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Generalized vibrotactile allodynia in a patient with temporomandibular disorder
Roger B Fillingim1, Lori A Fillingim, Mark Hollins
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35279-1170, USA Dental Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Endodontics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Abstract:
This report presents the findings from a psychophysical study of vibrotactile responses in a patient diagnosed with temporomandibular disorder (TMD). This patient unexpectedly reported pain due to innocuous vibrotactile stimulation, and this allodynia appeared to have a component of temporal summation. The pain response occurred not only in the region of the clinical pain (the face), but also on the volar forearm, where the patient reported no clinical pain. Administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist dextromethorphan (DM), but not vehicle, attenuated the vibration-induced pain at both sites.