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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Can't remember your phone number? Lose the GUM: Experts say chewing on chicle keeps memories from sticking in the brain Chewing gum can be annoying to people around you and it leaves a sticky mess behind, but now researchers say it can also hamper your memory. According to experts from Cardiff University in the UK, people who chewed gum had a harder time recalling lists of letters and numbers than those who avoided the habit. Researchers believe that the motion involved in chewing impedes the brain's ability to memorize serial lists. Just like tapping your finger or foot may distract you from accomplishing the same task, continual movements like chomping on a piece of gum can also interfere with your short-term memory. Researchers say people who chewed gum had a harder time recalling lists of letters and numbers than those who did not Bad habit: Researchers say people who chewed gum had a harder time recalling lists of letters and numbers than those who did not The study, published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, challenges the prevailing notion that chewing gum — at least when it is flavored — is a performance enhancer that can boost brain power. It also provides further proof that human beings are bad at multitasking, the Chicago Tribune reported. Some previous studies have argued that gum improves concentration by triggering an increase in blood flow through the brain, said lead author Michail Kozlov, of Cardiff University. But his team found that an oral activity such as gum chewing can interfere with the process that is normally used to remember verbal content. The study challenges the notion that chewing flavored gum can boost concentration Debunked: The study challenges the notion that chewing flavored gum can boost concentration The study found that it made no difference whether the volunteers chewed vigorously or naturally Oral activity such as gum chewing can interfere with the process that is normally used to remember things Findings: According to the study, oral activity such as gum chewing can interfere with the process that is normally used to remember things As part of the study, the researches gave subjects tasks to perform while chewing gum and without gum. In one test, the volunteers were told to masticate vigorously and asked to remember a sequence of randomly ordered letters, such as P, V, B, C, D, G, T. Another group repeated the experiment, but chewed at a natural pace. In the second test, students chewed the flavorless gum and tried to pick up the missing item in the sequence. The study found that it made no difference whether the volunteers chewed vigorously or naturally. In both cases, ‘chewing has an overall adverse affect on serial recall,’ researchers wrote. In a 2002 study, the participants chewed mint-flavored gum and performed better on short-term word and memory tasks Sticking point: In a 2002 study, the participants chewed mint-flavored gum and performed better on short-term word and memory tasks The jury is still out, however, on the role of flavor. In a 2002 study, the participants chewed mint-flavored gum and performed better on short-term word and memory tasks than those who did not chew gum. But because chewing gum loses its flavor in several minutes, ‘it seems advisable that chewing gum is only considered a performance enhancer as long as its flavor lasts,’ the researchers noted. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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