Feedback control from the jaw joints during biting: An investigation of the reptile Sphenodon using multibody modelling

Sphenodon, a lizard-like reptile, is the only living representative of a group that was once widespread at the time of the dinosaurs. Unique jaw mechanics incorporate crushing and shearing motions to breakdown food, but during this process excessive loading could cause damage to the jaw joints and teeth. In mammals like ourselves, feedback from mechanoreceptors within the periodontal ligament surrounding the teeth is thought to modulate muscle activity and thereby minimise such damage. However, Sphenodon and many other tetrapods lack the periodontal ligament and must rely on alternative control mechanisms during biting. Here we assess whether mechanoreceptors in the jaw joints could provide feedback to control muscle activity levels during biting. We investigate the relationship between joint, bite, and muscle forces using a multibody computer model of the skull and neck of Sphenodon. When feedback from the jaw joints is included in the model, predictions agree well with experimental studies, where the activity of the balancing side muscles reduces to maintain equal and minimal joint forces. When necessary, higher, but asymmetric, joint forces associated with higher bite forces were achievable, but these are likely to occur infrequently during normal food processing. Under maximum bite forces associated with symmetric maximal muscle activation, peak balancing side joint forces were more than double those of the working side. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that feedback similar to that used in the simulation is present in Sphenodon.