Differences of Cortical Activation Pattern during the Use of Fork, Wooden Chopsticks and Metallic Chopsticks: A Functional near Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Eating utensils are usually used from early childhood and thereafter throughout life; therefore, clarification of the effect of use of eating utensils on the brain would be an important topic. Using functional near infrared spectroscopy, we attempted to compare patterns of cortical activation generated during the use of three eating utensils. Twenty healthy normal subjects were recruited. The experimental tasks included transfer of black beans using a fork, wooden chopsticks and stainless steel chopsticks. We measured values of oxyhaemoglobin (HbO) and total haemoglobin (HbT) in five regions of interest: the prefrontal cortex (PFC), frontal eye field (FEF), premotor cortex (PMC), supplementary motor area and primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1). HbO values in all five regions of interest were significantly higher during use of stainless steel chopsticks, compared with use of wooden chopsticks and a fork (p < 0.05). Regarding the analysis in each region of interest, higher activation was observed in the PFC and FEF during use of wooden chopsticks and stainless steel chopsticks than during use of a fork and wooden chopsticks, respectively, in terms of HbO and HbT (p < 0.05). HbO value during use of stainless steel chopsticks was higher than that during use of a fork in the PMC and SM1 (p < 0.05). Use of stainless steel chopsticks involves greater recruitment of neuronal activation in the cerebral cortex, compared with use of wooden chopsticks or a fork.