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Exteroceptive suppression of masseter muscle: assessment of two methods for quantitating suppression periods
P O Hansen1, P Svensson, J Nielsen
1Danish Pain Research Center and Dept of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital.
Objectives:
The late exteroceptive suppression period (ES2) of the masseter muscle is conventionally quantified by a combination of measures of duration, amplitude, or mean activity. The combination of measures makes it difficult to compare ES2s obtained from different set-ups. An unbiased method for quantitating ES2 is introduced allowing ranking of ES2s. The introduced method is utilized to evaluate stimulus and recording conditions under which ES2 is maximal.
Material And Methods:
Fifteen male volunteers participated in 3 experiments designed to determine the effect of level of teeth clenching, stimulus intensity, and perceived pain intensity on the ES2.
Results:
Coefficients of variance (1 h/1 month) were: duration: 11%/43%, latency: 9%/12%, and magnitude of suppression: 11%/12%. A level of teeth clenching of 66% of maximal voluntary bite force, and a stimulus intensity below pain detection threshold was associated with maximal magnitude of suppression of ES2.
Conclusion:
The introduced method is reproducible and allows ranking and stimulus-response estimations of ES2. It is suggested that ES2 does not reflect activity along the nociceptive pathways in the trigeminal region.