Gradual changes in the recovery curve of monosynaptic reflex during postnatal development in kittens

Conditioning-testing stimulus pulses were applied to soleus-gastrocnemius muscle nerves while reflexes were recorded from L7 ventral root in kittens (1-100 days). The rate of recovery of the monosynaptic test reflex response was monitored at different ages. These observations show that the very slow recovery rate seen in the newborns becomes much faster in the first 10 postnatal days, and it attains adult-like values in ca. 4 weeks after birth.