From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Thu Mar 28 2002 - 08:18:30 MST
Problems with memory, check this out;
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=274190
Chewing gum can greatly improve the performance of the brain, research
issued yesterday suggests.
People who chewed gum scored 40 per cent more in memory tests than those
who
didn't in a study presented to the British Psychological Society's
annual
conference in Blackpool.
Dr Andrew Scholey, of the human cognitive neuroscience unit at the
University of Northumbria, described the improvement in memory as "quite
dramatic".
Although chewing gum was first marketed in America more than 150 years
ago,
Dr Scholey's work is the first to look at its impact on mental
performance.
Three groups of 25 people took part in the experiment. The first chewed
gum
throughout, the second had nothing and the third went through the
chewing
motion with nothing in their mouth. They then completed 12 computerised
tests to measure attention span, response rate and long and short-term
memory.
During tests to recall 15 words, the gum-chewers remembered two to three
more than the non-chewers. There was no effect on concentration, but the
heartbeat of the gum-chewers increased by an average of three to four
beats
a minute compared with only a very slight increase among the fake
chewers.
Dr Scholey said chewing gum might improve memory because the heartbeat
increased and delivered more oxygen and glucose to the brain.
Alternatively,
chewing could stimulate insulin production, which affected the part of
the
brain involved in memory.
Dr Scholey said: "We found a very clear pattern of improved memory when
gum
was chewed. We think it is the effect of chewing that causes this rather
than anything in the gum itself. There are lots of ways to improve
mental
function. This may be one of a series of interventions that people may
want
to try.''
Well known gum-chewers include Sir Alex Ferguson, Robbie Williams and
Martine McCutcheon.
Previous work by Dr Scholey has shown that ginseng can enhance the
memory
and gingko can improve memory and concentration.
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