MUAP values of two facial muscles in normal subjects and comparison of two methods for data analysis

Introduction: This study aimed to obtain normal MUAP values in 2 facial muscles and to compare the results of different analysis methods. Methods: The frontalis muscle of 36 and the mentalis muscle of 28 normal subjects were examined, and mean and outlier values of all MUAP parameters were calculated with the automatic method. Next, manual editing of the recorded raw data provided new sets of values for comparison. Results: The frontalis muscle MUAPs have significantly shorter duration, smaller amplitude and a lower number of turns and phases compared with those of mentalis. Higher MUAP duration values in the frontalis were the only significant difference after the comparison of the different analysis methods. Conclusions: The set of normal values for frontalis and mentalis in this study could be useful in routine practice. Careful manual editing of the frontalis MUAPs is recommended for more accurate determination of their duration. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.