Cortical Orofacial Motor Representation

Abstract

Jaw and tongue motor alterations may occur following changes in food consistency, but whether such changes are associated with re-organization of motor representations within the facial sensorimotor cortex is unclear. We used intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) and recordings of evoked electromyographic responses to determine jaw (anterior digastric) and tongue (genioglossus) motor representations within the histologically defined face primary motor cortex (face-M1) and adjacent somatosensory cortex (face-S1) of rats fed hard (N = 6) or soft (N = 6) diet for 2 to 3 weeks. ICMS evoked jaw and tongue responses from an extensive area within the face-M1 and a smaller area within the face-S1. A significant contralateral predominance was reflected in the number and latency of ICMS-evoked jaw responses (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the hard- and soft-diet groups in jaw and tongue motor representations, suggesting that the rat’s ability to adapt to changes in diet consistency may not be associated with significant neuroplasticity of sensorimotor cortex motor outputs.