title: Mastication-related neurons in the orofacial first somatosensory cortex of awake cats.
abstract: In the orofacial area of the first somatosensory cortex (SI), we recorded single unit activity from 699 neurons in 11 awake cats. Fifty-two percent (362/699) were mastication-related neurons (MRNs) showing activity related to some aspects of masticatory movements. MRNs were divided into three types by their activity patterns: (1) the rhythmical type, showing rhythmical bursts in pace with the masticatory rhythm; (2) the sustained type, showing a sustained firing during the period of taking food and (3) the transient (biting) type, showing intense discharges in coincidence with biting hard food. MRNs had mechanoreceptive fields in the perioral, tongue, periodontal and mandibular regions. The activities of perioral rhythmical-MRNs, mandibular transient-MRNs, tongue rhythmical-MRNs and periodontal transient-MRNs were correlated with food texture, while perioral rhythmical-MRNs, perioral sustained-MRNs and tongue sustained-MRMs were not. Both facial and intraoral MRNs were scattered throughout the facial and intraoral projection areas in SI. These findings provide evidence that the orofacial SI monitors masticatory movements for food ingestion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hiraba
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwamura
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002415:Cats; D003391:Cranial Nerves / Q000502:physiology; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology; D005145:Face / Q000294:innervation*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000294:innervation*; D009055:Mouth / Q000294:innervation*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology