Mechanical properties of gummies are associated with threat-related behavior and neuroglial markers in mice
- 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan
- 2Institute of Human Life Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan
Abstract
Clenching is a sustained oral motor act distinct from rhythmic mastication, yet its contribution to brain function remains unclear because oral-function models often alter sensorimotor variables simultaneously. Because chewing under stress has been linked to hippocampal plasticity and the dentate gyrus is implicated in contextual fear conditioning, we compared mice given powdered chow with Soft or Hard gummies, with Powder and Pellet as references, and assessed basal behavior, object recognition, threat conditioning, and dentate gyrus DCX labeling, with cortical glial markers examined in parallel. Basal behaviors and between-group object recognition did not differ significantly, whereas contextual freezing was higher in Hard and Pellet than in Soft. Hard also showed higher dentate gyrus DCX immunoreactivity and cortical Iba-1 measures, while cortical GFAP was unchanged. These findings suggest that gummy mechanical properties are associated with threat-related behavior and neuroglial markers, motivating direct tests of oral motor load and neural mechanisms.
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BibTeX
@article{sasaki2026mechanical,
title = {{Mechanical properties of gummies are associated with threat-related behavior and neuroglial markers in mice}},
author = {Haruka Sasaki and Minori Tajima and Ririka Morimoto and Chihiro Kobayashi and Yumi Miki and Yuka Hirota and Hiromu Monai},
journal = {The Journal of Physiological Sciences : JPS},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.jphyss.2026.100114},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2026.100114},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mechanical properties of gummies are associated with threat-related behavior and neuroglial markers in mice
AU - Haruka Sasaki
AU - Minori Tajima
AU - Ririka Morimoto
AU - Chihiro Kobayashi
AU - Yumi Miki
AU - Yuka Hirota
AU - Hiromu Monai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - The Journal of Physiological Sciences : JPS
DO - 10.1016/j.jphyss.2026.100114
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2026.100114
AB - Clenching is a sustained oral motor act distinct from rhythmic mastication, yet its contribution to brain function remains unclear because oral-function models often alter sensorimotor variables simultaneously. Because chewing under stress has been linked to hippocampal plasticity and the dentate gyrus is implicated in contextual fear conditioning, we compared mice given powdered chow with Soft or Hard gummies, with Powder and Pellet as references, and assessed basal behavior, object recognition, threat conditioning, and dentate gyrus DCX labeling, with cortical glial markers examined in parallel. Basal behaviors and between-group object recognition did not differ significantly, whereas contextual freezing was higher in Hard and Pellet than in Soft. Hard also showed higher dentate gyrus DCX immunoreactivity and cortical Iba-1 measures, while cortical GFAP was unchanged. These findings suggest that gummy mechanical properties are associated with threat-related behavior and neuroglial markers, motivating direct tests of oral motor load and neural mechanisms.
SN - 1880-6546
SN - 1880-6562
ER -