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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : June 4, 2014 4:41 PM IST
Ever wondered why you do not bite your tongue even when you do not pay attention to your chewing?
Interconnected neurons in the brain that coordinate the movement of the tongue and jaw usually keep the tongue safe from injury, a new study said.
'Chewing is an activity that you can consciously control but if you stop paying attention, these interconnected neurons in the brain actually do it all for you,' said Edward Stanek from Duke University School of Medicine in the US.
Chewing requires a complex interplay between the tongue and jaw, with the tongue positioning food between the teeth and then moving out of the way every time the jaw clamps down to grind it up.
Previous studies have shown that movement of the muscles in the jaw and tongue are governed by special neurons called motoneurons and that these are, in turn, controlled by another set of neurons called premotor neurons.
But the exact nature of these connections - which premotor neurons connect to which motoneurons - was not defined.
For the new study, researchers used a special form of the rabies virus to trace the origins of chewing movements in mice.
They found that a group of premotor neurons simultaneously connect to the motoneurons that regulate jaw opening and those that trigger tongue protrusion.
Another group that connects to both motoneurons that regulate jaw closing and those responsible for tongue retraction was also found.
'Using shared premotor neurons to control multiple muscles may be a general feature of the motor system,' Stanek said.
The study appeared in the journal eLife.
Is the center of the nervous system. It is present in the head, and is positioned so that it is closest to main nervous functions like seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling. It is packed with neurons, that help relay commands from and to the rest of the body. The brain extends down into the spinal column which then spreads to the entire body. The brain is responsible for mitigating all functions in the body from breathing to digestion. It is made up of two types of matter grey matter and white matter. It is protected by the skull and is surrounded by cerebro-spinal fluid. This fluid's main function is to protect the brain from sudden jerks and trauma. The brain also has a protective outer layer called the meninges, which also protects the spinal cord.
With inputs from IANS
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