Meeting Abstract
Mastication serves to change the physical properties (e.g., size, texture) of the food prior to swallowing. Recent investigations into gape cycle dynamics during mastication have identified food to be a major factor influencing variability in jaw kinematics. This work has also shown interspecific differences in patterns of variability that may be related to morphology and diet. Indeed, the close link between diet and morphology in mammals, particularly in the dentition, suggests that dietary generalists and specialists may differ in their ability to respond to differences in food mechanical properties. Here we investigated the impact of food mechanical properties on the temporal dynamics of the gape cycle in a quintessential mammalian omnivore, the pig, using X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology. Results show that the power stroke and fast-open phases were shortest among all foods examined, but had the highest variability. Slow-opening was longest and exhibited low variability across the foods. Gape cycle phases during the mastication of brittle foods exhibited low variability compared to tough or soft foods, the latter which resulted in the highest variability in all phases of the cycle. Within a given food type, gape cycle phases are more variable than total gape cycle duration, which is relatively maintained across the different foods. This suggests that pigs temporally modulate gape cycle dynamics while maintaining overall chewing rhythmicity. Comparisons with other species, especially dietary specialists, will further highlight the different strategies utilized by mammals to effect food breakdown.
