Ontogeny of Feeding Motor Patterns in Infant Rats: An Electromyographic Analysis of Suckling and Chewing

During mammalian ontogeny, there is a transition from suckling to the chewing of food. The question was asked: Is suckling a neuromuscular precursor to chewing, or are suckling and chewing independent systems? Electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded in rat pups of ages 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21 days fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral neuroscience 1992-06, Vol.106 (3), p.539-554
Main Authors: Westneat, Mark W, Hall, Warren G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging - physiology
Animal
Animal behavior
Animal Development
Animals
Animals, Newborn
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Chewing
Electromyography
Electromyography - instrumentation
Electrophysiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Infants (Animal)
Mastication - physiology
Masticatory Muscles
Masticatory Muscles - physiology
Motor Development
Neck Muscles - physiology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rats
Reflex, Stretch - physiology
Rodents
Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted - instrumentation
Sucking
Sucking Behavior - physiology
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Summary:During mammalian ontogeny, there is a transition from suckling to the chewing of food. The question was asked: Is suckling a neuromuscular precursor to chewing, or are suckling and chewing independent systems? Electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded in rat pups of ages 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21 days from the superficial masseter, anterior digastric, sternohyoideus, and genioglossus muscles during suckling and chewing. The EMG patterns of the 3 components of suckling behavior (nipple attachment, rhythmic sucking and the stretch response) are distinctive from one another and reflect the musculoskeletal biomechanics of suckling. Chewing EMGs are present by 12 days of age and attain the adult pattern by 18-21 days of age. During nipple attachment, pups exhibit a motor pattern that is similar to that of adult chewing, but other aspects of suckling differ from chewing in some EMG features. Comparison of EMGs between behaviors and between ages allowed interpretation of the degree of continuity of muscular activity across the suckling-to-chewing transition.
ISSN:0735-7044
1939-0084
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.106.3.539