The aim of this study was to determine the role of peripheral reflexes in initiation of the esophageal phase of swallowing. In 10 decerebrate cats, we recorded electromyographic responses from the pharynx, larynx, and esophagus and manometric data from the esophagus. Water (1-5 ml) was injected into the nasopharynx to stimulate swallowing, and the timing of the pharyngeal and esophageal phases ...

Swallowing is under the control of premotoneurons located in the medullary solitary tract nucleus. Although rats with transected midbrain do not seek out food, they are able to ingest food present near the mouth, and acute food deprivation induces an increase in food intake. Leptin is a satiety signal that regulates feeding behavior. Because leptin receptors are found within the caudal brainste...

CONTEXT Stroke is a frequent cause of dysphagia. OBJECTIVE To evaluate in a tertiary care hospital the prevalence of swallowing dysfunction in stroke patients, to analyze factors associated with the dysfunction and to relate swallowing dysfunction to mortality 3 months after the stroke. METHODS Clinical evaluation of deglutition was performed in 212 consecutive patients with a medical and r...

UNLABELLED Lateral pharyngoplasty manages obstructive sleep apnea through the myotomy and repositioning of the muscles of the lateral pharyngeal wall. Dysphagia after any pharyngeal surgery is influenced by pain, discomfort from the sutures, the healing process and by the adaptation to the changes in pharyngeal structures. Experience with lateral pharyngoplasty has shown that the superior phary...

OBJECTIVE To compare the swallowing characteristics of dysphagic patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with those of dysphagic stroke patients. METHODS Forty-one patients with TBI were selected from medical records (between December 2004 to March 2013) and matched to patients with stroke (n=41) based on age, sex, and disease duration. Patients' swallowing characteristics were analyzed re...

It has been suggested that the primary motor cortex plays a substantial role in the neural circuitry that controls swallowing. Although its role in the voluntary oral phase of swallowing is undisputed, its precise role in motor control of the more reflexive, pharyngeal phase of swallowing is unclear. The contribution of the primary motor cortex to the pharyngeal phase of swallowing was examined...

In humans, drinking replenishes fluid loss and satiates the sensation of thirst that accompanies dehydration. Typically, the volume of water drunk in response to thirst matches the deficit. Exactly how this accurate metering is achieved is unknown; recent evidence implicates swallowing inhibition as a potential factor. Using fMRI, this study investigated whether swallowing inhibition is present...

Non-nutritive swallowing occurs frequently during sleep in infants and is vital for fluid clearance and airway protection. Swallowing has also been shown to be associated with prolonged apnea in some clinical populations. What is not known is whether swallowing contributes to apnea or may instead help resolve these clinically significant events. We studied the temporal relationships between swa...

BACKGROUND We conducted this longitudinal prospective study to illustrate a surgical technique for swallowing rehabilitation of patients after partial laryngectomy. METHODS Nine patients with persistent swallowing impairment after partial laryngectomy were included in the study. Evaluation of swallowing was performed by fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), and was quantified...

Swallowing-induced bradyarrhythmias due to vagal mechanisms have beenwell documented and are relatively commonplace. However, swallowing-induced tachyarrhythmia is an extremely rare syndrome of unclear etiology. We report a case of atrial fibrillation and SVT induced by swallowing solid foods and burping. Flecainide was prescribed with subsequent resolution of any inducible symptoms. A 50-year-...