Spontaneous motor activity in fetal and infant rats is organized into discrete multilimb bouts

Spontaneous motor activity (SMA) is a ubiquitous feature of fetal and infant behavior. Although SMA appears random, successive limb movements often occur in bouts. Bout organization was evident at all ages in fetal (embryonic day [E] 17-21) and infant (postnatal day [P] 1-9) rats, with nearly all bouts comprising 1-4 movements of different limbs. A computational model of SMA, including spontaneous activity of spinal motor neurons, intrasegmental and intersegmental interactions, recurrent inhibition, and descending influences, produced bouts with the same structure as that observed in perinatal rats. Consistent with the model, bouts were not eliminated on E20 after cervical spinal transection, suggesting that the brain is not necessary to produce bout organization. These investigations provide a foundation for understanding the contributions of SMA to neuromuscular and motor development.