The activities of the central nervous system concerned with the recognition of periodontal tactile sensationRecording of SEFs following periodontal tactile stimulation and identification of the ECD in the postcentral gyrus in humans

Abstract

In this study, we confirmed the reappearance of the somatosensory-evoked field (SEF) responses following periodontal mechanical stimulation of the upper and lower teeth. And the equivalent current dipole (ECD) locations activated by the stimulation of the upper tooth were compared with those of the lower tooth. In addition, we investigated the influences of lack of periodontal pressoreceptive information under anesthetized conditions at the periodontal tissue of the upper tooth. For mechanical stimulation to the periodontal ligament, we used a nitrogen gas pressure-driven tactile stimulator. SEFs were recorded using 306-channel whole-head DC-SQUID neuromagnetmeter when the tactile stimulation was applied to the tooth. The SEFs were recorded following tactile stimulation of the tooth. Three peaks were observed in the SEF response. Although the ECDs of their peak latencies for upper and lower teeth were identified. There was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the peak latencies between the upper tooth and the lower tooth. Under infiltration anesthesia conditions, disappearance of the SEFs was accepted. These results mean that the luck of periodontal ligament might lead to dysfunction of control system of mandibular movement that is related to neuro-muscular system.