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Review
. 2014 Jan 10;11(2):209-14.
doi: 10.7150/ijms.6801. eCollection 2014.

Masticatory deficiency as a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction

Francisco Bruno Teixeira  1 , Luanna de Melo Pereira Fernandes  2 , Patrycy Assis Tavares Noronha  3 , Marcio Antonio Raiol dos Santos  1 , Walace Gomes-Leal  3 , Cristiane do Socorro Ferraz Maia  4 , Rafael Rodrigues Lima  1
Affiliations
Review

Masticatory deficiency as a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction

Francisco Bruno Teixeira et al. Int J Med Sci. .

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated that chewing helps to maintain cognitive functions in brain regions including the hippocampus, a central nervous system (CNS) region vital for memory and learning. Epidemiological studies suggest that masticatory deficiency is associated with development of dementia, which is related to spatial memory deficits especially in older animals. The purpose of this paper is to review recent work on the effects of masticatory impairment on cognitive functions both in experimental animals and humans. We show that several mechanisms may be involved in the cognitive deficits associated with masticatory deficiency. The epidemiological data suggest a positive correlation between masticatory deficit and Alzheimer's disease. It may be concluded that chewing has important implications for the mechanisms underlying certain cognitive abilities.

Keywords: Chewing; Cognition; Hippocampus.; Learning; Masticatory; Memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

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