Control of human jaw posture and movements

Funded Activity Summary

Speech and chewing are accomplished automatically by the jaw muscles which have both the power to chew meat and even bone, and the precision to make extremely fine adjustments to the shape of the mouth that enable speech. The brain needs constant inputs from sensory receptors in and around the mouth to control these muscles. We will investigate how these sensory mechanisms automatically fine-tune the activity of the jaw muscles and the mechanisms that keep the jaw in its normal position when the subject is sitting quietly, or when the head is moving up and down during running. This normal rest position of the jaw is a vital point of reference for dentists who are making false teeth and for surgeons who are restoring damaged faces, but it is not known what mechanisms are responsible for it. Anyone who has experienced a sore tooth or sore jaw muscles will know that pain adversely affects normal chewing. A common symptom is limitation of jaw movements. We will determine how pain affects the control of jaw muscles. This is important for people with chronic facial pain from arthritis of the jaw joint or from grinding their teeth while they are asleep. Even if it is not possible to eliminate their pain, we hope to suggest approaches which will alleviate its effects. Another part of our study involves a computer model of the chewing system. Computer models enable scientists to examine the effect of various interventions such as surgery or orthodontics on a model before these are tried on humans. It is also possible to use such a virtual patient to answer important functional questions that cannot be examined in humans because the methods are unavailable, or because the procedures would be ethically unacceptable. The current version of the computer model is quite sophisticated anatomically, but lacks important information on the control systems that activate the muscles. We will collaborate with the developers of the model by providing this information.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2002

End Date: 01-01-2004

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $195,990.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Medical infection agents (incl. prions)

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

denture wearers | facial pain and craniomandibular syndrome | maxillofacial surgery | muscle pain | pain and control of masticatory muscles | pulsatile control of masticatory muscles | reflex control of jaw position at rest and during locomotion | rest position of mandible in dentistry | tremor and movement | trigeminal sensorimotor system

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