Motor Performance and Skill Acquisition in Oral Motor Training With Exergames: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of oral-motor training with exergames on motor performance and motor skill acquisition in two different age groups. Methods: Thirty-two healthy participants were recruited in the current pilot study and divided equally into two groups (Gen Z and Baby Boomers) according to their age. A pair of electromyographic (EMG) electrodes were placed on the participants' masseter muscles. The EMG device communicated via Bluetooth with a mobile video game in response to the electromyographic activity of the masseter muscles during clenching. During the experimental session, participants were asked to play a video game in five blocks of 5 min each, with a 3-min break between each time block. The goal of the game was to collect as many coins (game points) as possible and to dodge/avoid upcoming obstacles (game life). Motor performance was assessed by performance scores and the number of game lives. Skill acquisition was measured by task efficiency (ratio of performance scores and number of game lives) across time blocks. Results: The results of the study showed significantly lower performance scores (p < 0.001), a higher number of game lives (p < 0.001), and lower task efficiency in the Baby Boomer group compared to the Gen Z group. Specifically, the results showed that there was a significant difference in task efficiency between the first and second, third and fourth, fourth- and fifth-time blocks in the Gen Z group (p < 0.002). However, there was only a significant difference between first- and second-time blocks in the Baby Boomer group (p = 1.012), suggesting that skill acquisition in the Baby Boomer group did not change significantly over the course of the time blocks. Conclusion: The study showed higher motor performance and superior motor skill acquisition with novel exergame training in the Gen Z group compared to the Baby Boomer group. The results of the study indicate that there is an improvement in oral motor skills with short-term training, yet the differences in oral motor skills between the two groups are still evident. The Baby Boomer group, unlike the Gen Z group, did not show robust improvement in task efficiency over the course of the series.

Training-induced dynamics of accuracy and precision in human motor control.

The study investigated the dynamic changes in accuracy and precision during a simple oral and digital motor task involving a controlled and a ballistic force. Eighteen healthy participants participated in four experimental sessions during which they performed one hundred trials of targeting a controlled (low/high hold force) and a ballistic force during an oral and a digital motor task (OMT and DMT). Accuracy and precision across one hundred trials were calculated and subjected to segmented linear regression analysis. Repeated performance of controlled forces show a significant dynamic change in accuracy during initial stage of targeting high hold forces during OMT and a significant dynamic change in both accuracy and precision during final stage of targeting high hold forces during DMT. Repeated performance of ballistic force showed a significant dynamic change in both accuracy and precision during final stage of targeting high hold force forces during OMT and a significant dynamic change in accuracy during the initial stages of targeting high hold force during the DMT. The findings indicate a subtle degree of dissociation between accuracy and precision in terms of dynamic modulation of forces due to repeated performance of both OMT and DMT.

Perturbed oral motor control due to anesthesia during intraoral manipulation of food.

Sensory information from periodontal mechanoreceptors (PMRs) surrounding the roots of natural teeth is important for optimizing the positioning of food and adjustment of force vectors during precision biting. The present experiment was designed to test the hypothesis; that reduction of afferent inputs from the PMRs, by anesthesia, perturbs the oral fine motor control and related jaw movements during intraoral manipulation of morsels of food. Thirty healthy volunteers with a natural dentition were equally divided into experimental and control groups. The participants in both groups were asked to manipulate and split a spherical candy into two equal halves with the front teeth. An intervention was made by anesthetizing the upper and lower incisors of the experimental group while the control group performed the task without intervention. Performance of the split was evaluated and the jaw movement recorded. The experimental group demonstrated a significant decrease in measures of performance following local anesthesia. However, there was no significant changes in the duration or position of the jaw during movements in the experimental and control group. In conclusion, transient deprivation of sensory information from PMRs perturbs oral fine motor control during intraoral manipulation of food, however, no significant alterations in duration or positions of the jaw during movements can be observed.

Motor behavior during the first chewing cycle in subjects with fixed tooth- or implant-supported prostheses.

OBJECTIVES: Appropriate sensory information from periodontal mechanoreceptors (PMRs) is important for optimizing the positioning of food and adjustment of force vectors during precision biting. This study was designed to describe motor behavior during the first cycle of a natural chewing task and to evaluate the role of such sensory input in this behavior. MATERIAL AND METHODS: While 10 subjects with natural dentition, 11 with bimaxillary fixed tooth-supported prostheses (TSP) and 10 with bimaxillary fixed implant-supported prostheses (ISP) (mean age 69 [range 61-83]) chewed a total of five hazelnuts, their vertical and lateral jaw movements were recorded. Data obtained during the first chewing cycle of each hazelnut were analyzed. RESULTS: The amplitude of vertical and lateral mandibular movement and duration of jaw opening did not differ between the groups, indicating similar behavior during this part of the chewing cycle. However, only 30% of the subjects in the natural dentate group, but 82% of those in the TSP and 70% in the ISP group exhibited slippage of the hazelnut during jaw closure in at least one of five trials. The TSP and ISP groups also exhibited more irregular and narrower patterns of motion (total lateral/vertical movement = 0.15 and 0.19, respectively, compared to 0.27 for the natural group). CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with fixed tooth- or implant-supported prostheses in both jaws show altered behavior, including inadequate control of the hazelnut, during the first chewing cycle. We propose that these differences are due to impairment or absence of sensory signaling from PMRs in these individuals.

Alterations in intraoral manipulation and splitting of food by subjects with tooth- or implant-supported fixed prostheses.

OBJECTIVES: Sensory information provided by the periodontal mechanoreceptors (PMRs) is used by the nervous system to optimize the positioning of food, force levels, and force vectors involved in biting. The aim of this study was to describe motor performance during a novel manipulation-and-split task and to assess the extent to which control of this performance involves information from the PMRs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 10 subjects with natural teeth, 10 with bimaxillary tooth-supported fixed prostheses (TSP) and 10 with bimaxillary implant-supported fixed prostheses (ISP) (61-83 [mean 69] years of age) were asked to perform an intraoral manipulation-and-split task that involved positioning a spherical chocolate dragée between the front teeth and then splitting it into two parts of equal size. The vertical jaw movement, sound of food cracking and masseter muscle activity were monitored during this task and the accuracy of the split was evaluated. RESULTS: The group with natural teeth was significantly better than the other groups at splitting the candy with high precision. The jaw movements were similar between groups, but the contact phase prior to the split was significantly longer for those with natural dentition. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings support the conclusion that the nervous system collects rich information about contact between the teeth and food from the PMRs prior to powerful jaw action. Impairment (TSP) or absence (ISP) of this information alters motor behavior and impairs performance during the natural biting task employed here.