Identifying the effects of prenatal vestibular stimulation on the exploratory tendencies of Northern Bobwhite quails
Department
Psychology
Faculty Advisor
Robert Lickliter
Start Date
1-10-2020 2:00 PM
End Date
1-10-2020 3:00 PM
Abstract
The vestibular system is responsible for maintaining bodily balance, coordination and spatial awareness while working in conjunction with other bodily systems. As one of the first systems to develop, its development can affect the development of other body systems so it must be stimulated prenatally to ensure proper development; This stimulation is provided by both the daily movement of the mother and the baby. However, in pre-term babies, the amount of vestibular stimulation they receive is significantly reduced while they are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). To investigate whether prenatal vestibular stimulation influences postnatal locomotor behavior and exploratory tendencies, we analyzed the total area of movement of 122, 24hr old, northern bobwhite quails (Colinus virginianus) exposed to three different levels of prenatal vestibular stimulation. The data for this project was collected from video recording of birds used in a previous project by Dr. Starlie Belnap on the influence of maternally regulated prenatal sensory experience on postnatal motor coordination in neonatal bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). We hypothesize that the development of the vestibulo-motor system is directly related to the amount of prenatal vestibular stimulation received, and in turn will directly influence the exploratory tendencies of the fetus once born. This research will help to understand the role of vestibular stimulation in an individual's phenotypic variation, how decreased levels of stimulation affect a preterm infant's perceptual, cognitive and social processes, and help improve our understanding of the causes of neurodevelopmental deficiencies in children with developmental coordination disorder.
File Type
Event
Identifying the effects of prenatal vestibular stimulation on the exploratory tendencies of Northern Bobwhite quails
The vestibular system is responsible for maintaining bodily balance, coordination and spatial awareness while working in conjunction with other bodily systems. As one of the first systems to develop, its development can affect the development of other body systems so it must be stimulated prenatally to ensure proper development; This stimulation is provided by both the daily movement of the mother and the baby. However, in pre-term babies, the amount of vestibular stimulation they receive is significantly reduced while they are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). To investigate whether prenatal vestibular stimulation influences postnatal locomotor behavior and exploratory tendencies, we analyzed the total area of movement of 122, 24hr old, northern bobwhite quails (Colinus virginianus) exposed to three different levels of prenatal vestibular stimulation. The data for this project was collected from video recording of birds used in a previous project by Dr. Starlie Belnap on the influence of maternally regulated prenatal sensory experience on postnatal motor coordination in neonatal bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). We hypothesize that the development of the vestibulo-motor system is directly related to the amount of prenatal vestibular stimulation received, and in turn will directly influence the exploratory tendencies of the fetus once born. This research will help to understand the role of vestibular stimulation in an individual's phenotypic variation, how decreased levels of stimulation affect a preterm infant's perceptual, cognitive and social processes, and help improve our understanding of the causes of neurodevelopmental deficiencies in children with developmental coordination disorder.