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Limb Movements During Embryonic Development in the Chick: Evidence for a Continuum in Limb Motor Control Antecedent to Locomotion

Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Submitted 1 August 2005; accepted in final form 7 September 2005

New imaging technologies are revealing ever-greater details of motor behavior in fetuses for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Understanding the form, mechanisms, and significance of fetal behavior will maximize imaging applications. The chick is readily available for experimentation throughout embryogenesis, making it an excellent model for this purpose. Yet in 40 yr since Hamburger and colleagues described chick embryonic behavior, we have not determined if motility belongs to a developmental continuum fundamental to posthatching behavior. This study examined kinematics and synchronized electromyography (EMG) during spontaneous limb movements in chicks at four time points between embryonic days (E) 9–18. We report that coordinated kinematic and/or EMG patterns were expressed at each time point. Variability observed in knee and ankle excursions at E15–E18 sorted into distinct in-phase and out-of-phase patterns. EMG patterns did not directly account for out-of-phase patterns, indicating study of movement biomechanics will be critical to fully understand motor control in the embryo. We also provide the first descriptions of 2- to 10-Hz limb movements emerging E15–E18 and a shift from in-phase to out-of-phase interlimb coordination E9–E18. Our findings revealed that coordinated limb movements persist across development and suggest they belong to a developmental continuum for locomotion. Limb patterns were consistent with the half center model for a locomotor pattern generator. Achievement of these patterns by E9 may thus indicate the embryo has completed a critical phase beyond which developmental progression may be less vulnerable to experimental perturbations or prenatal events.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. S. Bradley, Y. U. Ryu, and J. Lin Fast Locomotor Burst Generation in Late Stage Embryonic Motility J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2008; 99(4): 1733 - 1742. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. L. Hammond, B. H. Simbi, and N. C. Stickland In ovo temperature manipulation influences embryonic motility and growth of limb tissues in the chick (Gallus gallus) J. Exp. Biol., August 1, 2007; 210(15): 2667 - 2675. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]