Biomaterial Database

Development and maturation of postural reflexes in normal kittens. 1984

J A Sechzer, and S E Folstein, and E H Geiger, and R F Mervis, and S M Meehan

In order to evaluate neurologic development, postural reflexes were tested in normal kittens from birth through 7 weeks of age until stable adult patterns of performance were attained. These reflex tests included: body and air righting, visual placing, chin placing, tactile placing, hopping, and locomotion. A protocol for scoring responses was designed for each individual reflex to differentiate their progression. The first reflexes to mature were visual placing, chin placing, and body righting which attained a maximal score during the 3rd week of life. This was followed by maturation of the forelimb hopping reflex and independent locomotion during the 4th week. Forelimb tactile placing responses, hind limb hopping reflexes, and air righting developed by the 5th week. Hind limb tactile placing responses were the last to mature. They became fully expressed in the 6th week. The pattern of ontogeny of these reflexes proceeded in a cephalocaudal direction. This is in agreement with earlier observations of others who correlated the maturation of reflex responses in kittens with myelination in the central nervous system.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008124	Locomotion	Movement or the ability to move from one place or another. It can refer to humans, vertebrate or invertebrate animals, and microorganisms.	Locomotor Activity,Activities, Locomotor,Activity, Locomotor,Locomotor Activities
D011187	Posture	The position or physical attitude of the body.	Postures
D011434	Proprioception	Sensory functions that transduce stimuli received by proprioceptive receptors in joints, tendons, muscles, and the INNER EAR into neural impulses to be transmitted to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. Proprioception provides sense of stationary positions and movements of one's body parts, and is important in maintaining KINESTHESIA and POSTURAL BALANCE.	Labyrinthine Sense,Position Sense,Posture Sense,Sense of Equilibrium,Vestibular Sense,Sense of Position,Equilibrium Sense,Sense, Labyrinthine,Sense, Position,Sense, Posture,Sense, Vestibular
D012018	Reflex	An involuntary movement or exercise of function in a part, excited in response to a stimulus applied to the periphery and transmitted to the brain or spinal cord.
D002415	Cats	The domestic cat, Felis catus, of the carnivore family FELIDAE, comprising over 30 different breeds. The domestic cat is descended primarily from the wild cat of Africa and extreme southwestern Asia. Though probably present in towns in Palestine as long ago as 7000 years, actual domestication occurred in Egypt about 4000 years ago. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed, p801)	Felis catus,Felis domesticus,Domestic Cats,Felis domestica,Felis sylvestris catus,Cat,Cat, Domestic,Cats, Domestic,Domestic Cat
D003867	Depth Perception	Perception of three-dimensionality.	Stereopsis,Stereoscopic Vision,Depth Perceptions,Perception, Depth,Perceptions, Depth,Stereopses,Stereoscopic Visions,Vision, Stereoscopic,Visions, Stereoscopic
D000375	Aging	The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.	Senescence,Aging, Biological,Biological Aging
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014110	Touch	Sensation of making physical contact with objects, animate or inanimate. Tactile stimuli are detected by MECHANORECEPTORS in the skin and mucous membranes.	Tactile Sense,Sense of Touch,Taction,Sense, Tactile,Senses, Tactile,Tactile Senses,Tactions,Touch Sense,Touch Senses