Research in Mammalian Mastication

Ongoing research efforts in mammalian mastication have defined several broad areas of mutual interest to workers in the discipline. They are (1) interrelationships between masticatory movements, (2) actions of the masticatory muscles, (3) comparisons between masticatory structures and functions, (4) developmental aspects, (5) comparisons between limbs and jaws, and (6) neurophysiologic considerations. The roles (potential and actual) of masticatory central pattern generators, cerebral “mastication areas,” different neural mechanisms between mammalian taxa, neurophysiologic/morphologic interactions, and biochemical factors within the total milieu of mammalian mastication are discussed.