Classification of Masseter Activity Patterns during Chewing in Healthy Young Adults: The Effect of Taste Signals

This study examined the effects of the textural properties and chemical components of foods on masseter activity patterns. Ten healthy young participants (seven men and three women) were asked to chew four gummy candies with different flavors while their masseter activities were recorded by a surface electromyogram. The masseter activity patterns during chewing were analyzed quantitatively using a TP technique, generating three TP values (T25, T50 and T75). The textural analysis included four representative properties, and six sugars and four organic acids were tested in the chemical analysis. The hierarchical cluster analysis classified the T25 and T75 values into four subclusters and classified the T50 values into three subclusters. Two T75 subclusters differed significantly in the combined amounts of the two predominant sugars (sucrose and maltose); however, these T75 subclusters did not differ in their organic acid contents or textural properties. Therefore, sucrose and maltose affect masseter activity patterns during chewing, particularly in the later stage of masseter activity.