Perhaps, one might replicate the research using candy bars instead of chewing gum as an independent variable. The effect of sugar could be factored out thereby making the case for "chewing" movement as the prime mover.
On Fri, 15 Mar 2002 00:01:48 GMT, "Marc Schwartz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >"EAKIN MARK E" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message >[EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... >> >> SNIP >> >> Does anyone have any details on this study? > > >Gum Chewing Found to Boost Brainpower, Memory >Wed Mar 13, 5:46 PM ET >By Jeremy Laurence > >LONDON (Reuters) - The often-maligned act of chewing gum could in fact >make us smarter, according to British research. > >A joint study carried out by the University of Northumbria and the >Cognitive Research Unit, Reading, has found that chewing gum has a >positive effect on thinking, memory and other cognitive tasks. > >"The results were extremely clear and specifically we found that chewing >gum targeted memory," Andrew Scholey of the university's Human Cognitive >Neuroscience Unit said. "People recalled more words and performed better >in tests on working memory." > >Peppermint gum, menthol or spearmint--it makes no difference. The key is >the repetitive chewing motion. > >Scholey, who was to present his findings to a symposium at the British >Psychological Society's annual conference in Blackpool Wednesday, said >the improved performance in a range of memory tests could be attributed >to an increase in heart rate coupled with a surge in insulin to the >brain. > >The experiments involved 75 people split into groups of non-chewers, >real chewers and "sham" chewers. > >Prior to undergoing the 25-minute test, the two chewing groups spent 3 >minutes working their real or imaginary gum around their mouths. > >Scholey said the tests included questions relating to short-term memory, >such as recalling words and pictures, and so-called working memory, for >example the ability to retain a person's telephone number. He said the >heart rate of the real chewers after the tests was three beats per >minute faster than the non-chewers, and 1.5 beats per minute faster than >the sham chewers. > >"What we think is that the mild increase in heart rate may improve the >delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain, enough to improve cognitive >function," he told Reuters. > >Scholey added the other possibility was that chewing gum induced a surge >of insulin due to the mouth watering in anticipation of a meal. > >"It is known that there are insulin receptors in areas of the brain >which are important for learning and memory," he said. > > >-- >Marc Schwartz >To Reply Remove "-REMOVE.TO.REPLY-" in E-Mail Address > > > . . ================================================================= Instructions for joining and leaving this list, remarks about the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES, and archives are available at: . http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ . =================================================================
