Abstract
The involvement of chewing in brain activity in humans has been studied. In our studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral techniques, chewing resulted in a bilateral increase in blood oxygenation leveldependent (BOLD) signals in the sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor area, insula, thalamus, and cerebellum. In addition, in the first three regions, chewing moderately hard gum produced stronger signals than chewing hard gum. However, in the aged group, the BOLD signal increases were smaller in the first three regions and higher in the cerebellum. Only the aged subjects showed significant increases in various association areas to which input activities in the primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary area, or insula had positive path coefficients. Furthermore, chewing ameliorates the age-related decrease in hippocampal activities during encoding and that in retrieval memory. The findings suggest the involvement of chewing in memory processes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
FitzGerald MJT, Folan-Curran J (2002) Clinical neuroanatomy and related neuroscience. Saunders, London, pp 178–180.
Nakata M (1998) Masticatory function and its effects on general health. Int Dent J 48: 540–548.
Nakamura Y, Katakura N (1995) Generation of masticatory rhythm in the brainstem. Neurosci Res 23:1–19.
Miura H, Araki Y, Hirai T, et al (1998) Evaluation of chewing activity in the elderly person. J Oral Rehabil 25:190–193.
Suzuki M, Shibata M, Sato Y (1992) Energy metabolism and endocrine responses to gum-chewing. J Mastica Health Sci 2:55–62.
Sasaki A (2001) Influence of mastication on the amount of hemoglobin in human brain tissue. Kokubyo Gakkai Zasshi 68:72–81.
Sesay M, Tanaka A, Ueno Y, et al (2000) Assessment of regional cerebral blood flow by xenon-enhanced computed tomography during mastication in humans. Keio J Med 49(suppl 1):A125–A128.
Momose I, Nishikawa J, Watanabe T, et al (1997) Effect of mastication on regional cerebral blood flow in humans examined by positron-emission tomography with 15O-labelled water and magnetic resonance imaging. Arch Oral Biol 42:57–61.
Watanabe I, Ishiyama N, Senda M (1992) Cerebral blood flow during mastication measures with positron emission tomography. Geriatr Dent 6:148–150.
Yancey SW, Phelps EA (2001) Functional neuroimaging and episodic memory: a perspective. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 23:32–48.
Meisenzahl EM, Schlosser R (2001) Functional magnetic resonance imaging research in psychiatry. Neuroimaging. Clin N Am 11:365–374.
Onozuka M, Fujita M, Watanabe K, et al (2002) Mapping brain region activity during chewing: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Dent Res 81:743–746.
Suzuki M, Ishiyama I, Takiguchi T, et al (1994) Effects of gum hardness on the response of common carotid blood flow volume, oxygen uptake, heart rate and blood pressure to gumchewing. J Mastica Health Sci 4:9–20.
Penfield W, Boldrey E (1938) Somatic motor and sensory representation in the cerebral cortex as studied by electrical stimulation. Brain 15:389–443.
Fink GR, Frackowiak RSJ, Pietrzyk U, et al (1977) Multiple non-primary motor areas in the human cortex. J Neurophysiol 77:2164–2174.
Passingham RE (1993) The frontal lobes and voluntary action. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Proschel PA, Raum J (2001) Preconditions for estimation of masticatory forces from dynamic EMG and isometric bite force-activity relations of elevator muscles. Int J Prosthodont 14:563–569.
Kubota K, Nagae K, Shibanai S, et al (1988) Degenerative changes of primary neurons following tooth extraction. Anat Anz 166:133–139.
Okimoto K, Ieiri K, Matsuo K, et al (1991) Ageing and mastication: the relationship between oral status and the progress of dementia at senile hospital. J Jpn Prosthodont Soc 35: 931–943.
Onozuka M, Fujita M, Watanabe K, et al (2003) Age-related changes in brain regional activity during chewing: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Dent Res 82:657–660.
Godde B, Berkefeld T, David-Jurgens M, et al (2002) Age-related changes in primary somatosensory cortex of rats: evidence for parallel degenerative and plastic-adaptive processes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 26:743–752.
Hirano Y, Fujita M, Watanabe K, et al (2006) Effect of unpleasant loud noise on hippocampal activities during picture encoding: an fMRI study. Brain Cogn 61:280–285.
Grady CL, Furey ML, Pietrini P, et al (2001) Altered brain functional connectivity and impaired short-term memory in Alzheimer’s disease. Brain 124:739–756.
Grady CL, McIntosh AR, Beig S, et al (2001) An examination of the effects of stimulus type, encoding task, and functional connectivity on the role of right prefrontal cortex in recognition memory. Neuroimage 14:556–571.
Boller F, Grafman J (eds) (2000) Handbook of neuropsychology (Vol 7, 2nd ed). Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 157–174.
Grady CL, McIntosh AR, Beig S, et al (2003) Evidence from functional neuroimaging of a compensatory prefrontal network in Alzheimer’s disease. J Neurosci 23:986–993.
Amaral DG, Witter MP (1989) The three dimensional organization of the hippocampal formation: a review of anatomical data. Neuroscience 31:571–591.
FitzGerald MJT, Folan-Curran J (2002) Handbook of neuropsychology (Vol 2, 2nd ed)., Elsevier, Tokyo, pp 49–65.
Squire LR, Zola-Morgan S (1991) The medial temporal lobe memory system. Science 253: 1380–1386.
Wainer BH, Steininger TL, Roback JD, et al (1993) Ascending cholinergic pathways: functional organization and implications for disease models. Prog Brain Res 98:9–30.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Onozuka, M. et al. (2008). Interactions Between Chewing and Brain Activity in Humans. In: Onozuka, M., Yen, CT. (eds) Novel Trends in Brain Science. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-73242-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-73242-6_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-73241-9
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-73242-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)