Fig. 1

Z-score QST profiles of the tongue in patients with LNI. A Z-score of 0 means the score is the same as for the mean of the healthy subjects. It can also be negative or positive indicating loss or gain of function. Affected side (filled-circles) represent the QST profiles of all patient’s affected tongue sides suffering from a peripheral lesion of the lingual nerve. The profile shows a combined loss of sensory function for small fiber mediated stimuli and for large fiber mediated stimuli (note the mechanical detection threshold for von Frey-filaments (MDT), and the vibration detection threshold (VDT). Contralateral (open circles) show the QST profile of all patient’s healthy sides of the tongue. Z-Score range represents physiologic values of healthy volunteers. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; n.s. = no significance