title: Masticatory function and cognitive function.
abstract: Recent studies have suggest that masticatory (chewing) function is useful for maintaining neurocognitive function in the elderly. For example, a reduced ability to masticate, such as that resulting from toothlessness or soft-diet feeding, causes learning and memory deficits in aged animals and pathologic changes in the hippocampus. In addition, occlusal disharmony impairs hippocampal memory processes via chronic stress, and induces similar hippocampal pathology. Chewing, however, rescues stress-induced suppression of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus and the stress-induced impairment of hippocampal-dependent learning. These findings strongly suggest a link between mastication and neurocognitive function.
authors.affiliation: Seijoh University Graduate School of Health Care Studies, 2-172 Fukinodai, Tokai, Aichi 476-8588, Japan. kubo@seijoh-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kin-Ya
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ichihashi
authors.forename: Chika
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kurata
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iinuma
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Tasuku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tamura
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*