Cerebral palsy (C. P. ) involves motor dysfunction in the central nervous system. This often leads to various oral malfunctions including problems with phonation and speech. It is also important for us to analyze the aspects of masticatory muscle movements with regard to the eating function in patients with cerebral palsy.
This study examined masticatory activity, the amounts of masticatory muscle electromyograph (EMG) activity showing the EMG integrated volume.
The subjects were 10 Spastic C. P. patients (average age,16 y 2m) and 10 normal controls (average age,18 y 4m). Using 4 materially different chewing substances. chewing rhythm and muscle EMG activity for the musculus masseter and musculus temporalis anterior, average means of related muscle activities per stroke were examined.
Results:
1) As for the chewing rhythm, the duration and cycle of Spastic C. P. lasted significantly longer than in the normal controls for all of the foods.
2) As for the chewing rhythm, the coefficient of variation of apples showed the smallest values in each subject group.
3) As for muscle EMG activity, Spastic C. P. was significantly higher than in the normal controls for all of the foods.
4) As for muscle EMG activity, there were significant differences for each food in each subject group.