I’ve lost all my teeth but can’t remember how? Losing your teeth as you age risks damaging your memory, according to research. A team of psychologists and odontologists from Sweden and Norway say it is known that natural teeth, as well as jaw movement, create sensory impulses, which are fed back to the central nervous system. They believe losing teeth may lead to fewer signals being sent to the hippocampus- a brain region central to memory formation and retrieval. This, in turn, may have knock-on effects on memory. The study, published in the online version of the European Journal of Oral Sciences, involved 273 participants, aged between 55 and 80, of whom 145 were women. They all underwent a health assessment, completed a range of cognitive experiments to measure different aspects of memory and took part in an extensive clinical oral examination. The average number of teeth each participant had was 22. Analysis showed that the number of teeth individuals had contributed “uniquely and significantly” to explain their performance on tests of episodic and semantic memory. Episodic memory refers to the memory of specific past experiences and semantic memory refers to the memory for factual information and general knowledge of the world. “In line with the stated hypothesis, number of natural teeth was positively associated with performance on episodic memory: recall as well as episodic memory: recognition,” wrote the authors. They put forward two possible explanations. The first suggests that reduced sensory input to the nervous system through connective fibres that attach our teeth to the alveolar bone in the jaw damages memory. Another interpretation hinges on general chewing ability. Chewing increases blood flow to the brain and has been shown to increase activity in numerous brain areas. The authors also said it is possible that brain activity changes because people lacking teeth and denture wearers avoid certain foods, leading to lower intakes of vitamins, proteins and calories.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:00:23 +0000
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