Research to clarify the relationship between brain function and swallowing in patients with anterior open bite using functional MRI

本文阐述了前牙开患者的形态学表现为下颌骨向后、向下旋转，下颌磨牙突出，覆盖增加，覆牙合减少。在功能上，牙尖交错时咬合力和咬合面积明显较小，下颌运动时髁突运动受限。fMRI研究结果显示，PCC和VTA显示出正性的自我面孔特异性激活。PCC可能在积极的自我面孔加工中发挥作用，并从积极的自传体记忆中提取积极的自我形象。PCC的激活程度可能与个体的自我概念有关。同时，作为奖赏系统的一部分，VTA可能将积极的自我面孔作为社会奖赏进行加工。在LSE中，VTA激活受对比度效应的调节可能反映了对自身负反馈的较低耐受性。这些结果表明，PCC和VTA与积极的自我面孔评价有关，自我面孔评价与自尊在神经水平上存在联系。

We elucidated that the patients with anterior open bite have extruded lower molars and rotated mandible backward and downward, and increased Overjet and decreased Overbite in morphologic findings. In funcition, they have significantly small occlusal force and occlusal area during intercuspation, and limited condylar motion during jaw movements. As the result of fMRI study, PCC and VTA showed positive self-face specific activation. PCC might play the role of processing of positive self-face as one's own traits and retrieving positive self-image from positive autobiographical memory. The degree of PCC activation might be related to one's self-concept. Meanwhile, VTA, which is the part of the reward system, might process positive self-face as social reward. VTA activation modulated by contrast effect in LSEs might reflect the lower tolerability for one's own negative feedback. These results suggest that PCC and VTA are related to positive self-face evaluation, and self-face evaluation links with self-esteem at the neural level.