Cerebellar ablation and mastication in the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)

The jaw movements of 3 subadult guinea pigs were recorded before and after cerebellar ablation with the aid of an optoelectronic tracking system. Despite overall ataxia of the animals' body and limbs, masticatory patterns were essentially normal. The major effects of cerebellar ablation upon Cavia mastication were a statistically significant (P < 0.01) increase in chew cycle duration and a decrease in chew duration variability.