Journal
JOURNAL OF DENTAL RESEARCH
Volume 92, Issue 2, Pages 136-142Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/0022034512466265
Keywords
mastication; feeding behavior; eating; magnetic resonance imaging; neuroimaging; digestive system and oral physiological phenomena
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Funding
- USPHS from the NIDCR, NIH [DE-018528]
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Brain mechanisms underlying mastication have been studied in non-human mammals but less so in humans. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate brain activity in humans during gum chewing. Chewing was associated with activations in the cerebellum, motor cortex and caudate, cingulate, and brainstem. We also divided the 25-second chew-blocks into 5 segments of equal 5-second durations and evaluated activations within and between each of the 5 segments. This analysis revealed activation clusters unique to the initial segment, which may indicate brain regions involved with initiating chewing. Several clusters were uniquely activated during the last segment as well, which may represent brain regions involved with anticipatory or motor events associated with the end of the chew-block. In conclusion, this study provided evidence for specific brain areas associated with chewing in humans and demonstrated that brain activation patterns may dynamically change over the course of chewing sequences.
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