[Jaw and perioral reflexes elicited by tooth tapping in the cat].
The reflex responses elicited by tapping the maxillary canine were studied in 12 adult cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose. Short (4-8 msec) and long (14-22 msec) latency responses were recorded from both efferent nerves innervating a digastric muscle and an inferior portion of perioral muscles. These two responses were also observed from a single fiber teased from the efferent nerve as two successive groups of spike discharges. The long-latency responses from the digastric and the perioral muscle were both elicited by a light tooth tapping and disappeared at about the same time following infiltration of local anesthetic over the tap-stimulated tooth root or following inhalation of ether narcosis. The long-latency responses from the above muscles may be, therefore, elicited by the same sensory information of the periodontal afferent, and have a common reflex center.
Munakata
Y
Y
Tsuji
M
M
Kasai
S
S
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003481:Cuspid; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology*