Nipple properties affect sensorimotor integration during bottle feeding in an infant pig model

Maxwell L. Johnson, Kendall E. Steer, Chloe E. Edmonds, Khaled Adjerid, Rebecca Z. German, Christopher J. Mayerl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Infant feeding is a critical neurological milestone in development defined by the coordination of muscles, peripheral nerves, and brainstem nuclei. In infants, milk flow rate is often limited to improve feeding performance without treating the underlying deficiencies in the sucking and swallowing processes. Modification of the neuromotor response via sensory information from the nipple during bottle feeding is an unexplored avenue for physiology-based interventions. In this study, we assessed how differences in nipple hole size and nipple stiffness affect sucking muscle activation and subsequent movement. We fabricated four bottle nipples of varying hole size and stiffness to determine how variation in nipple properties affects the sucking behavior of infant pigs. Our results demonstrate that sensory information from the nipple affects sucking motor output. Nipple hole sizes and stiffnesses with a larger milk flow rate resulted in greater muscle activity and kinematic movement. Additionally, our results suggest that sensorimotor interventions are better directed toward modulating tongue function rather than the mandible movements due to a greater response to sensory information. Understanding how sensory information influences infant feeding is instrumental in promoting effective infant feeding.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)767-776
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
Volume339
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2023

Keywords

  • electromyography
  • infant feeding
  • kinematics
  • suckling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Physiology
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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