Relationship between oral sensory thresholds and depressive moods.
OBJECTIVE
The aims were to compare the sensory thresholds on the tip of the tongue with on the dorsum of the hand, and to investigate the relationship between the sensory threshold and depressive mood with volunteers whose psychological conditions were normal.


METHODS
Fifty-five subjects (28 women, 27 men) took psychiatric structured diagnostic interview and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). In the next step, the quantitative sensory tests (light touch sensation and thermal sensory test) were carried out on the tongue and the hand. Then we investigated the relationship between depressive moods and sensory thresholds on the tongue and the hand using logistic regression model.


RESULTS
The sensory thresholds on the tip of the tongues were significantly different from those on the dorsum of the hands. Only on tongue tip, increment of SDS had relation to the thresholds of innoxious thermal stimulation (OR=0.152, 95% CI. 0.049-0.478) and noxious heat stimulation (OR=0.352, 95% CI. 0.169-0.734).


CONCLUSIONS
This finding might support for the idea that depressive mood had closer association with the tongue of the orofacial areas than the dorsum of the hand.
Watanabe
Yuko
Y
Maxillofacial Surgery, Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Function, Division of Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction, Graduated School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. y-watanabe.mfs@tmd.ac.jp
Ishikawa
Takayuki
T
Kino
Koji
K
Yamaguchi
Shoko
S
Kobayashi
Akiko
A
Sawada
Masato
M
Wake
Hiroyuki
H
Miyachi
Hideo
H
Miyaoka
Hitoshi
H
Amagasa
Teruo
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D013697:Thermosensing; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch