A critical period for the impact of vestibular sensation on ferret motor development

Children with hearing deficits and hypofunctioning vestibular receptors frequently have delayed motor development. This study focuses on when the vestibular system needs to be active for normal motor behavior development and the maturation of the soleus muscle in the ferret. Both vestibular labyrinths were removed from ferrets at Postnatal day 10 (P10), P21, or P45 and the resulting data were compared with ferrets that had undergone a sham surgery at the same ages. The animals were sacrificed at P120 (young adult ferret). The resulting data from these ferrets revealed that standing and walking balance was significantly affected when the vestibular system was eliminated at or before P21. The soleus of P10 and P21 animals generally had smaller diameter muscle fibers and proportionally less type I Myosin Heavy Chain (MHC) and more type IIX MHC. The twitch contraction time of the soleus of the P21 group was significantly slower than the other groups. It appears that the vestibular system is important to motor and muscle fiber development in the ferret during the period before P21. The eyes are still closed at that age and all of the vestibular receptors are not fully mature. These findings imply a "critical period" for vestibular sensation and the development of a muscle that is important to standing balance.