Temporomandibular (TM) disorders include a number of related painful conditions affecting the jaw. Causes are unknown. Epidemiological studies have limited value, but there is reason to believe that the incidence of oral-facial pain in the U.S. is high (Casey et al. 1979). Past pain research in the trigeminal system has focussed primarily on sensory mechanisms; little is known about the motor response to experimental and clinical pain. Rather than attempting to address causal issues in the clinical material, we propose to study the effects of experimental pain of specific and known origin on jaw motor function. We will then look for similar motor events in the clinical material. The goal of this research is to obtain information about the effect of pain on jaw motor function.
We aim to arrive at an experimental model for the study of pain-modulated motor function which includes similar behavioral features as observed in situations of clinical pain. We will develop, refine and standardize a reliable model which is based upon the controlled, repeated injection of hypertonic sodium chloride solution into selected jaw muscles and the assessment of the perceived pain by means of visual-analog-scales (VAS). In healthy subjects, in quasi- static and dynamic tasks, using repeated measures design, we will study changes in postural activity and well-controlled jaw motor functions before pain induction, in pain and after pain has subsided. Experiments in the clinical population will involve the same tasks, including functional assessment before and after pain control, whenever possible. We will investigate the myoelectric activity in the painful muscle, its synergists and antagonists and quantify the altered jaw kinematics in pain. In the clinical material, we will test the hypothesis that no difference exists in painful function between acute muscle disorders and osteoarthritis. Finally, we will test whether or not the experimental and clinical pain have similar effects of jaw motor function, or in other terms whether or not the proposed experimental model includes similar features as found in disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01DE008606-01A1
Application #
3222414
Study Section
Oral Biology and Medicine Study Section (OBM)
Project Start
1988-12-01
Project End
1991-11-30
Budget Start
1988-12-01
Budget End
1989-11-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Department
Type
Schools of Dentistry/Oral Hygn
DUNS #
791277940
City
Ann Arbor
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48109
Stohler, C S (1999) Craniofacial pain and motor function: pathogenesis, clinical correlates, and implications. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med 10:504-18
Turp, J C; Kowalski, C J; Stohler, C S (1998) Treatment-seeking patterns of facial pain patients: many possibilities, limited satisfaction. J Orofac Pain 12:61-6
Turp, J C; Kowalski, C J; O'Leary, N et al. (1998) Pain maps from facial pain patients indicate a broad pain geography. J Dent Res 77:1465-72
Turp, J C; Kowalski, C J; Stohler, C S (1997) Pain descriptors characteristic of persistent facial pain. J Orofac Pain 11:285-90
Turp, J C; Kowalski, C J; Stohler, C S (1997) Temporomandibular disorders--pain outside the head and face is rarely acknowledged in the chief complaint. J Prosthet Dent 78:592-5
Obrez, A; Stohler, C S (1996) Jaw muscle pain and its effect on gothic arch tracings. J Prosthet Dent 75:393-8
Stohler, C S; Zhang, X; Lund, J P (1996) The effect of experimental jaw muscle pain on postural muscle activity. Pain 66:215-21
Zhang, X; Ashton-Miller, J A; Stohler, C S (1995) Three-dimensional unilateral method for the bilateral measurement of condylar movements. J Biomech 28:1007-11
Zhang, X; Ashton-Miller, J A; Stohler, C S (1993) A closed-loop system for maintaining constant experimental muscle pain in man. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 40:344-52
Veerasarn, P; Stohler, C S (1992) The effect of experimental muscle pain on the background electrical brain activity. Pain 49:349-60

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