The Clarification about Mechanism of Awake Bruxism using Neuroimaging Technique

本研究的目的是比较握拳和咬牙时的大脑活动，并探讨牙周传入输入对咀嚼肌诱发的大脑活动模式的影响。第一项研究表明，双侧轻握拳显著激活双侧感觉运动皮层，而轻咬牙显著激活双侧感觉运动皮层、辅助运动区、背外侧前额叶皮层和后顶叶皮层。第二项研究表明，假牙敲击和真牙敲击时的大脑活动没有差异。我们的研究结果表明，咬牙时的大脑活动在中枢神经系统中具有特定的模式，与有节奏的下颌运动相比，牙周传入输入和相关的下颌肌肉活动的影响相对较小。

The aim of this project was to compare the cerebral activity between fists and tooth clenching in first study, and to investigate the role of periodontal afferent inputs on cerebral activation pattern evoked by masticatory muscle in second study. First study showed that bilateral light fist clenching significantly activated the bilateral sensorimotor cortex, while light teeth clenching was significantly associated with activation of bilateral sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex. Second study showed that there was no difference in cerebral activity between during sham tooth tapping and tooth tapping. Our findings suggest that the cerebral activity during tooth clenching has specific pattern in the central nerve system and the influence of periodontal afferent inputs and associated jaw muscle activity is relatively minor compared to the rhythmic jaw movements.