Work

Mechanical properties of gummies are associated with threat-related behavior and neuroglial markers in mice

Year: 2026

Type: article

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.

Source: The Journal of Physiological Sciences

DOI: 10.1016/j.jphyss.2026.100114