The Jaw-Airway-Brain Axis: Craniofacial Mechanics, Trigeminal Arousal Pathways, and Cerebral Oxygenation as Displacement Chain

We extend the jaw-airway coupling to its terminal target: the brain. Jaw mechanics that widen the upper airway activate a cascade through three parallel pathways: (1) nasal nitric oxide amplification driving cerebral oxygenation, (2) trigeminal afferent input to the reticular activating system governing arousal, and (3) olfactory-limbic entrainment synchronizing hippocampal theta and prefrontal oscillations.

We identify six brain-way locations (TNC, locus coeruleus/RAS, NTS, parabrachial nucleus, olfactory bulb/hippocampus, prefrontal cortex) and formalize the displacement chain D(xi_brain) ~ K * D(xi_jaw). The jaw is a distal lever for brain state.