Ontogenetic changes in Mammalian feeding: insights from electromyographic data.

ABSTRACT: All infant mammals make a transition from suckling milk to eating solid foods. Yet, the neuromuscular implications of the transition from a liquid-only diet to solid foods are unknown even though the transport and swallowing of liquids is different from that of solids. We used legacy electromyography (EMG) data to test hypotheses concerning the changes in motor pattern and neuromuscular control that occur during the transition from an all-liquid diet to consumption of solid food in a porcine model. EMG signals were recorded from five oropharyngeal muscles in pigs at three developmental stages (infants, juveniles, and adults) feeding on milk, on food of an intermediate consistency (porridge), and on dry chow (juveniles and adults only). We measured cycle frequency and its variation in "tran

SUBMITTER: Campbell-Malone R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3135825 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature