| Budget Amount *help |
¥9,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥9,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥8,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥8,300,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study was to compare of the pain threshold in the trigeminal nerve region between healthy male and female volunteers.
1. Measurements of current perception and pain thresholds in the trigeminal nerve region
1) The test-retest reliability of current perception threshold measurements
Intra-class correlations for the trigeminal nerve following 2,000, 250, and 5 Hz stimulation were 0.62, 0.80, and 0.86, respectively. Reliability was therefore favorable for all three frequencies.
2) Gender differences of current perception and pain thresholds
Irrespective of stimulation frequencies, the current perception threshold was significantly lower in females than in males, whereas the mean current pain threshold was lower, but not significant, in females than in males.
2. Measurements of thermal perception and pain thresholds in the trigeminal nerve region
1) Gender differences of perception threshold for hot and cold stimuli
The mean perception thresholds for hot and cold stimuli were lower in females than in males but the gender differences were not significant. Since the p-values were slightly bigger than 0.05, it is anticipated the differences would be significant in bigger samples.
2) Gender differences of pain threshold for hot and cold stimuli
There were no gender differences in pain threshold for hot and cold stimuli.
These results suggest that, compared to healthy-males, healthy females are more sensitive to tactile or pressure sensations, and that the gender differences on the pain threshold with pain-related nerve fibers such as A δ and C fibers can be ignored. The gender difference of patient population with orofacial pain might be explained by not the peripheral mechanism, but the central mechanism of pain perception.
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