{"id":59,"date":"2021-10-29T19:29:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T19:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.dental.uw.edu\/arce-mcshane\/?page_id=59"},"modified":"2025-09-30T15:15:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:15:58","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.dental.uw.edu\/arce-mcshane\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research Overview<\/h2>\n

\"ResearchTooth loss, masticatory dysfunctions, swallowing difficulty, and pain states such as temporomandibular disorders, neuralgia and neuropathy, have devastating effects on human quality of life<\/strong>. Difficulty in swallowing, which is prevalent in 72%-87% of patients with Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/strong> and 37%-78% in stroke<\/strong>, predispose patients to aspiration pneumonia that may lead to cardiorespiratory failure. Many age-related oral health problems have also been associated with Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/strong> and age- related dementias. Despite the importance of orofacial functions and the prevalence of disorders and dysfunctions affecting the feeding system, the cortical and biomechanical control processes<\/strong> that underlie orofacial functions are widely unknown<\/strong>. This represents an important problem because until they are understood, the cortical mechanisms underlying pathological aging and other diseases affecting this system remain largely incomprehensible, thus, hampering our ability to develop appropriate diagnostic tools, therapies and treatments<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Our research focuses on the principles of cortical and biomechanical control of oral sensorimotor behavior and how these are affected by learning, aging, and disease.<\/strong> Our lab uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand the interplay<\/strong> between sensation and movement<\/strong> using converging evidence from psychophysics, biomechanics, neurophysiology, and computational modeling. Our methods include recording neural activity<\/strong> from chronically-implanted microelectrode arrays (Utah Arrays and Floating Microelectrode Arrays<\/em>) in\u00a0multiple regions of the cerebral cortex<\/strong>\u00a0(rostral and caudal primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex (1, 2, 3a, 3b), cortical masticatory area, ventrolateral frontal cortex<\/em>) simultaneous with recording the kinematics of the tongue and the mandible<\/strong> using high-resolution biplanar radiography and applying computational models to understand the principles of sensorimotor control.<\/p>\n

Projects<\/h2>\n

Neural Basis of Touch and Proprioception<\/h3>\n

\"DrawingOral somatosensation plays a key role in vital functions of\u00a0breathing, feeding<\/strong>, and speech<\/strong>\u00a0such that altered\u00a0sensation in pain disorders and sensory loss following neurological injuries have devastating effects on the quality of life. The project will provide novel insights on\u00a0separate representations and integration of touch and\u00a0proprioceptive sensations<\/strong>\u00a0in the brain during natural feeding behavior and will\u00a0lay the groundwork for future\u00a0studies on oral somatosensation, pain mechanisms, and sensorimotor integration. It\u00a0will inform the\u00a0development\u00a0of strategies<\/strong>\u00a0for the evaluation and treatment of\u00a0sensory impairments associated with\u00a0dental implants and nerve\u00a0injuries<\/strong>, trigeminal neuropathies, temporomandibular disorders, chronic pain, oromandibular dystonia,\u00a0sensorimotor disorders, and for the restoration of sensory feedback for use in\u00a0brain-machine interfaces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Natural Aging vs Alzheimer\u2019s Disease<\/h3>\n

\"Monkeys\"The link between\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/strong>\u00a0(AD) and age-related oral health problems is still poorly understood because changes in the cortical and biomechanical control of oromotor behavior in healthy aging and pathological aging have not been investigated. The proposed research is relevant to public health because disambiguating changes in the orofacial sensorimotor-cognitive neuronal network in\u00a0healthy aging from pathological aging<\/strong>\u00a0is expected to increase the understanding of potential contributing factors to the onset and progression of AD and the cortical areas that are vulnerable to AD. Thus, the proposed research is relevant to NIH\u2019s mission of\u00a0earlier identification of individuals<\/strong> who may be at risk<\/strong>\u00a0for developing late-onset AD or age-related dementias and to find potential avenues for the evaluation of pharmacological or cortical therapies for AD.<\/p>\n

Tools<\/h2>\n
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X-Ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology, or XROMM, uses biplanar videoradiography to accurately track the movements of bones and soft tissue. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Floating
Floating Microelectrode Array (left) and Utah Array (right) by Blackrock Microsystems record activity from M1 and S1. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gallery<\/h2>\n
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\"Decoding
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Decoding free-moving 3D tongue kinematics using orofacial neural ensembles. Photo: Fritzie<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Anterior
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Anterior and posterior tongue kinematics of a young monkey versus an old monkey. Photo: JD<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Functional
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Functional connectivity of orofacial sensorimotor neurons. Photo: Karth<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Stained
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Stained tissue of the orofacial primary motor cortex. Photo: Fritzie<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n