Abstract

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.

摘要

功能性咀嚼模式是在生命早期实现其他运动技能（如步行）之前实现的。咀嚼似乎可以提高注意力的特定方面；然而，关于双运动任务中咀嚼的研究有限。这项研究检查了儿童咀嚼和次级运动任务之间的关系。16 名典型发育儿童（13.1 ± 2.3 岁）参与了手指敲击、简单反应时间和以不同速度咀嚼的行走。伴随次要运动任务产生的咀嚼率不同，特别是慢咀嚼和偏好咀嚼，次要运动任务受咀嚼的影响不同。这种关系并不像成年人报道的那样强烈。