Dissertation Research: Form and function of the temporomandibular joint in anthropoid primates.

这项研究的主要目的是通过评估认为TMJ的形状与下颌骨的运动和饮食有关的假说，来检验类人型灵长类动物TMJ的形状与功能的关系。为了验证这一普遍假设，研究人员将在广泛的灵长类动物中解剖TMJ。此外，还将对4个类人属(Ateles、Macaca、Papio和Pano)的髁状突运动进行放射影像分析，开发TMJ的力学模型，并对该模型与现存猴子和类人猿的饮食和进化影响进行定量形状分析。这是首次结合活体和形态测量结果来解释TMJ形状在现存类人猿中的功能意义，以及描述和量化新大陆猴(Ateles)和类人猿(PAN)的髁突运动。这项研究将产生一个类人型TMJ运动学模型和数据库，该模型和数据库可用于对包括早期人类祖先在内的类人型化石TMJ区域的解剖学进行功能、进化和适应性解释。

The primary purpose of the research proposed here is to examine variation in the shape of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) among anthropoid primates in relation to function by evaluating the hypothesis that the shape of the TMJ is correlated with both the movements of the mandibular condyle and diet. In order to test this general hypothesis the investigators will dissect the TMJ in a broad range of primates. Cineradiographic analysis of condylar movements in 4 anthropoid genera (Ateles, Macaca, Papio, and Pan), development of a mechanical model of the TMJ, and quantitative shape analyses that examine the model in relation to dietary and evolutionary influences in living monkeys and apes will also be carried out. This is the first study to incorporate in vivo and morphometric results to interpret the functional significance of TMJ shape among extant anthropoids as well as to describe and quantify condylar movements in a New World monkey (Ateles) and a great ape (Pan). This study will result in a model and data base of anthropoid TMJ kinematics that may be applied to functional, evolutionary, and adaptive explanations of the anatomy of the TMJ region in fossil anthropoids, including early human ancestors.