口腔および口唇領域の電気刺激に対する知覚闘値

摘要

The author has already reported the current perception threshold (CPT) of skin surface using the quantitative evaluation system for pain (Pain Vision). CPT can provide the useful information for the diagnosis of the peripheral neuropathy and the related diseases. In this study, CPT on the oral (gum and tongue) and the lip region were measured using the same system. The oral and the lip region are influenced to the much nerve which is branched from trigeminal nerve. The grasp of these neurological functions is essential to an evaluation of these peripheral nerve functions, such as a taste disorder or hyperesthesia, and the depth of local anesthesia. The purpose of this study is to determine the standard value of CPT in healthy person as the control CPT range on the oral and lip regions. CPT were measured on the oral and the lip region of 120 healthy young subjects (male: 60, average age 22.36, female: 60, average age 22.0) by the electrical stimulation (pulse width: 0.3 ms, 50 Hz). As the results, measured CPT of the oral cavity and lip regions is distributed over the relatively small range, but shown the significant differences in sex and the position in correspondence with nerve system. The CPT of the tongue showed the great difference between measurement positions traced to the dominant nerve. The center and the base of tongue showed 2-3 times higher CPT values than the tip of tongue CPT.