Neural Mechanisms of Swallowing and Airway Protection During Swallowing

Mechanisms of airway protection during retching, vomiting, and swallowing.

We investigated the mechanisms of airway protection and bolus transport during retching and vomiting by recording responses of the pharyngeal, laryngeal, and hyoid muscles and comparing them with responses during swallowing and responses of the gastrointestinal tract. Five dogs were chronically instrumented with electrodes on the striated muscles and strain gauges on smooth muscles. Retching an...

Mechanisms of airway protection during chin-down swallowing.

PURPOSE This study examined the effects of chin-down swallowing on laryngeal vestibule closure. It also investigated the technique's rehabilitative impact, by assessing the stability of effects across multiple trials and aftereffects in neutral swallows on cessation of the technique. METHOD Duration of laryngeal vestibule closure (dLVC) was measured with videofluoroscopy in 16 healthy partici...

Activation of upper airway muscles during breathing and swallowing.

The upper airway is a complex muscular tube that is used by the respiratory and digestive systems. The upper airway is invested with several small and anatomically peculiar muscles. The muscle fiber orientations and their nervous innervation are both extremely complex, and how the activity of the muscles is initiated and adjusted during complex behaviors is poorly understood. The bulk of the ev...

Relative contribution of various airway protective mechanisms to prevention of aspiration during swallowing.

Deglutitive airway protective mechanisms include glottal closure, epiglottal descent, and anterosuperior displacement of the larynx. Aspiration of swallowed material may occur during the pre-, intra-, or postpharyngeal phase of swallowing. Our objectives were to determine the relative contribution of the airway protective mechanisms during each phase of swallow in 14 decerebrated cats before an...

Airway Protection and Coordination of Breathing and Swallowing in Health and Anesthesia