Jaw movements and EMG activities of limb-licking behavior during grooming in rabbits.

Jaw movements and masticatory muscle activity were recorded in freely moving rabbits during limb-licking, chewing, and drinking. The limb-licking movement was characterized by rhythmical jaw movement and digastric burst and relatively small masseter activity. The mean cycle time was 292 ms +/- 11.0 (mean +/- SE: n = 7) and was longer than that in chewing (267 ms +/- 20.8, p < 0.01) or drinking (208 ms +/- 15.2, p < 0.01). Jaw movements in the frontal plane of the ingestive behaviors coincided with those reported in previous studies; however, that of the licking movements was featured here. The basic cycle included; a) an opening stroke in which the mandible moved downward and laterally, b) a lateral excursion stroke in which the mandible moved medially and either upward or downward, and c) a closing stroke in which the mandible moved upward to the closing position. During opening, the digastric activity on the working side was determined to be larger than that on the other side (p < 0.001).