivation, neonates were tested on their acquired preference for that odorant. Neonates exhibited a learned preference for the conditioned odorant over a novel control odorant. No learning was observed without deprivation, that is, when the dam was removed only briefly for scenting. One-trial learning sufficed to show clear preferences for the conditioned odorant, although repeated training (three sessions over 8 days) significantly increased the expression of preference. The development of neonatal associative learning protocols requiring minimal human intervention is important for the behavioral phenotyping of mutant and transgenic strains, particularly those modeling developmental disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Dynamics of multifrequency coordination using parametric driving: theory and experiment.

The coupling of movement behavior and environmental signals has been extensively studied within the domain of rhythmic coordination tasks. However, in contrast to most traditional coordination studies, here we drive the coupled sensorimotor system far beyond the frequency regime in which these signals may be synchronized. Our goal is to identify the properties of the coupling between the human subject and the environment. Earlier studies have shown that the environmental signal may be parametrically coupled to the effectors. A necessary feature of parametrically driven oscillators is the existence of stable 1:1 and 1:2 coordination modes. Here, we test this prediction experimentally using a coordination paradigm in which subjects were asked to coincide peak finger flexion with an auditory metronome beat. The rate of the metronome was increased in steps of 0.5 Hz from 2.5 Hz to 12 Hz. It was observed that the subjects shifted involuntarily from a 1:1 to a 1:2 coordination mode at high driving frequencies, as predicted. These results are examined in the context of an extended form of the Haken-Kelso-Bunz (Haken et al. 1985) model (HKB) for bimanual coordination, which includes a parametric driving term (Jirsa et al. 2000). Unimanual coordination is treated as a special case of this extended model. An important feature of the HKB model is bistability and the presence of a phase transition from an anti-phase mode to in-phase mode of coordination. Our description of unimanual coordination leads to a mechanism for phase transitions that is distinct from that seen in the HKB model. The transition is mediated by the dynamics of both the amplitude and the phase of the oscillator. More generally, we propose the existence of two types of transitions in our extended theory, that is, phase-mediated and amplitude-mediated transitions. Both have characteristic features; in particular, their transients are mutually orthogonal in the plane spanned by the amplitude and phase of the oscillator. The analytical and numerical results of our theoretical model are demonstrated to compare favorably with our experimental results.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Possible interaction between the inferior colliculus and the substantia nigra in audiogenic seizures in Wistar rats.

Male Wistar rats were tested for sensitivity to audiogenic seizures (AS; 110 dB), using an audiogenic severity index (SI). Sensitive (S) animals were subjected to bilateral lesion of the inferior colliculus (IC) and/or the lateral lemniscus (LL). Resistant (R) animals were subjected to bilateral lesions of the IC, unilateral sequential lesions of the substantia nigra reticulata (SN) and/or IC (contralateral to one another), and unilateral thalamic and sham lesions. Bilateral lesions of the IC and LL abolish AS in S rats. Lesion of the SN resulted in more pronounced sensitivity to AS than unilateral lesion of IC, in R rats. When the SN lesion was contralateral to a previous IC lesion, the effect was not only an increase in the SI, but also a reversal of the asymmetry generated by IC lesion. Although the behavioral effects resulting from IC lesions are due to alterations in the primary structures involved in the origin of AS, unilateral SN lesions can alter critical substrates of sensorimotor integration involved in the control and expression of AS.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1986

Behavioral effects of centrally administered dynorphin and [D-ala2-D-leu] enkephalin (DADLE) in rats.

Dynorphin and [D-ala2-D-leu]enkephalin (DADLE) were administered directly into the cerebrolateral ventricles of rats and effects on various indices of sensorimotor function and retention of a passive avoidance task were measured. Dynorphin markedly suppressed exploratory motor activity and decreased responsiveness to an acoustic stimulus. Although increases in latency to respond to a noxious thermal stimulus were seen in rats after dynorphin, these changes were always associated with alterations in motor capacity. Injection of dynorphin immediately after a passive avoidance training trial had no significant effect on retention 1 week later. The physiological effects of DADLE were clearly different than those of dynorphin. DADLE produced a biphasic decrease followed by an increase in motor activity and an increased acoustic startle reactivity. DADLE had no effect on reactivity to a noxious thermal stimulus. Posttrial administration of DADLE significantly impaired retention of a step-through passive avoidance task 1 week after training. These data indicate different neurobiological roles for kappa and delta opiate receptors in the central nervous system.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1998

Neurofeedback treatment of pseudoseizure disorder.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that the suppression of theta wave activity and the enhancement of sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) through electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback is an effective treatment for epilepsy. The current research reports the results of EEG biofeedback treatment for patients presenting with seizure behaviors in the absence of eliptiform EEG activity. METHODS: In addition to psychotherapy, 3 patients, 2 women and 1 man, were trained, using EEG feedback once per week, to reduce the ratio of theta band to SMR band EEG amplitudes. RESULTS: The results showed that reductions in seizure activity were related to reductions in the theta-SMR ratio. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the view that theta-SMR feedback training, in conjunction with psychotherapy, is an effective adjunctive treatment for pseudoseizure disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Effects of modulation of nitric oxide on acoustic startle responding and prepulse inhibition in rats.

The nitric oxide-arginine pathway is intimately connected to the release of dopamine and glutamate, two neurotransmitter systems that may be dysfunctional in schizophrenia. In addition, nitric oxide synthase inhibitors share several behavioral effects with the psychotomimetic drug, phencyclidine. Previous research has found that phencyclidine-like drugs disrupt prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response, an animal model of sensorimotor gating, an attentional process that is disrupted in certain neuropsychiatric disorders in humans (e.g., acute schizophrenia). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of nitric oxide modulators in this model. Following injection with a nitric oxide modulator or phencyclidine, rats were placed in startle chambers in which they were exposed to acoustic pulses presented alone or preceded by a prepulse. As in previous reports, phencyclidine disrupted prepulse inhibition at doses that did not affect startle during pulse alone trials. In contrast, the nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG) and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), dose-dependently decreased startle during pulse alone trials, but neither drug affected prepulse inhibition. A nitric oxide precursor, L-arginine, produced similar results. Sodium nitroprusside (a nitric oxide releaser) and 7-nitroindazole (a third nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) did not affect startle amplitudes during pulse alone or prepulse + pulse trials. The present results suggest that modulation of nitric oxide synthesis or availability does not disrupt sensorimotor gating of the acoustic startle response and is probably not involved in mediation of this type of attentional deficit in humans.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2004

Disorders of the cerebellum: ataxia, dysmetria of thought, and the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome.

Many diseases involve the cerebellum and produce ataxia, which is characterized by incoordination of balance, gait, extremity and eye movements, and dysarthria. Cerebellar lesions do not always manifest with ataxic motor syndromes, however. The cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS) includes impairments in executive, visual-spatial, and linguistic abilities, with affective disturbance ranging from emotional blunting and depression, to disinhibition and psychotic features. The cognitive and psychiatric components of the CCAS, together with the ataxic motor disability of cerebellar disorders, are conceptualized within the dysmetria of thought hypothesis. This concept holds that a universal cerebellar transform facilitates automatic modulation of behavior around a homeostatic baseline, and the behavior being modulated is determined by the specificity of anatomic subcircuits, or loops, within the cerebrocerebellar system. Damage to the cerebellar component of the distributed neural circuit subserving sensorimotor, cognitive, and emotional processing disrupts the universal cerebellar transform, leading to the universal cerebellar impairment affecting the lesioned domain. The universal cerebellar impairment manifests as ataxia when the sensorimotor cerebellum is involved and as the CCAS when pathology is in the lateral hemisphere of the posterior cerebellum (involved in cognitive processing) or in the vermis (limbic cerebellum). Cognitive and emotional disorders may accompany cerebellar diseases or be their principal clinical presentation, and this has significance for the diagnosis and management of patients with cerebellar dysfunction.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed2006

Widespread capacity for steroid synthesis in the avian brain and song system.

Steroids exert powerful effects on the brains and behavior of many species, but measures and manipulations of endocrine physiology in songbirds often reveal unexplained connections between steroids and the brain. The zebra finch song system, a sensorimotor neural circuit sensitive to steroids throughout life, organizes and functions largely in apparent independence from gonadally derived steroids. We tested the hypothesis that the zebra finch brain has the capacity for de novo steroidogenesis and that neurally synthesized steroids, neurosteroids, may impact the song system. Using multiple techniques, we demonstrate that the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (CYP11A1), and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta5-Delta4 isomerase, the first three factors in the steroidogenic pathway, are expressed in both developing and adult zebra finch brain. Detailed expression mapping at posthatch d 20 (P20) and adult reveals widespread area-specific expression and coexpression patterns for steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, CYP11A1, and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta5-Delta4 isomerase, which suggest neurosteroids may modulate multiple brain functions, including sensory and motor systems. Notably, whereas expression of other steroidogenic genes such as aromatase has been essentially absent from the song system, each of the major song nuclei express at least a subset of steroidogenic genes described here, establishing the song system as a potential steroidogenic circuit.

3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed2006

Prenatal exposure to a cannabinoid receptor agonist does not affect sensorimotor gating in rats.

Clinical evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to cannabis may be conducive to long-term neurobehavioral impairments in executive and attentional domains. Such sensorimotor alterations might be related to disorders in gating functions. Hence, the present study was undertaken to assess the effects of long-term prenatal exposure to WIN 55,212-2, a potent cannabinoid receptor agonist, on prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex, a well-validated paradigm to test sensorimotor gating. In utero exposure to WIN 55,212-2 (0.5, 1 mg/kg, from day 5 to 20 of gestation) failed to alter startle magnitude in rats in comparison with controls. Similarly, prepulse inhibition of the startle was not significantly affected by such treatment, regardless of the age when behavioral testing was carried out (40, 60 or 80 days). Interestingly, prenatal treatment with WIN 55,212-2 (0.5 mg/kg, from day 5 to 20 of gestation) induced no differences in the prepulse inhibition-disrupting effects of apomorphine (0.125, 0.25 mg/kg, s.c.) and dizocilpine (0.05, 0.1 mg/kg, s.c.), suggesting that a prenatal exposure to a cannabinoid receptor agonist is likely unable to affect sensitivity of sensorimotor gating substrates to dopaminergic agonists and NMDA receptor antagonists. Our results show that prenatal exposure to cannabis does not affect reflex reactivity to environmental stimuli, ruling out that the observed impairments in executive functions are to refer to sensorimotor gating alterations.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2006

Quantification of locomotor recovery following spinal cord contusion in adult rats.

Injury to the spinal cord not only disrupts the functioning of spinal circuits at the site of the impact, but also limits sensorimotor function caudal to the level of the lesion. Ratings of gross locomotor skill are generally used to quantify locomotor recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of this study was to assess behavioral recovery following SCI with three tasks: (1) BBB ratings, (2) walking on a horizontal ladder, and (3) footprint analyses. Behavioral testing was conducted for 6 postoperative weeks, and then the spinal cords were processed for the amount of white matter spared. As expected, BBB ratings dramatically decreased and then improved during recovery. The number of hindlimb foot-faults on the horizontal ladder increased after injury and remained elevated during the recovery period. Footprint analyses revealed that sham-control rats used several different gaits to cross the runway. In contrast, the locomotor function of rats with a SCI was impaired throughout the postoperative period. Some locomotor parameters of the injured rats improved slightly (velocity, stride length, stride duration, stance duration), some did not change (interlimb coordination, swing duration, forelimb base of support, hindpaw angle), and others declined (hindlimb base of support) during the recovery period. Together, these results show that gross locomotor skill improved after SCI, while recovery of fine locomotor function was more limited. Multiple tests should be included in future experiments in order to assess gross and fine changes in sensorimotor function following SCI.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The neurobiology of visual-saccadic decision making.

Over the past two decades significant progress has been made toward understanding the neural basis of primate decision making, the biological process that combines sensory data with stored information to select and execute behavioral responses. The most striking progress in this area has been made in studies of visual-saccadic decision making, a system that is becoming a model for understanding decision making in general. In this system, theoretical models of efficient decision making developed in the social sciences are beginning to be used to describe the computations the brain must perform when it connects sensation and action. Guided in part by these economic models, neurophysiologists have been able to describe neuronal activity recorded from the brains of awake-behaving primates during actual decision making. These recent studies have examined the neural basis of decisions, ranging from those made in predictable sensorimotor tasks to those unpredictable decisions made when animals are engaged in strategic conflict. All of these experiments seem to describe a surprisingly well-integrated set of physiological mechanisms that can account for a broad range of behavioral phenomena. This review presents many of these recent studies within the emerging neuroeconomic framework for understanding primate decision making.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Neurodevelopmental status of infants and young children treated for brain tumors with preirradiation chemotherapy.

In an effort to reduce the severity of late neurotoxicities associated with cranial irradiation, 14 infants and young children with malignant brain tumors were given preirradiation chemotherapy for 2 to 22 months (median, 8 months). Prospective neurodevelopmental evaluations were routinely conducted and now extend from 35 to 60 months (median, 41 months) postdiagnosis, and 10 to 52 months (median, 31 months) postirradiation in the 12 surviving children. At the initiation of chemotherapy, less than one fourth of the patients displayed normal performance status or mental functioning on age-corrected tests; the majority remained stable or declined while receiving chemotherapy. Declining mental development and adaptive behavior were noted in six patients following radiation therapy with only two patients now functioning in the normal range for age. The analysis suggests that neurodevelopmental progress is a function of multiple factors, including neurologic and sensorimotor deficits associated with the tumor, surgical intervention, and chemotherapy that antedated radiation therapy. This implies that delaying irradiation will not necessarily improve the patients' functional status. Whether the interval of postponement of irradiation evidenced in this sample will translate into an ultimately better quality of life remains unknown. Given the probable interaction of multiple risk factors, well-controlled prospective clinical trials are needed to definitively analyze this issue.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed2005

Single-dose ketamine administration induces apoptosis in neonatal mouse brain.

UNLABELLED: The activity of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is critical for neuronal survival in the immature brain. Studies have reported that chronic blockage of these receptors mediates apoptosis in neonatal animals. We investigated the apoptotic effect of a clinically relevant single dose of ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, in the brain of neonatal mice. Seven-day-old ICR mice were injected with ketamine (1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg body weight, subcutaneously in 0.9% NaCl) or with 0.9% NaCl alone as control. Righting reflex testing was performed and mouse brains were examined at 24, 48, and 72 h and 7 days after injection. The number of degenerating neurons was measured using silver staining. Apoptosis was confirmed by DNA fragmentation (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling). We observed in the sensorimotor cortex and cerebellum of ketamine-treated mice extensive apoptosis, which was clearly dose-dependent and present even after a low dose of ketamine (5 mg/kg). The most prominent apoptotic damage was detected 72 h post-injection (P < 0.001 vs control), at doses ranging from 10 to 40 mg/kg. After 7 d the number of neurodegenerative neurons, at doses ranging from 5 to 40 mg/kg, remained significantly high. The brain weight was comparable to that of untreated control mice and no gross neurobehavioral effects in the righting reflex test or alteration in the pattern of behavior was observed. The results indicate that the administration of ketamine in a clinically relevant single dose triggers long-lasting neuronal apoptosis in certain brain areas of neonatal mice. IMPLICATIONS: The administration of ketamine in a clinically relevant single dose to 7-d-old mice induced apoptosis in the sensorimotor cortex and cerebellum. This effect was dose-dependent and long lasting.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of sensorimotor restriction and anoxia on gait and motor cortex organization: implications for a rodent model of cerebral palsy.

Chronic or acute perinatal asphyxia (PA) has been correlated with the subsequent development of cerebral palsy (CP), a developmental neurological disorder characterized by spasticity and motor abnormalities often associated with cognitive deficits. Despite the prevalence of CP, an animal model that mimics the lifetime hypertonic motor deficits is still not available. In the present study, the consequences of PA on motor behavior, gait and organization of the primary motor cortex were examined in rats, and compared with the behavioral and neurological consequences of early postnatal movement-restriction with or without oxygen deprivation. Rats subjected to PA had mild increases in muscular tone accompanied by subtle differences in walking patterns, paralleled by significantly altered but relatively modest disorganization of their primary motor cortices. Movement-restricted rats, suffering PA or not, had reduced body growth rate, markedly increased muscular tone at rest and with active flexion and extension around movement-restricted joints that resulted in abnormal walking patterns and in a profoundly distorted representation of the hind limbs in the primary motor cortex. Within the sensorimotor-restricted groups, non-anoxic rats presented the most abnormal pattern and the greatest cortical representational degradation. This outcome further supports the argument that PA per se may represent a substrate for subtle altered motor behaviors, and that PA alone is sufficient to alter the organization of the primary motor cortex. At the same time, they also show that early experience-dependent movements play a crucial role in shaping normal behavioral motor abilities, and can make a powerful contribution to the genesis of aberrant movement abilities.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Central pattern generation and the motor infrastructure for suck, respiration, and speech.

UNLABELLED: The objective of the current report is to review experimental findings on centrally patterned movements and sensory and descending modulation of central pattern generators (CPGs) in a variety of animal and human models. Special emphasis is directed toward speech production muscle systems, including the chest wall and orofacial complex during patterned motor output. Experimental results indicate that CPGs subserving orofacial motor behavior can be modulated via descending and sensory inputs. This feature of control may also operate in the control of other centrally patterned motor behaviors including speech breathing, suck, mastication, and the recombination of CPG processes for the development and production of speech. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers will be able to: (1) define the salient characteristics of CPGs, (2) list five factors which influence the development and operation of a CPG over the lifespan, (3) define sensorimotor entrainment of CPGs, and (4) describe one new application for therapeutic training of the non-nutritive suck in premature infants.

Animals↗