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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy of the Sensory and Motor Brain Regions with Simultaneous Kinematic and EMG Monitoring During Motor Tasks
Published on: December 5, 2014
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy study on primary motor and somatosensory cortex response to biting and finger
Mami Shibusawa1, Tomotaka Takeda, Kazunori Nakajima
1Department of Sports Dentistry, Tokyo Dental College, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. sibusawa@tdc.ac.jp
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of biting and finger clenching intensity on the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHb) in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) as an indicator of brain activity in the primary motor (MI) and somatosensory (SI) cortices. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used in 8 healthy subjects. Subjects were required to do biting (bite) and finger clenching (fclench) at 20, 50 and 80% of maximum force. To minimize the effect of temporal muscle activity on the working side of the jaw, the fNIRS probes were positioned contralaterally, in the left temporal region. Activation of MI and SI cortices with bite and fclench was noted in all subjects, irrespective of the intensity of bite and fclench. A significant increase was observed in OxyHb in MI and SI between 20% and both 50 and 80% intensity. In MI cortex, OxyHb showed a significant increase between 80% and both 20 and 50% fclench intensity. The results suggest that intensity of bite and fclench influences activation levels in MI and SI. Further, an activation was more obvious with bite than fclench.
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