Habitual attentional mastication boosts prefrontal activity during chewing: A randomized trial

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Masticatory exercise is linked to improved systemic health and cognitive function.
• While acute chewing stimuli boost prefrontal cortex activity, the long-term effects of habitual chewing on cortical activity are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of increased habitual chewing on cortical activity in young adults.
• To evaluate changes in brain activity associated with a 1-month attentional chewing intervention.

Main Methods:

• Forty-one young adults were divided into an intervention group (using a device to increase chewing) and a control group.
• Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured cortical activity during chewing at baseline and post-intervention.
• Chewing frequency was recorded at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at a 3-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• The intervention group significantly increased chewing strokes post-intervention and at 3 months, unlike the control group.
• The intervention group showed heightened activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and premotor cortex compared to controls.
• A positive correlation was found between increased chewing strokes and neural activity in these brain regions.

Conclusions:

• Intentional chewing interventions can increase habitual chewing frequency.
• Enhanced chewing behavior leads to greater activation in the DLPFC and premotor cortex during mastication.
• These findings provide objective evidence of neural changes resulting from interventions targeting masticatory behavior.