Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
Marsupials are born very immature yet must be sufficiently autonomous to crawl on the mother’s belly, find a teat and attach to it to pursue their development. Sensory inputs are necessary to guide the newborn to a teat and induce attachment. The vestibular system, which perceives gravity and head m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | IBRO Neuroscience Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242123000520 |
| _version_ | 1827577207193600000 |
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| author | Frédéric Lanthier Jessica Laforge Jean-François Pflieger |
| author_facet | Frédéric Lanthier Jessica Laforge Jean-François Pflieger |
| author_sort | Frédéric Lanthier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marsupials are born very immature yet must be sufficiently autonomous to crawl on the mother’s belly, find a teat and attach to it to pursue their development. Sensory inputs are necessary to guide the newborn to a teat and induce attachment. The vestibular system, which perceives gravity and head movements, is one of the senses proposed to guide newborns towards the teats but there are conflicting observations about its functionality at birth (postnatal day (P) 0). To test if the vestibular system of opossum newborns is functional and can influence locomotion, we used two approaches. First, we stimulated the vestibular apparatus in in vitro preparations from opossums aged from P1 to P12 and recorded motor responses: at all ages studied, mechanical pressures applied on the vestibular organs induced spinal roots activity whereas head tilts did not induce forelimb muscle contractions. Second, using immunofluorescence, we assessed the presence of Piezo2, a protein involved in mechanotransduction in vestibular hair cells. Piezo2 labeling was scant in the utricular macula at birth, but observed in all vestibular organs at P7, its intensity increasing up to P14; it seemed to stay the same at P21. Our results indicate that neural pathways from the labyrinth to the spinal cord are already in place around birth but that the vestibular organs are too immature to influence motor activity before the end of the second postnatal week in the opossum. It may be the rule in marsupial species that the vestibular system becomes functional only after birth. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:24:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd44b367884045b3a682c0de23ccb123 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-2421 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:24:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IBRO Neuroscience Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd44b367884045b3a682c0de23ccb1232023-12-21T07:38:22ZengElsevierIBRO Neuroscience Reports2667-24212023-12-01154249Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)Frédéric Lanthier0Jessica Laforge1Jean-François Pflieger2Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaUniversité de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaCorrespondence to: Département de Sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada.; Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaMarsupials are born very immature yet must be sufficiently autonomous to crawl on the mother’s belly, find a teat and attach to it to pursue their development. Sensory inputs are necessary to guide the newborn to a teat and induce attachment. The vestibular system, which perceives gravity and head movements, is one of the senses proposed to guide newborns towards the teats but there are conflicting observations about its functionality at birth (postnatal day (P) 0). To test if the vestibular system of opossum newborns is functional and can influence locomotion, we used two approaches. First, we stimulated the vestibular apparatus in in vitro preparations from opossums aged from P1 to P12 and recorded motor responses: at all ages studied, mechanical pressures applied on the vestibular organs induced spinal roots activity whereas head tilts did not induce forelimb muscle contractions. Second, using immunofluorescence, we assessed the presence of Piezo2, a protein involved in mechanotransduction in vestibular hair cells. Piezo2 labeling was scant in the utricular macula at birth, but observed in all vestibular organs at P7, its intensity increasing up to P14; it seemed to stay the same at P21. Our results indicate that neural pathways from the labyrinth to the spinal cord are already in place around birth but that the vestibular organs are too immature to influence motor activity before the end of the second postnatal week in the opossum. It may be the rule in marsupial species that the vestibular system becomes functional only after birth.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242123000520DevelopmentHair cellsMarsupialsPiezo2Sensorimotor behaviorsVestibular labyrinth |
| spellingShingle | Frédéric Lanthier Jessica Laforge Jean-François Pflieger Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) IBRO Neuroscience Reports Development Hair cells Marsupials Piezo2 Sensorimotor behaviors Vestibular labyrinth |
| title | Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) |
| title_full | Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) |
| title_fullStr | Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) |
| title_short | Influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) |
| title_sort | influence of the vestibular system on the neonatal motor behaviors in the gray short tailed opossum monodelphis domestica |
| topic | Development Hair cells Marsupials Piezo2 Sensorimotor behaviors Vestibular labyrinth |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242123000520 |
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