Greven Markus, Otsuka Takero, Zutz Leander, Weber Bernd, Elger Christian, Sato Sadao
Department of Craniofacial Growth and Development Dentistry, Kanagawa Dental College.
Cranio. 2011 Oct;29(4):291-6. doi: 10.1179/crn.2011.043.
The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to investigate the correlation between the severity of malocclusion and brain activation. The fMRI was used to measure blood-oxygenation- level-dependent (BOLD) signals of twelve healthy human subjects while they clenched in two different ways to simulate two types of malocclusion. In each malocclusion model, a custom-made splint forced the mandible to each of two retrusive positions (0.5 mm, 0.7 mm). A no-modification splint provided the control. We compared the BOLD signals measured at each clenching position with those measured during the corresponding resting conditions. The BOLD signals were significantly stronger in the amygdala and the prefrontal area (PFA) when subjects clenched in the two retrusive positions compared during clenching in the control position. In addition, the BOLD signal in the PFA increased as the simulated malocclusion became more severe. These results indicate that we may be able to objectively assess the severity of malocclusion via focus on the brain activity.
这项功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究的目的是调查错牙合畸形的严重程度与大脑激活之间的相关性。在十二名健康人类受试者以两种不同方式咬紧牙齿以模拟两种类型的错牙合畸形时，使用功能磁共振成像来测量血氧水平依赖（BOLD）信号。在每种错牙合畸形模型中，定制的夹板将下颌骨强制固定在两个后缩位置（0.5毫米、0.7毫米）中的每一个位置。一个未作修改的夹板作为对照。我们将在每个咬紧位置测量的BOLD信号与在相应静息状态下测量的信号进行了比较。与在对照位置咬紧时相比，当受试者在两个后缩位置咬紧时，杏仁核和前额叶区域（PFA）的BOLD信号明显更强。此外，随着模拟的错牙合畸形变得更加严重，前额叶区域的BOLD信号增加。这些结果表明，我们或许能够通过关注大脑活动来客观评估错牙合畸形的严重程度。
