6 ultrasonic crystals (?2 mm) were implanted in to the tongue

6 ultrasonic crystals (?2 mm) were implanted in to the tongue body to create a wedge-shaped configuration in 6 12-week-old Yucatan mini-pigs. amplitudes were distributed in every proportions symmetrically. The timing evaluation indicated that, during nibbling, the reversal of dimensional reduce to increase within the PVW happened first, accompanied by those of PDW, AW, RT/LT, and RL/LL (< 0.05). During ingestion, the AW first started widening. Time sequence of the reversals during consuming was similar compared to that during nibbling, but RT/LT thickening was behind RL/LL lengthening. These total outcomes recommended that during organic nourishing, local tongue deformations are rhythmic and stereotypical comparable to jaw motion. The reversals of expansionCcontraction of varied dimensions aren't synchronous, but take place in a sequential way in timing. Tongue internal deformations are task-specific in both amplitude and timing. The dimensional expansionsCcontractions are prominent within the transverse and sagittal planes during nibbling and ingestion, respectively, but are smaller and much more distributed across various dimensions during consuming symmetrically. Anat Rec, 290:1288C1299, 2007. ? 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. < 0.05. Outcomes Nourishing Behaviors As confirmed by our previous studies (Kayalioglu et al., 2007; Liu et al., 2007), comparison of jaw movements videorecorded before and after device placements indicated that no functional impairment during feeding occurred by implantations of ultrasonic crystals into the tongue and EMG electrodes into jaw/tongue muscles. Mastication sequence was composed of 5- to 25-sec episodes (10C50 consecutive cycles or strokes) of continuous chewing on alternating sides, and these episodes were separated by shorter episodes of ingestion cycles and transitional periods. The ingestion episodes were clearly recognizable by a visual inspection and had the sequence of two to eight cycles with fast and steady rhythm. The transitional periods occurred between chewing and Methacycline HCl manufacture ingestion episodes were less rhythmic and had one to four irregular and extended cycles. Bolus swallowing intervals could not be identified in these masticatory sequences (Fig. 3). Fig. 3 Raw sonomicrometric tracings of masticatory sequence. Hatched regions indicate transitional cycles between chewing and ingestion episodes. Refer to Figure 1 for all captions. Original size, 101 81 mm (600 600 DPI). Tongue dimensional changes in different regions often showed double or triple peaks in each cycle during chewing episodes, and some fluctuations were seen before and/or after peak changes. However, all dimensional changes were stereotypical with considerable regularity (Fig. 4A). On the other hand, the frequency of Methacycline HCl manufacture dimensional changes during ingestion was approximately 2 times faster than that of chewing (240 30 msec vs. 450 50 msec) as found in the previous EMG study. Compared with chewing, dimensional changes were dominant by more regular and stereotypical waves in the lengths (RL and LL) during ingestion, whereas changes in Emcn the widths (AW, PDW, and PVW) and thicknesses (RT and LT) were more or less distorted with reduced ranges (Fig. 4B). Furthermore, bilateral thicknesses (RT and LT) altered in the same direction during ingestion but in the opposite direction during chewing (compare Fig. 4A,B), reflecting side difference of alternating chewing in the pig (Liu and Herring, 2000). Fig. 4 Zoomed raw tracings of chewing (A) and ingestion (B) episodes. Refer to Figure 1 for all captions. Original size, 101 81 mm (600 600 DPI). During drinking, the snout and anterior part of the mouth Methacycline HCl manufacture were submerged in the water and the tip of the tongue was imposed between upper and lower incisors. Drinking sequence usually lasted for 3- to 10-second episodes and was composed of 8C25 consecutive drinking cycles. The frequency of drinking defined by dimensional changes was close to that of chewing (450 50 msec), similar to our previous EMG findings (Kayalioglu et al., 2007). Compared with chewing and ingestion, almost all dimensional changes were smaller during drinking, particularly in the PVW which showed little changes. It is noted that, unlike little baseline changes between chewing and ingestion, obvious baseline changes were seen when the pig shifted from chewing to drinking through a few transitional cycles. These baseline changes demonstrate that, compared with chewing, longer length of the body, smaller thickness of the base, and larger width of the ventral base were the initial tongue shape during drinking (Fig. 5A). While unidentifiable during masticatory sequence, the swallows were clearly seen during drinking by tongue dimensional changes, showing narrowed width in both.