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Published on: September 13, 2024
Gray matter volume is associated with pain and masticatory performance in temporomandibular disorders-related
Ta-Chung Chen1,2, Chia-Shu Lin2,3,4,5
1Division of Prosthodontics, Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Objective:
Neuroimaging evidence has increasingly revealed associations between brain mechanisms and temporomandibular disorders (TMD). However, current cross-sectional findings have not elucidated the neural mechanisms underlying dynamic changes in pain and mastication. This longitudinal study investigated gray matter volume (GMV) of the brain in patients with TMD-related myalgia and its associations with pain intensity and masticatory performance.
Methods:
Twenty-one TMD patients were investigated for current pain, muscle pain, and masticatory performance before (T0) and after (T1) treatment. Among the patients, 13 received structural magnetic resonance imaging. GMV was compared between TMD patients and matched non-TMD controls, and the association between GMV at T0 and clinical variables was investigated in TMD patients.
Results:
Between the TMD and non-TMD groups, no significant GMV differences were found. However, total GMV was significantly lower in T1 compared to T0. Greater T0 GMV in the superior frontal gyrus and primary motor cortex was associated with greater current pain and better masticatory performance at T0, respectively. Greater T0 GMV in the anterior insula was associated with a lower muscle pain score at T1.
Conclusion:
The new findings suggest that individual differences in structural brain features may be associated with pain and masticatory performance before and after TMD treatment.
