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First published online June 15, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2535-2553 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02276

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Storage and recovery of elastic potential energy powers ballistic prey capture in toads

A. Kristopher Lappin^*, Jenna A. Monroy, Jason Q. Pilarski, Eric D. Zepnewski, David J. Pierotti and Kiisa C. Nishikawa^*,

Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5640, USA

Author for correspondence (e-mail: Kiisa.Nishikawa{at}nau.edu)

Accepted 18 April 2006

	Summary

TOP Summary Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion List of symbols References

 
Ballistic tongue projection in toads is a remarkably fast and powerful movement. The goals of this study were to: (1) quantify in vivo power output and activity of the depressor mandibulae muscles that are responsible for ballistic mouth opening, which powers tongue projection; (2) quantify the elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles and their series connective tissues using in situ muscle stimulation and force-lever studies; and (3) develop and test an elastic recoil model, based on the observed elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues, that accounts for displacement, velocity, acceleration and power output during ballistic mouth opening in toads. The results demonstrate that the depressor mandibulae muscles of toads are active for up to 250 ms prior to mouth opening. During this time, strains of up to 21.4% muscle resting length (ML) develop in the muscles and series connective tissues. At maximum isometric force, series connective tissues develop strains up to 14% ML, and the muscle itself develops strains up to 17.5% ML. When the mouth opens rapidly, the peak instantaneous power output of the depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues can reach 9600 W kg^–1. The results suggest that: (1) elastic recoil of muscle itself can contribute significantly to the power of ballistic movements; (2) strain in series elastic elements of the depressor mandibulae muscle is too large to be borne entirely by the cross bridges and the actin–myosin filament lattice; and (3) central nervous control of ballistic tongue projection in toads likely requires the specification of relatively few parameters.

Key words: contractile properties, depressor mandibulae, elastic properties, elastic recoil model, load clamp, load dependence, parallel elastic component, series elastic component, power output, toad

	Introduction

TOP Summary Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion List of symbols References

 
Ballistic movements are those in which a body is propelled by an external force and continues in motion under its own inertia. Such movements typically accelerate from rest and are completed too quickly for feedback control. Hence, ballistic movements must be planned in advance (i.e. feed-forward control). For ballistic movements, such as jumping or throwing, power output likely sets the upper limit on maximum performance (Alexander, 1968; Askew and Marsh, 1998). During ballistic movements (e.g. jumping), it is generally believed that muscles store energy prior to movement by imposing a strain on stiffer structures, such as tendon or cuticle (Alexander and Bennet-Clark, 1977). The stored energy is recovered rapidly during the subsequent movement. Rapid recovery of stored energy provides higher power for ballistic movements than could be provided directly by the muscles because muscle contraction is much slower than elastic recoil of tendon or cuticle (Alexander, 2002). A classic example is the jump of the locust, in which the extensor tibiae muscle imposes a strain in its apodeme and the semilunar process of the cuticle prior to leg extension (Bennet-Clark, 1975; Burrows and Morris, 2001). Upon relaxation of the flexor tibiae, the apodeme and cuticle recoil elastically to increase power during jumping.

Ballistic tongue projection is a feeding mechanism in which the tongue is propelled from the oral cavity. Among vertebrates, only some anurans, some salamanders, and chameleons use ballistic tongue projection to capture prey (Nishikawa, 2000). Whereas power augmentation during jumping has been investigated in a wide variety of animals (e.g. Alexander, 1968; Lutz and Rome, 1994; Peplowski and Marsh, 1997; Aerts, 1998), fewer studies have addressed the question of power augmentation during ballistic tongue projection in chameleons (Wainwright and Bennett, 1992a; Wainwright and Bennett, 1992b; Meyers and Nishikawa, 2000; de Groot and van Leeuwen, 2004) and salamanders (Deban et al., 1997; Deban and Dicke, 1999). Yet, these ballistic tongue projection systems may provide ideal models for studying mechanisms of power augmentation because their anatomical arrangements are relatively simple compared to those of the limbs (e.g. the jaws and hyolingual apparatus tend to possess fewer muscles and fewer joints than limbs). Also, in general, the origins and insertions of cranial and hyolingual muscles in vertebrates tend to be fleshy or possess very short aponeuroses and/or tendons compared to distal limb muscles. Thus, it is expected that cranial and hyolingual muscles would contribute more to the total strain and strain energy than muscles that possess longer tendons (Alexander, 1988).

Recent comparative studies have shown that, among anurans, toads (genus Bufo) appear to be particularly adapted for ballistic tongue projection (Nishikawa, 1999; Nishikawa, 2000). Forward-dynamic biomechanical models have shown that the paired depressor mandibulae muscles produce >90% of the force needed for ballistic tongue projection in anurans (Mallett et al., 2001). When these muscles open the mouth rapidly, momentum is transferred from the lower jaw to the tongue pad. Although previous studies have addressed the mechanism of tongue projection and have described the kinematics of ballistic jaw and tongue movements (Nishikawa and Gans, 1992; Nishikawa and Gans, 1996), no previous study has investigated mechanisms of power augmentation during ballistic mouth opening in toads.

The goals of the present study were to: (1) quantify the power output and patterns of activation of the depressor mandibulae muscles; (2) quantify the factors that contribute to high in vivo power output by estimating the elastic properties (i.e. displacement and stiffness) of the depressor mandibulae muscles and their series connective tissues; and (3) develop and test an elastic recoil model, based on in situ elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues, that accounts for the observed displacement, velocity, acceleration and power output during ballistic mouth opening in vivo. Whereas many studies have compared the elastic potential energy needed to power ballistic movements to that stored in elastic structures prior to movement (e.g. Alexander, 1968; Alexander and Bennet-Clark, 1977), the present study seeks not only to quantify the storage of elastic potential energy prior to movement, but also the contribution of elastic properties to the rate of energy recovery and power output.

	Materials and methods

TOP Summary Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion List of symbols References

 
The depressor mandibulae muscles used in all experiments were similar in size: mean length=16.8 mm (range: 15.8–17.1 mm), mean mass=227 mg (range: 150–280 mg), and mean Physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA)=0.135 cm² (range: 0.092–0.165 cm²). Experiments were performed at room temperature (22±2°C). To insure the welfare of the animals, all procedures were approved by Northern Arizona University's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Kinematic analysis of ballistic mouth opening
Adult Colorado River toads, Bufo alvarius Girard (N=4), were imaged digitally at 1000 Hz while feeding using a Redlake^TM Motionscope high-speed digital imaging system with synchronized, stroboscopic, infrared illumination. A grid of 1 cm squares was used to calculate the scaling factor and aspect ratio. Toads were placed on a flat stage, oriented perpendicular to the camera, and allowed to feed unrestrained on adult crickets (Acheta domesticus, length=2.5 cm). The crickets were placed at varying distances from the toads (1–11 cm) to elicit variability in effort during prey capture behavior (see below). Three feeding sequences were recorded for each toad. Electrodes were implanted into the depressor mandibulae and levator mandibulae posterior longus muscles on the right and left sides, the toads were again imaged at 1000 Hz while feeding, and 11–22 sequences were obtained after implantation (total of 71 sequences from 4 individuals). After a series of feeding sequences synchronized with electromyograms had been recorded, the toads were prepared for in situ force-lever studies (see below). Feeding sequences were digitized using Didge 2.2 motion analysis software (A. Cullum, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA). For each frame, the digitized points included the upper jaw tip, jaw joint, lower jaw tip and prey item. Only the ballistic phase of mouth opening (i.e. first 20 ms of the prey capture sequence) was analyzed.

For each frame, the distance to the prey item (i.e. shortest distance from the lower jaw tip to prey) was calculated. Gape distance (i.e. distance between the upper and lower jaw tips) and gape angle (i.e. angle subtended by the upper and lower jaw tips with the jaw joint at the vertex) were computed using the Euclidean distance and the law of cosines, respectively. The total distance shortened by the depressor mandibulae muscles during the ballistic phase was calculated by dividing the gape distance by the in-lever/out-lever ratio of the muscle. The position data were smoothed using a heptic spline function (QuickSAND) (Walker, 1998). Instantaneous velocity (v) and acceleration (a) were estimated as the first and second derivatives of the smoothed position data for each 1 ms time step. For each feeding sequence, peak instantaneous power was calculated as:

(1)

where m_eff is the total effective mass (see Anatomical measurements, below). The work done by the depressor mandibulae muscles during ballistic mouth opening was estimated as the time integral of the instantaneous positive power using a customized Matlab (version 7.0.0) program.

The general equation of motion for a damped mass–spring system is:

(2)

where: F_t=total force, m_eff=effective mass, b_eff=effective damping coefficient, x_t=total displacement and k_t=total spring constant. The time solution x_t(t) for the general equation can be obtained arithmetically using the characteristic equation method for the under-damped case:

(3)

where _n is the natural frequency of vibration, is the damping ratio, and _d is the damped frequency of vibration:

(4)

(5)

(6)

For each feeding trial, Berkeley Madonna (version 8.0.1) was used to find the values of the non-linear spring constant (k_t) and effective damping coefficient (b_eff) that minimized the squared difference between the position predicted from the time solution of the general equation of motion for a damped mass-spring system (Eqn. 2) and the observed kinematic data [initial displacement x₀ and the total displacement over time x_t(t)], given the m_eff estimated for each toad from anatomical measurements and initial velocity (v₀)=0.

Electromyography
Electromyograms were recorded from the depressor mandibulae muscles and the largest of the six jaw adductor muscles, the levator mandibulae posterior longus, on the right and left sides of four toads (Ba 1–4). Bipolar hook electrodes were constructed from 0.05 mm diameter formvar-coated stainless steel wire (California Fine Wire Co., Grover Beach, CA, USA) with bared tips (0.5 mm). The dipole spacing of the electrodes was 1 mm. Toads were anesthetized in a solution of tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) (0.1 g l^–1 water) buffered to a pH of 7.0 using sodium bicarbonate. Incisions (0.5 cm) were made to expose the jaw muscles. Using a 23-gauge hypodermic needle, the tips of the electrodes were implanted into the belly of each muscle. Electrode leads were threaded under the skin to the back of the toad, where they were sutured to the skin using 6.0 surgical silk. The leads were connected to a differential AC amplifier (A-M Systems, model 1700, Everett, WA, USA).

Analog signals were band-passed (10–5000 Hz), notch-filtered at 60 Hz, amplified (1000x), and digitized at 4000 Hz (Peak Performance Technologies, Inc., Centennial, CO, USA). The signals were later high-pass filtered at 300 Hz to remove low-frequency motion artifacts. The onset of EMG activity was defined as the time at which the EMG amplitude rose above twice the mean baseline voltage. Likewise, the muscle was considered to be electrically inactive when the EMG amplitude fell below twice the mean baseline voltage. EMG recordings were synchronized with digital images (1000 Hz). For each trial, the peak amplitude (mV), duration (ms), and full-wave rectified, integrated area (mVs) of EMG activity that occurred prior to the onset of mouth opening were calculated. For each toad, the relationships between EMG activity (i.e., duration, peak amplitude, rectified integrated area), prey distance (cm), and total displacement (x_t) were examined (Pearson product–moment correlation coefficients, P=0.05). For two toads (Ba 1 and 3), the amplitude of the EMG signal declined significantly over time (P<0.05), so only the duration data were analyzed.

In situ force-lever experiments
A dual servo-motor force lever (Aurora Scientific, Inc., Series 305B, Aurora, ON, Canada) was used to examine the contractile and elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles. For each muscle, a maximum isometric tetanic contraction was performed, followed by an after-loaded force–velocity experiment (N=3), a length–tension experiment (N=3), or a load-clamp experiment (N=3; Ba 1–3).

Toads were cooled in a refrigerator at 4°C for 1 h anddouble-pithed prior to each force-lever experiment. On the temporal aspect of the cranium, the depressor mandibulae muscles lie under the parotid glands, which in toads secrete a moderately potent toxin. To avoid contact between toxic parotid gland secretions and the muscle tissue, secretions were squeezed from the parotid glands with paper towels prior to removal of the skin and connective tissue overlying the depressor mandibulae muscles. We used an in situ preparation that maintained the muscle's natural origin, insertion, and line of action (Fig. 1A). This procedure also avoided trauma to the muscle's blood supply, which remained intact. The mandible was transected 5 mm anterior of the jaw joint and freed of its attached hyolingual musculature. All muscles that resist joint rotation due to shortening of the depressor mandibulae muscle (i.e. jaw adductors) were removed (Fig. 1B), and it was assumed that resistance to joint rotation was negligible. During experiments, the muscle was irrigated frequently with amphibian Ringer's solution (6 g NaCl, 0.075 g KCl, 0.1 g CaCl₂, and 0.1 g NaHCO₃ l^–1 H₂O).

View larger version (25K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 1. (A) Force-lever setup and (B) in situ jaw–joint preparation for measurement of contractile and elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles.

The viscoelastic properties of Spider Wire^TM were investigated by performing load-clamp tests on 2.5 cm lengths of Spider Wire alone. The Spider Wire^TM was loaded with forces of 4.0–5.1 N, which were reduced rapidly to 2.8–1.0 N. When the force was reduced, there was a small step decrease in the length of the Spider Wire with no observable oscillations. Over the range of loads used in this study, the decrease in length was independent of clamp load (N=5 trials, r²=0.06), and averaged 0.06 mm. The contribution of the Spider Wire, including its connections to muscle and lever, to the total displacement during load-clamp experiments was 0.35–0.37% of muscle resting length.

Force-lever experiments were performed with the depressor mandibulae muscle at its in vivo resting length (Fig. 2), which corresponds to the length at which its active force production is greatest (L₀). The resting length is the greatest length that the depressor mandibulae muscles can attain in vivo because, at this length, the mouth is fully closed. When the muscle insertions were isolated initially, the muscles assumed a length that was shorter than their in vivo resting length by 1 mm (6% ML). Using the lever, the length of the muscles was increased slowly until the passive tension was 0.1 N (7–11 mN mm^–2). At this passive tension, the length of the muscles corresponded to the in vivo resting length, as measured to the nearest 0.1 mm with digital calipers prior to isolation. The contribution of the passive muscle strain (i.e. at resting length and a passive tension of 0.1 N) to the total displacement during the load-clamp experiments was calculated from the passive length–tension curve as the strain at a passive force of 0.1 N minus the strain at the in situ load (0.03–0.08 N).

View larger version (85K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Cranium and lower jaw of Bufo showing the mouth-opening muscle (depressor mandibulae=DM) and the largest of the mouth-closing muscles (levator mandibulae posterior longus=LM). The jaw joint is indicated by a white circle, and the in- and out-levers are indicated by white bars. Contraction of the depressor mandibulae (upward arrow) produces rotation of the lower jaw about the joint (downward arrow).

For stimulation, two electrodes (diameter 0.076 mm) were implanted into the denervated depressor mandibulae muscle. To achieve maximum activation, 5 mm of each electrode tip was bared of insulation, and the electrodes were inserted into the muscle belly so that the distance between them was half the total muscle length (e.g. a 20 mm muscle would have electrodes implanted 5 mm from the origin and 5 mm from the insertion, spaced 10 mm apart). The electrodes were attached to a Grass SIU5 Isolation Unit in series with a Grass S48 Stimulator. The voltage needed to produce maximum activation was determined using twitch contractions (1 mspulse duration), and this voltage was increased by 20% in subsequent tests (i.e. supramaximal voltage). Supramaximal voltage ranged from 80–120 V. Tetanic stimuli were delivered in single trains of 400 ms duration at a frequency of 80 pulses s^–1. To avoid fatigue, the muscles were rested for 15 min between trains. In these experiments, maximum isometric force never fell below 22 N cm^–2, which indicates that muscle recruitment was maximal and fatigue was minimal.

External load was controlled and length changes were measured (in after-load and load-clamp experiments) using the series 305B lever, which is capable of recording forces and excursions up to 5 N and 10 mm, respectively. The lever was tuned to factory specifications for minimal damping and step response time (2 ms) and was calibrated using weights of known mass. For data capture, the servo-motor output was sent to a GW Instruments InstruNet Model 100B A/D I/O System connected to a Macintosh 7200 computer running GW Instruments SuperScope II software sampling at 4000 Hz.

Contractile properties
To generate a length–tension curve for the depressor mandibulae muscles, each muscle (N=3) was stimulated isometrically over a series of 6–8 lengths at 0.5 mm increments. Stimulation parameters were as described above. From these experiments, we measured the passive, active and total tension at each length. To determine where on its length–tension curve the depressor mandibulae muscles operate in vivo, muscle length was measured to the nearest 0.1 mm with digital calipers with the mouth in the fully closed position, prior to isolation of the muscles.

To generate a force–velocity curve for the depressor mandibulae muscles, we performed a series of isotonic after-loaded contractions at 6–8 loads per muscle (N=3). From these data, force–velocity curves were generated and the maximum velocity of shortening, V_max, was estimated using Hill's equation (Hill, 1938):

(7)

where P=force, P₀=maximum isometric force, v=velocity of shortening with asymptotes P=–a and v=–b. A Matlab (version 7.0.0) program using the lsqcurvefit function was used to find the values of the parameters (a and b) that minimized the squared difference between the observed force–velocity data and the predictions of the Hill equation for each individual muscle.

Elastic properties
It is widely believed (e.g. Alexander and Bennet-Clark, 1977) that muscles themselves contribute little to the power of ballistic movements because muscles shorten slowly, relative to elastic recoil in tendon or cuticle, even under very low loads. This idea follows directly from Hill's force–velocity curve (Hill, 1938): the velocity of muscle shortening increases hyperbolically with decreasing load. Because power is the product of force and velocity, the force–velocity property of muscle necessarily limits power output. When the force is large, the velocity is small, and when the velocity is large, the force is small.

The apparent trade-off between force and velocity is, at least in part, an artifact of Hill's after-loaded isotonic paradigm for generating the force–velocity curve (Hill, 1938). In this paradigm, not only does the external load vary, but the duration of muscle stimulation prior to the onset of shortening also varies with the load. This means that the muscle is stimulated for very short durations (as little as 10–15 ms) at the smallest loads and for much longer durations (>250 ms) at the largest loads. Hill designed the after-loaded paradigm specifically to remove any contribution of muscle series elasticity to the observed shortening, in order to study the properties of the contractile elements (Hill, 1938). However, if muscles are activated for relatively long durations prior to shortening, as often occurs during natural movements, then recoil of series elastic elements within the muscle itself will contribute to power output. The question is, for a given duration of pre-movement activation, how much power can muscles produce as the load decreases?

For these reasons, we chose to quantify the elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles using the load-clamp technique. The load-clamp experiments were designed to mimic the in vivo behavior of the depressor mandibulae muscles. In vivo, the depressor mandibulae muscles contract prior to mouth opening, producing strain in series elastic elements of the cranium and jaws, as well as within the muscle itself. When the mouth opens, the load decreases rapidly. In load-clamp tests, the load is reduced following isometric stimulation, which results in biphasic shortening of the muscle. An initial rapid change in length (due to recoil of series elastic elements within the muscle) is followed by a slower change in length (due to cyclic interactions of contractile proteins within the muscle). Damped oscillations appear during the transition (Fig. 3).

View larger version (19K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Change in length of a depressor mandibulae muscle vs time during a load-clamp experiment. When the load is reduced (t=0), the muscle exhibits a fast phase of shortening and a slow phase of shortening with oscillations during the transition. To define the fast to slow phase transition (red circle), a line representing shortening during the slow phase, and bisecting the oscillations, was extrapolated back to its initial intersection with the length trace. Fast phase displacement is defined as the change in length that occurs from the initial position (t=0) to this point of intersection. This trace corresponds to Ba 1 (F=2.82) in Fig. 8B.

View larger version (13K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 12. (A) Displacement (xm, xe, xt) predicted by the elastic recoil model as a function of the force developed by the depressor mandibulae muscles prior to movement. At all but the lowest forces (>0.25 N), the depressor mandibulae muscles (xm) contribute more to total displacement (xt) than the extra-muscular connective tissues (xe). (B) Load-dependence of the relationship between depressor mandibulae force prior to movement (Fbefore) and total stiffness (kt). The loads illustrated include 10 times the in vivo load (0.89 N, blue line), 5 times the in vivo load (0.45 N, brown line), twice the in vivo load (0.18 N, yellow line) and the observed in vivo load (0.09 N, black line), half the in vivo load (0.045 N, green line), and one tenth the in vivo load (0.009 N, red line). (C) Observed vs predicted relationship between the depressor mandibulae force prior to movement (Fbefore) and total stiffness (kt). The solid line shows the total stiffness predicted by the elastic recoil model at the in vivo load. Dotted lines represent the 95% confidence interval. Colored symbols show the observed relationship between depressor mandibulae force prior to movement (Fbefore) and total stiffness (kt) for each individual toad (mean ± s.e.m.) estimated by fitting the observed kinematic data to Eqn 3.

View larger version (22K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 8. Original data from 200 ms load-clamp experiments. (A) Change in length, force and stimulation (black line) vs time for load-clamp trials at a high clamp force (2.60 N, blue lines) and a low clamp force (0.31 N, red lines). The depressor mandibulae muscles were stimulated isometrically for 200 ms before the load was reduced. (B) Original records of force (left) and change in length (right) vs time from load-clamp experiments (N=3 toads). Numbers to the right of the force traces indicate change in load (F). Note that length traces (right) begin 200 ms after the onset of muscle stimulation.

Estimating strain in series elastic elements during depressor mandibulae stimulation
The goal of these experiments was to estimate the degree to which the depressor mandibulae muscles impose strains on series elastic structures of the cranium and lower jaw prior to mouth opening. As for the force-lever experiments, toads (N=3) were cooled and double-pithed, and all jaw-adductor muscles were removed. The intact lower jaw was sutured to the maxilla to prevent mouth opening. The cranium was clamped to a metal frame on a vibration-resistant table, and stimulating electrodes were implanted in the depressor mandibulae muscle as described above. The depressor mandibulae muscle was stimulated supramaximally, and movements of the cranium and lower jaw were recorded digitally at 500 Hz. Points at the origin of the depressor mandibulae on the cranium, the insertion of the depressor mandibulae on the retroarticular process, and a fixed point on the clamp were digitized at 20 ms intervals (every tenth frame) beginning with the frame preceding the first perceptible movement. Total shortening of the depressor mandibulae muscle, as well as strain at the cranial insertion and retroarticular process, were measured as a function of time from the onset of movement. We assumed that the total shortening of the depressor mandibulae muscle is equal to the total strain in all extra-muscular structures combined (i.e. the sum of the strain at the muscle origin and insertion), and that strains in directions other than the direction of muscle shortening were negligible. Immediately after the in situ strain data had been recorded, each specimen was prepared as described above for the force-lever experiments. The muscle insertion was attached to the arm of the force lever, the muscle was stimulated tetanically until it reached its maximum isometric force, and the force was measured as a function of time from the onset of stimulation. For each depressor mandibulae muscle, the strain vs time and force vs time plots were aligned at t=0 to obtain the relationship between force and strain.

Anatomical measurements
The effective mass (m_eff) moved by the depressor mandibulae muscles in vivo was estimated as the mass of the lower jaw plus tongue, multiplied by the moment of this mass (i.e. distance from center of mass to center of rotation divided by distance from muscle insertion to center of rotation), plus the mass of the depressor mandibulae muscles and retroarticular processes. The effective mass ranged from 9.12–12.94 g in the four individuals for which in vivo kinematic data were collected (Ba 1–4). The in vivo inertial load (m_effg) was estimated as the effective mass multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity (g). Because the load is distributed over the right and left depressor mandibulae muscles arranged in parallel, the in vivo loads (mean=0.1 N) represent only 1.3–1.8% of the maximum isometric force that the two depressor mandibulae muscles can produce (5–8 N).

To estimate total shortening of the depressor mandibulae muscles and associated connective tissues during ballistic mouth opening, gape distances measured from digital images were converted to total shortening distances using the in-lever/out-lever ratio (i.e. distance from muscle insertion to center of rotation divided by distance from center of rotation to tip of the lower jaw). The lower jaw was dissected from the specimen and cleaned to reveal the anatomy of the jaw joint and retroarticular process. Measurements used for in-lever/out-lever calculations were taken from digital images of the dorsal surface of the isolated lower jaw as straight line distances parallel to the longitudinal axis of the head. We assumed that the center of rotation of the lower jaw is at the center of the jaw joint itself. The in-lever/out-lever ratio ranged from 1:7.7–1:8.6 in the four individuals used in this part of the study. The shortest (deepest) and longest (most superficial) distances along the muscle surface from origin to insertion were measured with digital calipers, and the mean of these distances was used to calculate strain (ML) and strain rate (ML s^–1).

Sarcomere length
Sarcomere lengths of the depressor mandibulae muscle at resting length were measured from specimens (N=3) prepared for transmission electron microscopy using standard techniques (e.g. Nishikawa et al., 1999). To ensure that the muscles maintained their natural position during fixation, the entire posterior half of the head and lower jaw (from the eye to the jaw joint) was submerged in fixative (6.25% glutaraldehyde in sodium cacodylate buffer, pH=7.4). The mouth was sutured shut to ensure that the muscle maintained its resting length during fixation. Sarcomere lengths were measured from digital images taken from four regions within the muscle: superficial belly, deep belly, origin and insertion. For each region in each muscle, ten sarcomeres were measured from at least two different micrographs in three toads (N=120). A two-way factorial ANOVA was used to test the effects of region within the muscle (fixed) and individual (random) on sarcomere length.

Elastic recoil model of ballistic mouth opening in toads
In order to account for the power output of the depressor mandibulae muscles during ballistic mouth opening, we developed an elastic recoil model of the toad cranium and jaws (Fig. 4). In the model, each depressor mandibulae muscle (Fig. 4, red symbols) is represented as a force generator (i.e. cross bridges) in series with a spring (i.e. series elastic component of the muscle). Extra-muscular connective tissues at the origin and insertion are represented together as a single spring in series with the muscle (Fig. 4, blue symbols). The springs originate on the cranium and suspend an effective mass (m_eff) equal to the product of the mass of the lower jaw plus tongue and its moment plus the mass of the depressor mandibulae muscles and retroarticular processes. Dashpots (Fig. 4, purple symbols) represent the total effective damping (b_eff) of the feeding apparatus. When the depressor mandibulae muscles become active prior to mouth opening, they store elastic potential energy in both intramuscular (red) and extra-muscular (blue) springs. When the mouth opens rapidly, the springs return to their equilibrium position (x_t) at a rate that depends on the total stiffness (k_t), effective mass (m_eff), and effective damping coefficient (b_eff). Given the anatomical arrangement of the various spring elements (Fig. 4), the expressions for the total displacement (x_t) and total stiffness (k_t) are as follows:

(8)

(9)

View larger version (25K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Elastic recoil model of the toad cranium. The model includes the pair of depressor mandibulae muscles, which originate on the cranium (ground) and insert on the retroarticular processes of the lower jaw. Each muscle (red) was modeled as a force generator (i.e. cross bridges) and a spring (i.e. series elastic component) arranged in series. On each side of the cranium, the depressor mandibulae muscle is arranged in series with an extra-muscular spring element (blue) that represents the sum of all extra-muscular structures that are strained by contraction of the depressor mandibulae prior to movement (i.e. cranium and retroarticular process). The effective mass (meff) is suspended from these springs. Effective damping (beff) of the mass-spring system is depicted in purple.

To implement the model, the non-linear, load-dependent displacements (x_m) and spring constants (k_m) of the depressor mandibulae muscles at in vivo loads were estimated from load-clamp data. The displacement (x_e) and spring constant (k_e) of the extra-muscular connective tissues were estimated from in situ muscle stimulation experiments. Eqn 8 and 9 were used to calculate the total spring constant (k_t) at the in vivo load that corresponds to a given total displacement (x_t) and total force (F_t). For a given total force (F_t), the total spring constants (k_t) predicted by the model were compared to the total spring constants (k_t) estimated from kinematics as described above.

	Results

TOP Summary Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion List of symbols References

 
Kinematic analysis of in vivo ballistic movements
During the fast (i.e. ballistic) phase, the mouth opens rapidly to angles of up to 60° in less than 20 ms. The gape distances achieved during ballistic mouth opening varied among feeding trials for each individual (Fig. 5A, Table 1). Maximum gape distances ranged from 19.1–28.3 mm. Corresponding maximum total displacements of the depressor mandibulae and series connective tissues (x_t) ranged from 2.5–3.7 mm (Table 1). Peak instantaneous velocity and acceleration of the center of mass of the lower jaw and tongue ranged from 0.71–1.00 m s^–1 and 198–789 m s^–2, respectively (Table 2). Peak instantaneous power output, calculated from kinematics using Eqn 1, is achieved within the first 1–2 ms after the onset of mouth opening (Fig. 5B) and ranged from 0.9 to 4.1 W (Table 2). Peak instantaneous muscle mass-specific power output ranged from 2.7 to 9.6 W g^–1 (Table 2). The time integral of positive instantaneous power is equal to the total work performed by the depressor mandibulae muscles during ballistic mouth opening. For the trial with the maximum mass-specific power output (9.6 W g^–1, Table 1), the total work was 4.3 mJ.

View larger version (19K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 5. (A) Fit between observed and predicted displacement (xt) vs time. Displacements from two trials (high effort and low effort) are shown for two toads. Colors represent different individuals. For each toad (N=4), effective mass (meff) was estimated from anatomical data. For each feeding trial (N=71), total displacement (xt) vs time was estimated from digital images. The time solution for the general equation of motion (Eqn 3) was solved to find the values of the spring constant (kt) and damping coefficient (beff) that provided the best fit (dotted black lines) to the observed kinematic data. (B) Maximum instantaneous in vivo power output of the depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues during ballistic mouth opening. Colors represent different individuals.

The total spring constant (k_t) and effective damping coefficient (b_eff) were estimated by fitting the raw kinematic data to the time solution (Eqn 3) of the general equation of motion for a single degree-of-freedom damped mass-spring system. Mean values of k_t for each toad ranged from 508 to 712 N m^–1 (Table 1). Mean values of b_eff ranged from 4.1 to 5.6 Ns m^–1 (Table 1), which correspond to damping ratios of 85.7–108.5% (mean=94.5%). Eqn 2 produced good fits to the experimental data. For 71 trials from four toads, r² ranged from 0.981–0.999 (Table 1, Fig. 5A).

Electromyography
The depressor mandibulae and levator mandibulae muscles exhibited bilaterally symmetrical activity when crickets were captured at distances ranging from 1–11 cm. The depressor mandibulae muscles consistently exhibited a biphasic activity pattern, with a first large burst that began 49–247 ms before the onset of mouth opening (Fig. 6A, Table 3). Ballistic mouth opening begins at the end of the first burst, and is followed by a second, shorter burst of activity associated with prey transport. Prior to mouth opening, the levator mandibulae posterior longus showed low amplitude activity (20%) relative to its activity during mouth closing (Fig. 6A).

View larger version (18K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 6. (A) Gape profile during prey capture (black line) synchronized with EMG activity of the depressor mandibulae (DM, red) and levator mandibulae posterior longus (LM, blue). The ballistic phase of mouth opening is completed during the first 20 ms and is followed by slower mouth opening as the prey item is transported into the oral cavity. The depressor mandibulae exhibits a large burst of activity that precedes the onset of movement by up to 250 ms, and a smaller burst that accompanies the increase in gape angle during prey transport. The levator mandibulae shows low-level activity before movement, followed by a large-amplitude burst during mouth closing. Neither muscle is active during ballistic mouth opening. (B) Examples of depressor mandibulae activity during a trial with a smaller total displacement (xt=2.8 mm, 0.16 ML, above) vs a trial with a larger total displacement (xt=3.3 mm, 0.19 ML, below). Both trials are from the same toad (Ba 2). During the trial with the larger total displacement, the depressor mandibulae exhibits greater amplitude and a longer duration of activity prior to movement than during the trial with the smaller total displacement. Vertical lines delineate the ballistic phase of mouth opening. (C) Relationship between total integrated area of depressor mandibulae activity (mVs) preceding movement and total displacement (mm) during ballistic mouth opening (N=2). (D) Relationship between distance to prey (cm) and duration of depressor mandibulae activity prior to movement (N=4). Colors represent different individuals.

Two toads showed a significant positive association between total displacement (x_t) and total integrated area of depressor mandibulae activity preceding mouth opening (Fig. 6B,C, all P<0.05, r²=0.22–0.27). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the total displacement (x_t) of the depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues increases with the force (F_t) that develops in the depressor mandibulae muscles prior to movement. All four toads showed a significant positive association between the duration of depressor mandibulae activity preceding mouth opening and the distance to prey (Fig. 6D, all P<0.05, r²=0.26–0.66), suggesting that the muscles are activated earlier, relative to the onset of mouth opening, when prey are farther away.

Contractile properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles
At resting length, the depressor mandibulae muscles of toads (N=3) are also at their optimum length, L₀ (Fig. 7A). The slack length of the depressor mandibulae muscles is 1 mm less than their resting length. Stretching the muscles to their resting length produced a passive tension of 0.1 N (7–11 mN mm^–2, 2.5% P₀). Below L₀, both active and passive tension decline rapidly. Above L₀, active tension decreases rapidly, but total tension increases rapidly due to the increase in passive tension.

View larger version (17K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 7. (A) Length–tension curves for the depressor mandibulae muscle (N=3). At resting length (arrow), the muscle is at its optimum length (L0), and a small amount of passive tension (0.1 N) is present. Below resting length, active and passive tension decline rapidly. Colors represent different individuals (lines are best least-squares fit to third-order polynomials). Black dotted line represents mean for all individuals combined. (B) Force–velocity curves for the depressor mandibulae muscle (N=3). For the three individuals, Vmax was 3.74, 3.62, and 3.48 ML s–1. P=observed force, P0=maximum isometric force, V=observed velocity, Vmax=maximum shortening velocity. Colors represent different individuals (lines are best least-squares fit to Eqn 7). Black dotted line represents mean for all individuals combined.

Elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles
Load-clamp experiments were used to investigate the elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles during elastic recoil. Original records for the load-clamp experiments in which the muscle was activated isometrically for 200 ms prior to load reduction are shown in Fig. 8A,B. From these records, the distance shortened during the fast phase was calculated for each load-clamp trial as described above (see Fig. 3). The maximum displacements (x_m) obtained in situ using the force lever were 2.6 mm (15.3% ML), 3.0 mm (17.5% ML), and 2.5 mm (15.3% ML), corresponding to changes in force (F) of 3.27 N, 3.34 N and 2.45 N, respectively (Fig. 8B, Table 4).

The load-clamp experiments demonstrate that the depressor mandibulae muscles behave as non-linear springs in which muscle displacement (x_m) during elastic recoil increases exponentially with the change in load F=F_before–F_after. The shape of the exponential functions:

(10)

is described by two arbitrary constants, c₁ (N) and c₂ (kg s^–2). For each series of load-clamp trials, coefficients c₁ and c₂ were chosen to best fit the observed force–displacement data (Fig. 9A). Eqn 10 produced good fits to the observed force-displacement data in all six series of load-clamp trials (0.973 r² 0.997; Fig. 9A).

View larger version (16K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 9. Elastic properties of the depressor mandibulae muscles. Red lines: 200 ms muscle stimulation prior to load clamp (N=3). Blue lines: 50 ms muscle stimulation prior to load clamp (N=2). Purple line: 100 ms muscle stimulation prior to load clamp (N=1). (A) Change in force (F) vs displacement (xm) of the depressor mandibulae during load-clamp experiments. (B) Spring constant (km) as a function of the change in force (F) during load-clamp experiments. (C) Linear regressions between coefficients c1 (N) and c2 (kg s–2) and muscle force (N). The coefficients describe the shape of the exponential function relating xm to F (Eqn 9). Dotted lines show 95% confidence intervals for the regression slopes.

(11)

As x_m approaches 0, k_m approaches infinity, so the exponential model is not valid when F is small. During elastic recoil, the stiffness (k_m) of the depressor mandibulae muscles decreases rapidly and non-linearly as the change in force during unloading (F) increases (Fig. 9B). The stiffness (k_m) decreases as F increases because the displacement (x_m) increases exponentially with F.

During load-clamp experiments, F can be controlled by varying either the duration of muscle stimulation (F_before) or the clamp load (F_after). However, in vivo, F_after is constant for a given toad at a given time, but toads can vary F_before (and therefore F) by modulating the duration and/or amplitude of muscle activation prior to movement. In order to model ballistic mouth opening in vivo, the constants c₁ and c₂ from all six series of load-clamp experiments were regressed with F_before (Fig. 9C), so that the parameters x_m and k_m could be predicted for any value of F as follows:

(12)

(13)

Linear functions produced good fits to the experimentally derived coefficients (r²=0.959 and 0.929, respectively).

Lever artifacts
Due to the oscillatory artifacts introduced by the interaction between the muscle and the servo-controlled lever, previous workers (e.g. Huxley and Simmons, 1971; Ford et al., 1977) have questioned the usefulness of the load-clamp technique for understanding the viscoelastic properties of muscle. The oscillations in muscle length that follow the rapid decrease in load are caused by several factors, including: (1) conversion of elastic potential energy to kinetic energy in the muscle, which causes it to overshoot its equilibrium position; (2) the inertia of the force lever itself; and (3) the interaction between the muscle and the servo-controlled force lever, which arises from the delay in the response of the lever to changes in force. In the experiments reported here, the lever was tuned to produce minimal damping (2 ms step response).

We used a modeling approach to estimate the contribution of lever artifacts to the observed fast phase displacement. To estimate the expected time-dependent shortening of the muscle itself (in the absence of lever artifacts), we again used the time solution (Eqn 3) of the general equation of motion for a damped mass-spring system. We modeled the expected shortening behavior of the depressor mandibulae muscle using the load-clamp trial with the greatest change in force (3.34 N, see Fig. 8B). For this trial, Eqn 3 was used to predict the expected time-dependent shortening behavior of the depressor mandibulae muscle (data not shown). The initial force, the change in force (F), and the total fast phase displacement (x_t) were used to calculate the muscle stiffness (k_m) at a given clamp load using Eqn 11. Berkeley Madonna (version 8.0.1) was used to find the value of the damping coefficient (b_eff) that produced the best fit between the model and the observed relationship between muscle length and time. This simple model, which assumes no lever artifacts, explained 95.4% of the observed variance in muscle length vs time (see Fig. 8B) in the load-clamp experiment with the largest oscillations and the greatest change in force. It explained a higher proportion of the variance in trials for which the change in force was smaller. This modeling approach shows that, taken together, all lever artifacts combine to produce an increase in the magnitude of the first oscillation, but they have no measurable effect on the natural period of vibration.

View larger version (16K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 10. Elastic properties of extra-muscular connective tissues. (A) Time course of depressor mandibulae shortening, which equals total stretch of extra-muscular connective tissues at the origin and insertion, measured using digital imaging during in situ muscle stimulation. (B) Depressor mandibulae force vs depressor mandibulae shortening. The slope is equal to the spring constant of the extra-muscular connective tissues (ke), which averaged 1300 N m–1. (C) Relative depressor mandibulae shortening (L/L0) as a function of relative muscle force (P/P0). Colors represent different individuals (N=3). Black dotted lines in B and C represent mean for all individuals combined.

Estimating strain in series elastic elements during depressor mandibulae stimulation
During supramaximal depressor mandibulae stimulation in situ, the total strain of extra-muscular series elastic structures of the cranium and lower jaw ranged from 1.5 to 2.3 mm (8.9–14.1% ML) among the three specimens (Fig. 10A,C). Strain in the retroarticular process along the line of action of the depressor mandibulae ranged from 8.1 to 12% ML, with a mean of 10.6% (data not shown). Strain at the muscle's cranial origin ranged from 0.9 to 2.4% ML (data not shown).

For each muscle, data on shortening of the depressor mandibulae vs time, collected using in situ muscle stimulation with synchronous digital imaging, were combined with force vs time data from the same muscle, collected using the force lever, to produce estimates of the total strain in extra-muscular connective tissues as a function of muscle force (Fig. 10B). The force vs strain relationship was linear in two of three cases (Fig. 10B, pink and blue symbols), and was linear when data from all three specimens were pooled. The spring constant for all extra-muscular structures combined (k_e) was estimated as the slope of the linear relationship between total muscle shortening and force, constrained to pass through the origin. For any given force, the total strain in extra-muscular connective tissues (x_e) was estimated as the product of muscle length (l_m) and the linear function relating relative force (F_rel) to relative strain (measured as a proportion of muscle length).

The spring constant for all extra-muscular structures combined (k_e), estimated as the slope of the linear relationship between total muscle shortening and force (Fig. 10B), was 1300 N m^–1 (range=1040–1865 N m^–1). The total strain (x_e) in all extra-muscular structures combined was estimated from the slope of the relationship between relative strain and relative force (Fig. 10C) with the intercept constrained to pass through the origin (Fig. 10C):

(14)

where l_m=muscle resting length and F_rel=relative force (P/P₀).

View larger version (196K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 11. Transmission electron micrograph of depressor mandibulae sarcomeres at resting (= optimal) length. The sarcomeres are short (1.5 µm) compared to those of typical vertebrate skeletal muscles. The A-band (double-headed arrow) is also proportionately shorter (1.0 µm) so that the relative overlap of thick and thin filaments is similar to that of a typical vertebrate skeletal muscle at L0. Scale bar, 1 µm.

Elastic recoil model of ballistic mouth opening in toads
The purpose of the elastic recoil model was to account for the observed strain, shortening velocity, acceleration and power output of the depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues during ballistic mouth opening. The model is based on the elastic properties of the muscles (measured in situ during load-clamp experiments, Eqn 10 and 11) and extra-muscular connective tissues (measured in situ during muscle stimulation experiments, Eqn 14), in the context of their anatomical arrangement (Fig. 4, Eqn 8 and 9).

The paired depressor mandibulae muscles originate on the cranium and insert on the retroarticular processes of the lower jaw (Fig. 4). Each muscle was modeled as a force generator and a spring arranged in series (red symbols). On each side of the cranium, the depressor mandibulae muscle is arranged in series with a spring element that represents the sum of all extra-muscular structures that are strained by contraction of the depressor mandibulae prior to movement (i.e. cranium and retroarticular process). The springs on the left and right sides of the cranium are arranged in parallel and, from these, the effective mass is suspended (Fig. 4).

Given these anatomical arrangements, the total displacement (x_t) is equal to the sum of the displacements of the muscle spring (x_m) and connective tissue spring (x_e) arranged in series on each side of the cranium (Eqn 8). Substituting the experimentally derived expressions for x_m (Eqn 10) and x_e (Eqn 14) gives the expression for the predicted total displacement (x_t):

(15)

On each side of the cranium, the total stiffness of the muscle spring and connective tissue spring arranged in series is equal to the reciprocal of the sum of the compliances. The total stiffness (k_t) is equal to twice this value (Eqn 9) because the springs on each side of the cranium are arranged in parallel. Substituting the experimentally derived expressions for k_m (Eqn 11) and k_e (mean=1300 N m^–1) gives:

(16)

The model was implemented for each trial (N=71) from each individual toad (N=4) by: (1) estimating the in vivo inertial load (F_after=m_effg) from anatomical measurements; (2) estimating the total displacement (x_t) from digital images; (3) solving for the unique value of F_before that corresponds to the observed total displacement (x_t); and (4) using the value of F_before and the equations to calculate x_m, x_e, k_m and k_e.

In the model, connective tissue strain increases linearly with force, whereas muscle strain increases slightly non-linearly with force (Fig. 12A). At all but the lowest forces (<0.25 N), strain in the depressor mandibulae muscles is greater than strain in the extra-muscular connective tissues. Estimated maximum depressor mandibulae strain in vivo ranged from 1.3 to 2.2 mm, and estimated maximum connective tissue strain in vivo ranged from 1.2 to 1.6 mm (Table 5). In the in situ experiments (load-clamp and series connective tissue strain), the force that develops in the depressor mandibulae muscles (i.e. maximum isometric force) is higher than that achieved in vivo (i.e. voluntary force). Thus, the estimated in vivo displacement of the depressor mandibulae muscles and extra-muscular connective tissues is smaller than that observed in situ, as expected.

In the model, the total stiffness (k_t) during elastic recoil varies non-linearly as a function of both the force that develops prior to movement and the external load during movement (Fig. 12B). During elastic recoil, the total stiffness is greater either when the force before movement is smaller or when the external load is larger (i.e. whenever F is smaller). The elastic properties of muscle during elastic recoil thus differ substantially from the elastic properties of both inactive muscle, in which stiffness increases non-linearly with stretch, and active muscle under isometric conditions, in which stiffness increases linearly with force.

The model contains three sources of random error, including the confidence intervals for the slopes of the coefficients c₁ and c₂ with respect to total force (Fig. 9C) and variation among individuals in the stiffness of the extra-muscular connective tissues (Fig. 10B). Because these sources of error are statistically independent, the probability that all three variables will exhibit values outside their 95% confidence intervals simultaneously is equal to (0.05)³, or 0.000125. Thus, the 95% confidence interval for the model as a whole was calculated from the 62.8% confidence intervals for each of the three variables [1–(0.628)³=0.05; Fig. 12C, dotted lines]. The 95% confidence intervals of the model as a whole are relatively large because the estimated values of each variable are based upon relatively small samples (N=3–6).

The elastic recoil model was tested by comparing the total spring constant (k_t) estimated from in vivo kinematics using Eqn 3 (Table 1) to the values of k_t predicted by the elastic recoil model (Table 5). In general, there is a good match between the observed and predicted parameters (Fig. 12C). The observed values of k_t ranged from 508–712 N m^–1, with a mean of 581±47 N m^–1 (Table 1). Values of k_t predicted by the model ranged from 550 to 714 N m^–1, with a mean of 608±37 N m^–1 (Table 5). For all four individuals, the values of k_t estimated from kinematics were well within the 95% confidence interval for the k_t predicted by the elastic recoil model and vice versa (Fig. 12C).

	Discussion

TOP Summary Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion List of symbols References

 
Ballistic mouth opening during feeding in toads
In vivo studies of ballistic mouth opening in toads suggest that elastic strain energy is stored during activation of the depressor mandibulae muscles prior to mouth opening, and that strain energy is recovered during ballistic mouth opening. During ballistic prey capture, the jaws of toads open to angles of up to 60° in less than 20 ms. The depressor mandibulae muscles and series connective tissues shorten by up 21.4% of the muscle's resting length. The muscle mass-specific peak instantaneous power output of the depressor mandibulae muscles and associated connective tissues is up to 9600 W kg^–1, more than 25 times the power output of frog hip extensors (m. semimembranosus) during jumping (Lutz and Rome, 1994). The high instantaneous velocities, accelerations and power output support the hypothesis that the mechanism of ballistic mouth opening involves the storage and recovery of elastic strain energy.

Electromyograms synchronized with digital images of freely behaving toads demonstrate that the depressor mandibulae muscles are active for up to 250 ms prior to the onset of ballistic mouth opening. The depressor mandibulae muscles are deactivating, or electrically silent, during ballistic mouth opening (Fig. 6). It appears that de-activation during movement may increase the efficiency of recovery of elastic strain energy. Lou et al. showed (Lou et al., 1999) that work stored in the series elastic component of dogfish axial muscle could be recovered completely as external work when the muscle shortened during relaxation, whereas only 80% of the work was recovered if the muscle remained active during shortening.

Strain of elastic elements in series with the depressor mandibulae muscles
Digital imaging demonstrates that both the cranium, at the muscle's origin, and the retroarticular process, at the muscle's insertion, are strained d