Chew the Pain Away: Oral Habits to Cope with Pain and Stress and to Stimulate Cognition

Abstract

The acute effects of chewing gum on cognitive performance, stress, and pain have been intensively studied in the last decade. The results have been contradicting, and replication studies proved challenging. Here, we review some of the recent findings of this topic and explore possible explanations for these discrepancies by incorporating knowledge derived from studies into oral habits and bruxism. Both stress and cerebral functional specialization (i.e., the involvement of specific brain structures in distinctive cognitive processes) are hypothesized to play a major role in the underlying physiological mechanisms of the diverse effects of chewing gum on cognition, stress, and pain.