Study of exteroceptive suppression of voluntary muscular activity in healthy volunteers and patients with paroxysmal neuropathic pain.

Abstract

The exteroceptive suppression of voluntary electromyographic activity of the masseter and temporal muscles was studied in healthy volunteers and patients with paroxysmal neuropathic pain (trigeminal neuralgia). The latent period of the exteroceptive suppression was prolonged and the duration of its late fragment was shortened in the patients in comparison with normal subjects. A short exteroceptive suppression period in patients with trigeminal neuralgia reflected deficient activity of inhibitory interneurons of the reflector loop and excessive activity of the antinociceptive system of the brain stem, while prolongation of the latent period reflected prolongation of inhibitory interneurons activation. A direct correlation between the degree of changes in the exteroceptive suppression parameters and pain intensity, evaluated by the patients by the visual analog scale, was detected.