Chewing improves visuospatial performance through locus coeruleus (LC) activation. The effects of bilateral and unilateral mastication were investigated in subjects showing different degrees asymmetry masseter electromyographic (EMG) activity during clenching pupil size at rest (anisocoria), which is a proxy LC imbalance. Correlations between changes values found males, but not females. Among w...

Because temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) rehabilitation continues to be a challenge, a more comprehensive picture of the orofacial functions in patients with chronic pain is required. This study assessed the orofacial functions, including surface electromyography (EMG) of dynamic rhythmic activities, in patients with moderate-severe signs and symptoms of chronic TMD. It was hypothesized that ...

Twelve healthy, fully-dentate subjects participated in experiments which included the continuous recording of surface electromyography and jaw movement during habitual and deliberate right-sided or left-sided chewing of a coherent bolus. Analogue data streams were converted to digital values. Root-mean-square (r.m.s.) muscle-activity traces were computed from raw electromyographic data. The wor...

The store-based and perceptual-gestural accounts of verbal STM suggest that any impairment (e.g. by concurrent oral activity) of articulatory planning/production processes will also impair verbal STM. In contrast, the interference-based Feature Model argues that a concurrent oral activity is only disruptive for STM performance because it introduces irrelevant verbal item features, which interfe...

The complexity of human oral functional movements has not been studied in detail quantitatively, and only recently have studies begun to evaluate whether such movements contain sex-specific characteristics. Therefore, the purposes of this study were: (1) to quantify in detail the jaw movements and associated masticatory electromyographic activity occurring during gum chewing, and (2) to explore...

BACKGROUND Zygomatic implants are an alternative treatment in the rehabilitation of atrophic maxilla to promote stability in the stomatognathic system. The aim of this study was to compare the electromyographic (EMG) activity of masseter and temporalis muscles in controls and in individuals with complete implant-supported dentures anchored in the zygomatic bone. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-fo...

Trigeminal input to the ascending activating system is important for the maintenance of arousal and may affect the discharge of the noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC), whose activity influences both vigilance state and pupil size, inducing mydriasis. For this reason, pupil size evaluation is now considered an indicator of LC activity. Since mastication activates trigeminal affere...

Specific activity of the human medial pterygoid muscle in relation to jaw movements and occlusion during mastication and clenching tasks is unclear. EMG activity of the medial pterygoid, masseter, anterior, and posterior temporal muscles was recorded simultaneously with three dimensional incisor point movement of the mandible. Data were sampled and analyzed by an on-line computer system. Patter...

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of physically effective (pe) neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of dairy cow diets containing corn silage as the sole forage type on feed intake, meal patterns, chewing activity, and rumen pH. The experiment was designed as a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square using 6 lactating dairy cows with ruminal cannulas. Diets were chemically similar but var...