IADR Abstract Archives
Effects of Music on the Activity of Masticatory Muscles
Objectives: Guided Music Listening is an accepted intervention aimed at reducing pain in chronic diseases by positively impacting stress and anxiety, which correlate positively with the frequency of daytime tooth clenching, a parafunctional oral behavior associated with temporomandibular disorders.
The objectives of this study are to test the effect of music on the habitual activity of the masticatory muscles and parafunctional tooth clenching episodes in healthy individuals. It was hypothesized that music influences motor output and that this modulation is dependent on the type of music.
Methods: The Oral Behavior Checklist (OBC) was filled by 90 students at the University of Toronto. Surface electromyography was used to record the activity of the right masseter muscle during three 20-minute sessions of listening to music (relaxing, stress/tension, and favorite) and a control no-music task in eleven (21.4±2.8 years) and ten (22.8±3.0 years) healthy volunteers with OBC scores>80th (very frequent parafunctions, HP) and <20th (low frequent parafunctions, LP) percentile of the score distribution. The music playlists were defined following individual music pre-tests.
Results: In HP the mean amplitude of the habitual muscular activity was lower in the relaxing than stress/tension and favorite conditions. In LP, it was greater in relaxing than stress/tension and favorite conditions (all p<0.001).The mean amplitude of clenching episodes was greater in the relaxing phase as compared to other music in HP (all p<0.05), while in LP it was lower during the stress/tension section, as compared to control (p=0.001). The frequency and duration of clenching episodes were not affected by the tasks.
Conclusions: The effect of music on the activity of masticatory muscles has never been tested before. Music modulates motor output in the stomatognathic system by differentially influencing habitual and parafunctional muscular activities. The motor response to music is dependent on the self-reported frequency of oral parafunctional behaviors and the type of music.
The objectives of this study are to test the effect of music on the habitual activity of the masticatory muscles and parafunctional tooth clenching episodes in healthy individuals. It was hypothesized that music influences motor output and that this modulation is dependent on the type of music.
Methods: The Oral Behavior Checklist (OBC) was filled by 90 students at the University of Toronto. Surface electromyography was used to record the activity of the right masseter muscle during three 20-minute sessions of listening to music (relaxing, stress/tension, and favorite) and a control no-music task in eleven (21.4±2.8 years) and ten (22.8±3.0 years) healthy volunteers with OBC scores>80th (very frequent parafunctions, HP) and <20th (low frequent parafunctions, LP) percentile of the score distribution. The music playlists were defined following individual music pre-tests.
Results: In HP the mean amplitude of the habitual muscular activity was lower in the relaxing than stress/tension and favorite conditions. In LP, it was greater in relaxing than stress/tension and favorite conditions (all p<0.001).The mean amplitude of clenching episodes was greater in the relaxing phase as compared to other music in HP (all p<0.05), while in LP it was lower during the stress/tension section, as compared to control (p=0.001). The frequency and duration of clenching episodes were not affected by the tasks.
Conclusions: The effect of music on the activity of masticatory muscles has never been tested before. Music modulates motor output in the stomatognathic system by differentially influencing habitual and parafunctional muscular activities. The motor response to music is dependent on the self-reported frequency of oral parafunctional behaviors and the type of music.