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Blink reflexes in patients with atypical odontalgia and matched healthy controls

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Abstract

Atypical odontalgia (AO) is an orofacial pain condition which has been suggested to involve neuropathic pain mechanisms. The aim of this study was to use a brain stem reflex to investigate craniofacial nociceptive mechanisms in AO. In 38 AO patients and 27 matched healthy controls, the R2 component of the blink reflex (BR) was elicited using a “nociceptive-specific” electrode and recorded with surface electromyography electrodes on both orbicularis oculi muscles. The BR was tested by stimulation of both sides of the face of the participants before, during, and after an intraoral pain provocation test with capsaicin. The data were analyzed with three- and four-way mixed-model analyses of variance. The root mean square value of the ipsilateral R2 (R2i) was significantly reduced in patients compared with controls (P=0.046). No differences in R2 between stimulation sides were detected in either group (P>0.757). In all participants, R2 responses and the intensity of the pain evoked by the electrical stimulus were decreased during and after application of capsaicin compared with baseline (P<0.001). In patients, R2i onset latencies were significantly prolonged compared with controls (P=0.031). The present data show disturbances in the central processing of craniofacial information and that endogenous pain inhibitory systems in AO patients and healthy controls were activated to a similar degree by an acute intraoral nociceptive input. Additional clinical research with AO patients will be needed to determine to what extent neuropathic pain mechanisms are involved in this pain condition.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Ewa Lööw, Gunilla Johnsson, and Bente Haugsted for skillful assistance in the laboratory and Kritanjli Bajaj for data entry assistance. This study was supported by The Danish Medical Research Council, The Aarhus University Research Foundation, the Danish Dental Association, the Health Research Council in the South-East of Sweden (FORSS), and the Swedish Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry, University of Aarhus, Vennelyst Boulevard 9, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Lene Baad-Hansen & Peter Svensson

  2. Orofacial Pain Unit, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Thomas List

  3. Institute of Neurology, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK

    Holger Kaube

  4. Danish Pain Research Center, Aarhus University Hospital, Nørrebrogade 44, Aarhus, Denmark

    Troels S. Jensen

  5. Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Nørrebrogade 44, Aarhus, Denmark

    Peter Svensson

  6. Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Peter Svensson

Authors
  1. Lene Baad-Hansen
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  2. Thomas List
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  3. Holger Kaube
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  4. Troels S. Jensen
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  5. Peter Svensson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lene Baad-Hansen.

Additional information

This study was supported by The Danish Medical Research Council, The Aarhus University Research Foundation, the Danish Dental Association, the Health Research Council in the South-East of Sweden (FORSS), and the Swedish Research Council.

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Baad-Hansen, L., List, T., Kaube, H. et al. Blink reflexes in patients with atypical odontalgia and matched healthy controls. Exp Brain Res 172, 498–506 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0358-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0358-1

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