Mona Lisa boosting brain cells while chomping some gum.
Monday mornings. They drag. Getting the ol’ noodle back into work-mode, especially after a fun summer weekend, can be a tall order. Many of us head straight for the classic boost – a cup of Joe – to help combat a case of the Monday’s but some new studies suggest that chewing gum could also provide some relief by enhancing our brain’s arousal, alertness, and attention.
Om, nom, nom. Yes, we feel more alert.
In a recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology, Morgan and colleagues assessed the performance of 40 psychology undergraduate students on an auditory vigilance task while chomping on a wad of gum.
Study participants were split into two groups: (1) no-gum and (2) gum-chewing. They listened in a pair of headphones to a computerized voice reading a series of random numbers and were asked to press a computer spacebar when they identified the target sequence, an odd number followed by an even number and another odd number (i.e. 7-2-1). Reaction time and accuracy to each target-response were recorded over the 30-minute task. Following the task, participants were asked to assess how alert they felt.
Researchers found that, as the task went on, the reaction time and accuracy of identifying the target sequence declined in non-gum chewers. That makes sense. Think of doing a monotonous task, like signing your name on 300 letters, or stuffing 1,000 envelopes. You’re probably not as efficient towards the end of the task as when you started.
Mean self-rated alertness pre and post task. Gum-chewer (dark gray); no-gum (light gray). F(1,32) = 14.25, p = .001
Interestingly, in contrast to the no-gum group, gum-chewers had a smaller decrease in performance during the later stages of the task, meaning they performed better overall. Additionally, gum chewers rated themselves as more alert compared to non-gum chewers following the test.
So working out your jaw results in better cognitive performance and a greater feeling of alertness, but how is the brain affected? Well as it turns out, gum chewing increases blood flow to the brain, providing it with more oxygen, and ultimately improving brain power. In another new study, Hirano et al. assessed which brain regions receive more blood flow while chewing gum during an attention task.
Seventeen participants underwent a 30-minute functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scan. fMRI is a brain imaging technique that assesses changes in cerebral blood flow, which is thought to correlate with neural activity. To assess the effect of gum chewing on alertness, subjects were put through two 10-minute periods of a visual attention task, once while chewing gum, and once without. The task required participants to press a button with their right or left thumb corresponding to the direction of an arrow that was presented to them.
Hirano and colleagues identified 8 brain regions that increased activity during performance of the task while chewing. Several of these regions correlated with alertness (premotor cortex), arousal (reticular activating system via the thalamus), and attention (anterior cingulate cortex, left frontal cortex).
Regions highlighted in yellow indicate areas of increased blood flow
during attention task and gum chewing.
Abbreviations: pm (premotor cortex), aci (anterior cingulate cortex), th (thalamus).
Chewing stimulates the trigeminal nerve, the fifth cranial nerve, which in turn sends information to the brain regions responsible for alertness. Additionally, the trigeminal nerve is known to increase heart rate, which increases blood flow to the brain.
As far as Monday mornings go, it looks like you might need to get yourself going and then chewing a piece of gum will help keep you trucking throughout the work day. Personally, I’m patiently waiting for the launch of Wrigley caffeinated gum – it could be the ultimate one-two punch for the Monday blues!
Morgan K., Johnson A.J. & Miles C. (2013). Chewing gum moderates the vigilance decrement, British Journal of Psychology, n/a-n/a. DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12025
Hirano Y., Obata T., Takahashi H., Tachibana A., Kuroiwa D., Takahashi T., Ikehira H. & Onozuka M. (2013). Effects of chewing on cognitive processing speed., Brain and cognition, PMID: 23375117
My name is Caitlin Kirkwood. I am a PhD candidate in the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The Synaptic Scoop 
After reading this blog I had a better understanding of the effects of chewing gum while I was at the gym. I like how this article gives full details on how chewing gum has certain affects on the brain. Before I go to the gym I like to start chewing gum because it is a mental thing and can help me stay focused. It is proven in this article that chewing gum makes a person become more alert because it increases blood flow, provides more oxygen, and improves the brain. I didn’t really comprehend on why they chose to do the experiment on pressing buttons when they could have gotten creative with anything productive because chewing gum is so simple. I admire Caitlin Kirkwood for researching this topic because it is quite interesting and not something I would just randomly want to research. This knowledge is great to have and can be useful during long work days or days in general in the future.