title: Perinatal development of the motor systems involved in postural control.
abstract: Motor behaviors of some species, such as the rat and the human baby, are quite immature at birth. Here we review recent data on some of the mechanisms underlying the postnatal maturation of posture in the rat, in particular the development of pathways descending from the brain stem and projecting onto the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord. A short-lasting depletion in serotonin affects both posture and the excitability of motoneurons. Here we try to extrapolate to human development and suggest that the abnormalities in motor control observed in childhood--e.g. deficits in motor coordination--might have their roots in the prenatal period, in particular serotonin depletion due to exposure to several environmental and toxicological factors during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifiqu and Universite de la Méditerranée, Laboratoire Plasticité et Physio-Pathologie de la Motricité (UMR6196), CNRS, F-13402 Marseille, France. vinay@dpm.cnrs-mrs.fr
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vinay
authors.forename: Faïza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ben-Mabrouk
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brocard
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clarac
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jean-Xavier
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pearlstein
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pflieger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D051381:Rats; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin