My lab researches the motor control and biomechanics of feeding system. My lab uses electromyography and fluoromicrometry to study feeding muscle function, high speed biplanar videofluoroscopy to study 3d tongue and jaw kinematics, and finite element modelling to study mandible mechanics. We study diverse taxa.
My lab is working on understanding how both the jaw and tongue are moved and controlled during oral behaviors such as drinking, chewing and swallowing.
Dr. Nicho Hatsopoulos and my lab use neural recording techniques to study the role of motor and sensory cortex in control of oral behaviors including chewing and swallowing. We are researching neural encoding of jaw and tongue movements, neuroplasticity associated with learning new oral skills, and, with Dr. Fritzie Arce-McShane, the role of different oral sensory pathways in control of jaw and tongue movement.
My lab and Dr. Zeray Alemseged are using finite-element models of primate jaws to study mandible design in humans, great apes, and fossil hominids.
Dr. Russell Reid in the Department of Surgery and my lab are working with Drs. Olga Panagiotopoulou in Australia and Felippe Prado in Brazil on bioengineering of human jaw function during distraction osteogenesis and fracture repair.
Sagittal suture strain in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus and Cebus) during feeding.
Sagittal suture strain in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus and Cebus) during feeding. Am J Biol Anthropol. 2023 Apr; 180(4):633-654.
PMID: 36790169
Does the model reflect the system? When two-dimensional biomechanics is not 'good enough'.
Does the model reflect the system? When two-dimensional biomechanics is not 'good enough'. J R Soc Interface. 2023 01; 20(198):20220536.
PMID: 36695017
Macaca mulatta is a good model for human mandibular fixation research.
Macaca mulatta is a good model for human mandibular fixation research. R Soc Open Sci. 2022 Nov; 9(11):220438.
PMID: 36405636
Suction feeding of West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens): An XROMM analysis of jaw mechanics, cranial kinesis, and hyoid mobility.
Suction feeding of West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens): An XROMM analysis of jaw mechanics, cranial kinesis, and hyoid mobility. Biol Open. 2022 09 15; 11(9).
PMID: 36066131
Got rhythm? Rhythmicity differences reflect different optimality criteria in feeding and locomotor systems.
Got rhythm? Rhythmicity differences reflect different optimality criteria in feeding and locomotor systems. Evolution. 2022 Sep; 76(9):2181-2190.
PMID: 35862552
Iyuku raathi, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, South Africa.
Iyuku raathi, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, South Africa. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2022 Jul 21.
PMID: 35860957
Mechanical compensation in the evolution of the early hominin feeding apparatus.
Mechanical compensation in the evolution of the early hominin feeding apparatus. Proc Biol Sci. 2022 06 08; 289(1976):20220711.
PMID: 35703052
Loss of oral sensation impairs feeding performance and consistency of tongue-jaw coordination.
Loss of oral sensation impairs feeding performance and consistency of tongue-jaw coordination. J Oral Rehabil. 2022 Aug; 49(8):806-816.
PMID: 35514258
Suction feeding biomechanics of Polypterus bichir: investigating linkage mechanisms and the contributions of cranial kinesis to oral cavity volume change.
Suction feeding biomechanics of Polypterus bichir: investigating linkage mechanisms and the contributions of cranial kinesis to oral cavity volume change. J Exp Biol. 2022 02 01; 225(3).
PMID: 35019979
Twist and chew: three-dimensional tongue kinematics during chewing in macaque primates.
Twist and chew: three-dimensional tongue kinematics during chewing in macaque primates. Biol Lett. 2021 12; 17(12):20210431.
PMID: 34905722