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Related Experiment Videos

Intermittency in mastication and apomorphine-induced gnawing

G E Gerstner1

  • 1Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor 48109-1078, USA. geger@umich.edu

Physiology & Behavior
|January 7, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Rhythmic behaviors like chewing and gnawing exhibit intermittency, occurring in bursts separated by pauses. Chewing bursts were significantly longer than gnawing bursts, suggesting distinct temporal structures for these behaviors.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Biology
  • Chronobiology

Background:

  • Rhythmic behaviors, such as mastication and gnawing, are often intermittent, occurring in bursts separated by pauses.
  • The functional significance and underlying neural mechanisms of this intermittency remain largely unknown.
  • Biogenic amine systems are hypothesized to play a role in generating behavioral intermittency, but research is nascent.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the temporal structure of intermittency in mastication and apomorphine-induced gnawing in guinea pigs.
  • To compare the durations of chewing and gnawing behaviors and their respective bursts.
  • To explore potential differences in the temporal segmentation of related rhythmic jaw movements.

Main Methods:

  • Videotaping of thirteen free-roaming guinea pigs engaged in mastication or gnawing.

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  • Administration of apomorphine (0.5 mg/kg i.m.) to eight animals to induce gnawing, with five controls feeding naturally.
  • Custom software analysis to quantify interocclude intervals (IOIs), defining pauses (IOI ≥ 0.26 s) and behavior bursts (≥ 2 successive chews/gnaws without pauses).

    • Main Results:

    • Chew and gnaw durations were found to be similar.
    • Chewing behavior bursts were significantly longer than gnawing behavior bursts.
    • A clear temporal segmentation was observed in both mastication and gnawing, characterized by distinct bursts and pauses.

    Conclusions:

    • The study demonstrates that chewing and gnawing, while sharing similar individual action durations, differ significantly in their burst durations.
    • These findings suggest distinct temporal organization principles underlying different rhythmic jaw movements.
    • The results provide a foundation for further neurophysiological investigations into the mechanisms and functions of behavioral intermittency.