Gradual development of the ventral funiculus input to lumbar motoneurons in the neonatal rat

The in vitro brainstem-spinal cord preparation of newborn rats (0 to six-days-old) was used to investigate the development of pathways descending ventrally from the brainstem, which are important for the control of posture and locomotion. The ventral funiculus of the spinal cord was stimulated at the cervical (C1) level. Responses were recorded at the lumbar level from either motoneurons or ventral roots using intracellular microelectrodes or suction electrodes, respectively. Responses consisted of a pure excitation lasting 15 ms, followed by mixed excitatory/inhibitory responses. The inhibition was, at least partly, mediated by glycine. Excitatory amino acid transmission appears to be responsible for the excitation. The characteristics of the ventral funiculus-evoked postsynaptic potentials and ventral root potentials changed significantly with age. Their latency decreased whereas the slope and the area, measured over the first 15 ms, increased. The increase of the ventral funiculus input to motoneurons was slightly more pronounced than that of the monosynaptic dorsal root-evoked potentials from day 0 to day 4. These data suggest a gradual arrival of ventral descending axons in the lumbar enlargement which may be responsible for the gradual acquisition of postural control that takes place during the first days after birth. This is a prerequisite for the development of the adult pattern of quadrupedal locomotion, with elevated trunk.