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AIM: To explore the appropriateness of applying a detailed assessment of general movements and characterize the relationship between global and detailed assessment.METHOD: The analysis was based on 783 video recordings of 233 infants (154 males, 79 females) who had been videoed from 27 to 45 weeks postmenstrual age. Apart from assessing the global general movement categories (normal, poor repertoire, cramped-synchronized, or chaotic general movements), we scored the amplitude, speed, spatial range, proximal and distal rotations, onset and offset, tremulous and cramped components of the upper and lower extremities. Applying the optimality concept, the maximum general movement optimality score of 42 indicates the optimal performance.RESULTS: General movement optimality scores (GMOS) differentiated between normal general movements (median 39 [25-75th centile 37-41]), poor repertoire general movements (median 25 [22-29]), and cramped-synchronized general movements (median 12 [10-14]; pINTERPRETATION: Further research might demonstrate that the GMOS provides a solid base for the prediction of improvement versus deterioration within an individual general movement trajectory.

This paper deals with the synthesis of a number of new 4H-thieno[3,4-e] and 4H-pyrazolo[4,3-e]-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide derivatives 1, the study of their chemical behavior in some alkylation reactions and the evaluation of their vasorelaxant effects on spontaneous motility and on tension responses to increased extracellular KCl concentrations in isolated rat portal vein.

The methanol fraction of the root extract of Tragia involucrata was investigated for psychopharmacological activity in rodents. It produced an alteration of behavioural pattern and a reduction in spontaneous motility. A significant potentiation of pentobarbitone-induced sleep, a decrease of body temperature, suppression of the aggressive behaviour pattern and of the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) were observed with the fraction. These suggest that the methanol fraction of the T. involucrata root extract possesses significant central nervous system depressant action.

Several types of electrical events occur in the small intestine but their spatial and temporal contributions to overall motility are not clear. In order to quantify local motility in greater detail, a new technique of recording and analysing movements at multiple sites was developed. Use was made of isolated segments of feline duodenum superfused in a tissue bath. Multiple marker dots (20-75) were placed on the serosal surface by applying fine spots of candle soot in rectangular arrays (1-2 mm dot separation). A digital video camera was used to record spontaneous movements of the dots for periods of 10-30 min. After each experiment, 4-6 periods (10-60 s each) of video frames were transferred to a computer (25 fps, 720 x 576 pixels) and the movements of the dots was tracked every 40 ms using custom-made software. Initial results (eight experiments) show that spontaneous motility is remarkably variable, both in space and time. Three types of movement could be discerned: (i) periodic, rolling or pendular movements, with a frequency of approximately 15 min-1 occurring predominantly in the longitudinal direction; (ii) twitches, wherein a subset of dots were suddenly displaced longitudinally; and (iii) drifts of most of the dots in a circular or oblique direction. All three types of movement occurred throughout every recording session although their relative magnitudes differed greatly from moment to moment. Occasionally, it was possible to detect propagated 'contractions' with an apparent velocity of 10 mm s(-1). Immobilizing the preparation at one point by inserting a needle through the middle of the array of markers had a negligible effect on the displacements, whereas application of verapamil (10(-5) mol L(-1)) reduced or abolished motility. In summary, we present a new technique to map in detail two-dimensional motility at the surface of the intestine. Initial results seem to suggest that motility at the serosal surface is not uniform and highly anisotropic.

Psychopharmacological studies were conducted on an extract of Andrographis paniculata herbs. The extract exhibited a significant alteration in behaviour pattern and a reduction in spontaneous motility. The extract also produced a prolongation of the pentobarbitone-induced sleeping time and lowered the body temperature in different experimental animal models.

The principles underlying the variations in patterns of mammalian embryonic movements have not been established. In an attempt to clarify the mechanism that is responsible for the variations in motor patterns, we carried out a precise quantitative spatiotemporal analysis of movements in mouse embryos, using a transplacental perfusion method for the in vitro maintenance of live mammalian embryos. Episodes of spontaneous movements at the inception of motility, at embryonic day 12.5, occurred once every few minutes, lasted for several seconds and consisted of successive movements of body regions, the spatiotemporal patterns of which varied from episode to episode. By analysing and categorizing the patterns of these movements, we found that embryonic movements follow relatively few restricted patterns with respect to the order of the movements of body regions. A further analysis of episodes at high spatiotemporal resolution revealed that most of the episodes in a major category could be classified into two distinct subtypes. Each of these subtypes had its own highly reproducible spatiotemporal patterns of movement. Overall, these results show that early embryonic movements follow relatively few rather stereotyped patterns, and random local fluctuations have little effect on such movement patterns. The appearance of one pattern out of several rather stereotyped patterns may be the main cause of apparent variations in patterns of early embryonic movements. The stereotyped patterns may represent important orderly characteristics of spontaneous embryonic activities that may be involved in the development of orderly structures and functions in higher animals.

The spontaneous motor activity of clinically stable premature infants, 26–36 weeks gestational age, was investigated. Movements were recorded using a pressure-sensitive transducer positioned below the infant's head and torso. Behavior samples were digitized every 0.5 s during 2 and 3-hr continuous recording sessions. Time-series analyses revealed prominent motility cycles of circa 80 min and circa 30 min. These results are consistent with periodicities in motility and REM activation observed in full-term neonates. The longer rhythms of 70–100 min of motility found in this study establish that these periods are present at this stage of development independent of maternal zeitgebers. Developmental changes in motility rhythms and movement burst durations were also observed. Bout durations became somewhat longer in older ( > 30 weeks) infants, but the relative time devoted to movement per session was comparable in older and younger (≤ 30 weeks) infants. © 1993 Wiley & sons. Inc.

The effects of the Kampo medicine Toki-Shakuyaku-San on the motility and learning ability of mice were studied. An assay on mice aged 5 months after 15 weeks of administration revealed no change in spontaneous motility. However, in a study on learning ability employing passive avoidance task, the latent periods of test trial were significantly longer in the Toki-Shakuyaku-San administered group than in a control group, indicating that Toki-Shakuyaku-San may play some role in the alleviation of learning disturbances in mice

Neuropharmacological studies were conducted in rodents with Pluchea indica Less root extract. On investigation with different experimental models it was found that the extract produced alteration of behaviour pattern, reduction in spontaneous motility, prolongation of pentobarbitone-induced sleep, suppression of aggressive behaviour pattern and of the conditioned avoidance response. The observations suggest that the root extract of P. indica possesses a potent central nervous system depressant action.

This paper deals with the synthesis of a number of new 4H-thieno[3,4-e] and 4H-pyrazolo[4,3-e]-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide derivatives 1, the study of their chemical behavior in some alkylation reactions and the evaluation of their vasorelaxant effects on spontaneous motility and on tension responses to increased extracellular KCl concentrations in isolated rat portal vein.

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) due to placental dysfunction is a risk factor for an impaired neurodevelopmental outcome. This is the case particularly in growth-retarded foetuses whose conditions in utero are so compromised that they have to be delivered before term. In recent years, neonatal treatment and care have improved markedly, and this has led to increased chances of survival of very immature and extremely low-birthweight infants. The optimal time to deliver IUGR infants remains difficult to assess. There is an obvious need for methods that accurately monitor foetal and neonatal condition, and it is important that the implications of these methods are evaluated for the neurodevelopmental outcomes of these infants. It is vitally important to be able to predict the outcome, whether it is normal or abnormal. A method that covers both aspects is the qualitative assessment of spontaneous motility of foetuses and newborn infants.

Previous studies of the spontaneous cyclic motility of the chick embryo were extended to incubation day 17. The activity and inactivity phases of the cycle were recorded on a polygraph, for a 15-minute observation period. The percentage of time spent in activity rises steadily from less than 10% at the beginning of motility at three and one-half days to 80% at day 13. This peak is maintained up to day 17; subsequently, motility declines. The mean duration of activity phases increases and that of the inactivity phases decreases until the high plateau is reached, though both values change independently of each other. In order to study the effect of the brain on spontaneous motility, spinal embryos were obtained by extirpation of part of the cervical cord in two-day embryos. The spinal embryos retain their capacity for cyclic motility. However, the activity is reduced by approximately 10–20% at all stages between the eighth and the seventeenth day. The brain influence asserts itself in a lengthening of the duration of the activity phases and in a shortening of the inactivity phases. An inhibitory effect was not observed at any stage.