Mastication accelerates Go/No-go decisional processing: An event-related potential study.

Objective The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of mastication on Go/No-go decisional processing using event-related potentials (ERPs). Method Thirteen normal subjects underwent seven sessions of a somatosensory Go/No-go paradigm for approximately 4 min; Pre, and Post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The Control condition included the same seven sessions. The RT and standard deviation were recorded, and the peak amplitude and latency of the N140 and P300 components were analyzed. Results The RT was significantly shorter in Mastication than in Control at Post 1–3 and 4–6. The peak latency of N140 was earlier in Mastication than in Control at Post 4–6. The latency of N140 was shortened by repeated sessions in Mastication, but not by those in Control. The peak latency of P300 was significantly shorter in Mastication than in Control at Post 4–6. The peak latency of P300 was significantly longer in Control with repeated sessions, but not in Mastication. Conclusions These results suggest that mastication may influence response execution processing in Go trials, as well as response inhibition processing in No-go trials. Significance Mastication accelerated Go/No-go decisional processing in the human brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]