Doctoral Dissertation Research: Behavioral reconstruction and the effects of habitual activity on the bone-muscle interface

博士论文研究：行为重建及习惯活动对骨-肌肉界面的影响

• 批准号: 1650933
• 负责人: Shannon McFarlin
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: George Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-03-15 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1650933&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Behavioral; reconstruction

The skeleton can provide many clues about movement and behavior patterns, and this form-function relationship makes bone an important source of data for reconstructing the evolutionary history and past behaviors of animals and humans. In this dissertation project, the response of bone to habitual activity will be investigated in murine and primate models to improve our understanding of entheses (muscle attachment sites on bone), because the relationship of this particular feature of bone to function is not fully understood. Experimental evidence of enthesis change due to activity will be applicable across a variety of disciplines, including paleoanthropology, biology, clinical medicine and forensic science. All images generated as a result of this work will be made available to other researchers in order to promote further interdisciplinary research. The project will support student research experiences, including for students from groups underrepresented in STEM research, and both traditional and online public science outreach activities.The use of entheses to reconstruct species-level locomotor patterns and individual occupation relies on the premise that bone responds to mechanical loading with remodeling and the accumulation of new bone. However, recent experimental studies have questioned the assumed effect of muscle activity on bone and demonstrated no relationship between exercise and measures of the entheseal surface. This project addresses the methodological issues concerning attachment site biology, taking a multilevel approach to assess if and how entheses can be used for behavioral reconstruction. The first component of this study utilizes a murine model with controlled and elevated running and climbing regimes to test whether increased activity results in corresponding increases to muscle force-generating capacity, bone surface roughness, bone depositional rate, and/or bone cross-sectional geometric properties. The results of this aim will then be applied to an existing sample of primate skeletons in order to observe how different locomotor modes relate to enthesis development. A selection of locomotor-relevant entheses in suspensory, quadrupedal and bipedal primates will be examined with surface and CT scans for patterns of attachment site characteristics by activity. A combined analysis of the macroscopic bone surface and its underlying mechanical environment will provide a comprehensive view of the enthesis region. These data will provide an empirical foundation for the interpretation of enthesis morphology, with the long-term goal of enabling non-destructive behavioral reconstruction on fossil primates using these structures.

骨骼可以提供许多关于运动和行为模式的线索，这种形式与功能的关系使骨骼成为重建动物和人类进化历史和过去行为的重要数据来源。在本论文项目中，将在小鼠和灵长类动物模型中研究骨骼对习惯性活动的反应，以提高我们对附着点（骨骼上的肌肉附着部位）的理解，因为骨骼的这一特殊特征与功能的关系尚未完全了解。活动引起的附着点变化的实验证据将适用于多个学科，包括古人类学、生物学、临床医学和法医学。这项工作生成的所有图像将提供给其他研究人员，以促进进一步的跨学科研究。该项目将支持学生的研究经验，包括来自 STEM 研究中代表性不足群体的学生，以及传统和在线公共科学推广活动。使用附着点来重建物种水平的运动模式和个人活动依赖于骨骼通过重塑和新骨积累对机械载荷做出反应的前提。然而，最近的实验研究质疑肌肉活动对骨骼的影响，并证明运动与附着点表面的测量之间没有关系。该项目解决了有关附着位点生物学的方法学问题，采用多层次方法来评估附着点是否以及如何用于行为重建。本研究的第一部分利用具有受控和升高的跑步和攀爬方式的小鼠模型来测试增加的活动是否会导致肌肉发力能力、骨表面粗糙度、骨沉积率和/或骨横截面几何特性的相应增加。然后，该目标的结果将应用于现有的灵长类骨骼样本，以观察不同的运动模式与附着点发育的关系。将通过表面和 CT 扫描检查悬吊、四足和双足灵长类动物中与运动相关的附着点的选择，以了解按活动划分的附着部位特征模式。对宏观骨表面及其底层机械环境的综合分析将提供附着体区域的全面视图。这些数据将为解释附着形态提供经验基础，长期目标是利用这些结构对化石灵长类动物进行非破坏性行为重建。