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Cortical Representation Area of Human Dental Pulp

¹ Department of Dental Anesthesiology and
² Department of Physiology, Oral Health Science Center, Laboratory of Brain Research, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba 261-8502, Japan;

^* corresponding author, kubo_sic{at}wm.pdx.ne.jp

To elucidate the dental pulp-representing area in the human primary somatosensory cortex and the presence of A-beta fibers in dental pulp, we recorded somatosensory-evoked magnetic fields from the cortex in seven healthy persons using magnetoencephalography. Following non-painful electrical stimulation of the right maxillary first premolar dental pulp, short latency (27 ms) cortical responses on the magnetic waveforms were observed. However, no response was seen when stimulation was applied to pulpless teeth, such as devitalized teeth. The current source generating the early component of the magnetic fields was located anterior-inferiorly compared with the locations for the hand area in the primary somatosensory cortex. These results demonstrate the dental pulp representation area in the primary somatosensory cortex, and that it receives input from intradental A-beta neurons, providing a detailed organizational map of the orofacial area, by adding dental pulp to the classic "sensory homunculus".

KEY WORDS: magnetoencephalography • A-beta afferent • dental pulp • somatosensory-evoked field • primary somatosensory cortex