The movements made by the fetus in the mother’s womb are a key step in the development of the nervous system.
- The brain learns to use a network of neurons located in the spinal cord to generate so-called ‘intelligent’ behaviors.
- The development and learning of the nervous system results in an increased degree of cooperativity between interneurons when performing movements.
“How and why do strong and spontaneous muscle contractions occur in the fetus?”. This is the question posed by researchers at Lund University in Sweden. To answer this, they conducted work published in the journal Journal of Neurophysiology.
In this study, scientists investigated whether muscle-specific details may result from adaptation during early development, rather than being given genetically.
Learn to control your body
For research purposes, they developed a simplified model of the musculoskeletal system with realistic muscles and sensors. The authors connected it to a neural network made up of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. “We then generated a large set of random muscle contractions typical of those described during fetal development,” can we read in the study.
According to the team, the hundreds of motor neurons that control each muscle are synchronized in the fetus to create strong muscle contractions that also activate sensors in the muscles. Based on the results, the model developed by the team suggests that the complex circuits of the nervous system are not predetermined by genes but are rather reinforced by body movements. Clearly, the kicks given by babies in their mother’s womb serve to “plug in” their nervous system and allow them to learn to control their bodies.
A way to study developmental disorders
Now researchers are studying how the brain learns to connect to the spinal cord, which they believe is “another of the many steps necessary to build a complete nervous system capable of intelligent behavior”. They hope this will shed light on developmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, and recovery difficulties after spinal cord injury or stroke.