Functional chewing patterns are achieved early in life prior to other motor skills like walking. Chewing seems to improve specific aspects of attention; however, there is limited research on chewing in dual motor tasks. This study examined relationships between chewing and secondary motor tasks in children. Sixteen typically developing children (13.1 ± 2.3 years) participated in finger tapping, simple reaction time, and walking while chewing at different speeds. The chewing rates varied when produced with a secondary motor task, especially for slow chewing and preferred chewing, and the secondary motor tasks were differentially influenced by the chewing. This relationship was not as strong as what has been reported in adults. It appears the neural oscillatory mechanisms involved in chewing and the secondary motor tasks may not be fully developed in children.

功能性咀嚼模式是在生命早期就实现的，而其他运动技能（如行走）则要先实现。咀嚼似乎可以改善注意力的各个方面；然而，在双运动任务中咀嚼的研究很少。这项研究检查了儿童的咀嚼和次级运动任务之间的关系。16名典型的发育中儿童（13.1±2.3岁）参与了手指敲击，简单的反应时间以及以不同速度咀嚼时行走。当使用次级运动任务时，咀嚼速率会变化，特别是对于慢速咀嚼和首选咀嚼而言，并且次级运动任务受咀嚼的影响不同。这种关系不像成年人所报道的那样牢固。