Bone Strain, Electromyography and Finite-Element Modeling of the Primate Circumorbital Region

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Our present understanding of how the face of primates (including humans) is strained and stressed during mastication (chewing) is poor. Consequently, we do not know to what extent primate cranial and facial form is related to masticatory function. Two fundamental questions have yet to be answered: how are the bones of the face strained during chewing, and how are masticatory forces distributed through the face? Most attempts to model the behavior of the face have used beam theory. The research proposed here evaluates hypotheses regarding how the face is deformed (strained) during chewing and biting by (a) measuring bone strain magnitudes and orientations in and around the orbits of macaques, (b) relating these bone strain patterns to muscle activity recorded simultaneously from the masticatory muscles, and (c) using these data to develop finite-element models of the behavior of the macaque circumorbital skeleton. This research will further our understanding of primate cranio-facial biomechanics, enabling hypotheses regarding the functional significance of primate cranio-facial evolution to be addressed. It also promises to improve our understanding of human cranio-facial functioning.