RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHEWING AND BRAIN ACTIVITY

Modern studies have suggested a positive correlation between the process of chewing, medically known as mastication, and brain function. The major brain parts associated with mental activity are the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which are integral for memory and learning. Regarding this relationship, declined mastication causes dysfunction of brain parts. Reduced mastication produces the degeneration of hippocampus neurons, leading to the risk of the development of dementia and increasing the probability of having Alzheimer’s disease. The declining process generally happens to old people undergoing teeth loss, salivary defect, or motor impairment. This paper indicates several in-depth research studies and the results derived from epidemiologists, as well as additional researchers from various fields on both the negative and positive effects of mastication on brain activity.