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Invited review Neurophysiology of swallowing Cumhur Ertekina,b,*, Ibrahim Aydogdua,b aDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Ege University, Medical School Hospital, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey bDepartment of Neurology, Ege University, Medical School Hospital, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey Accepted 23 June 2003 Abstract Swallowing is a complex motor event that is difficult to investigate in man by neurophysiological experiments. For this reason, the characteristics of the brain stem pathways have been studied in experimental animals. However, the sequential and orderly activation of the swallowing muscles with the monitoring of the laryngeal excursion can be recorded during deglutition. Although influenced by the sensory and cortical inputs, the sequential muscle activation does not alter from the perioral muscles caudally to the cricopharyngeal sphincter muscle. This is one evidence for the existence of the central pattern generator for human swallowing. The brain stem swallowing network includes the nucleus tractus solitarius and nucleus ambiguus with the reticular formation linking synaptically to cranial motoneuron pools bilaterally. Under normal function, the brain stem swallowing network receives descending inputs from the cerebral cortex. The cortex may trigger deglutition and modulate the brain stem sequential activity. The voluntarily initiated pharyngeal swallow involves several cortical and subcortical pathways. The interactions of regions above the brain stem and the brain stem swallowing network is, at present, not fully understood, particularly in humans. Functional neuroimaging methods were recently introduced into the human swallowing research. It has been shown that volitional swallowing is represented in the multiple cortical regions bilaterally but asymmetrically. Cortical organisation of swallowing can be continuously changed by the continual modulatory ascending sensory input with descending motor output. Significance: Dysphagia is a severe symptom complex that can be life threatening in a considerable number of patients. Three-fourths of oropharyngeal dysphagia is caused by neurological diseases. Thus, the responsibility of the clinical neurologist and neurophysiologist in the care for the dysphagic patients is twofold. First, we should be more acquainted with the physiology of swallowing and its disorders, in order to care for the dysphagic patients successfully. Second, we need to evaluate the dysphagic problems objectively using practical electromyography methods for the patients’ management. Cortical and subcortical functional imaging studies are also important to accumulate more data in order to get more information and in turn to develop new and effective treatment strategies for dysphagic patients. q 2003 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Neurophysiology; Swallowing; Deglutition; Central pattern generator; Electromyography; Functional brain mapping 1. Introduction Swallowing is a complex sensorimotor behaviour invol- ving the coordinated contraction and inhibition of the musculature located around the mouth and at the tongue, larynx, pharynx and esophagus bilaterally. During a swallow, different levels of the central nervous system from the cerebral cortex to the medulla oblongata are involved and many of the striated muscles innervated by the cranial nerves (CN) are excited and/or inhibited sequentially for the execution of the passage of bolus from the mouth to the stomach (Miller, 1982; Jean, 1984, 1986, 2001; Donner et al., 1985; Broussard and Altschuler, 2000a). Swallowing has received less attention than other fundamental motor activities such as locomotion, mastica- tion, or respiration. This is probably due to the complexity of the motor pattern along with the greater number of muscles and CN involved, which renders neurophysiologi- cal studies difficult in experimental animals and humans. Although recent advances in the evaluation of dysphagia allow for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of swallowing problems, such information in human subjects does not bring much knowledge to the basic understanding Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 www.elsevier.com/locate/clinph 1388-2457/$30.00 q 2003 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S1388-2457(03)00237-2 * Corresponding author. Gönç Apt. Talatpaşa Bulvarı, No: 12 D.3, 35220 Alsancak, Izmir, Turkey. Tel.: þ90-232-4220160; fax: þ90-232-4630074. E-mail addresses: erteker@unimedya.net.tr (C. Ertekin), iaydog@ttnet. net.tr (I. Aydogdu). http://www.elsevier.com/locate/clinph of the complex physiology of deglutition (Schindler and Kelly, 2002). Swallowing and its disorders have been intensively investigated by videofluoroscopic, manometric and endo- scopic methods. These studies are especially useful for clinical problems, however, it is necessary to develop new techniques, in order to understand the central neural mechanisms controlling swallowing. This review is limited to the neurophysiology of oropharyngeal swallowing. The esophageal phase of swallowing is beyond the scope of this review. 2. Peripheral events in swallowing It has become convenient to state that, swallowing is subdivided into 3 phases: oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal. This conventional division of the human swallowing is usually ascribed to Magendie (1825) (Miller, 1982). The swallow has, however, also been described in two stages i.e. the buccopharyngeal (or oropharyngeal) and esophageal stages (Thexton and Crompton, 1998; Jean, 2001). The 3 phases of swallowing are probably related to their innervation pattern: the oral phase is often accepted as voluntary, while the pharyngeal phase is considered a reflex response, and the esophageal phase is mainly under dual control of the somatic and autonomic nervous systems (Doty and Bosma, 1956; Doty et al., 1967; Miller, 1982, 1999). The pharyngeal phase of deglutition involves not only pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles but also the muscles in the oral cavity such as tongue and suprahyoid muscles. The periorbital muscles actively contribute to the involun- tary swallows. The actual motor events of swallowing can best be described as being composed of an oropharyngeal phase (or buccopharyngeal phase) and a subsequent esophageal phase (Jean et al., 1983; Jean, 1984, 2001; Ertekin et al., 1998; Ertekin and Palmer, 2000). The duration of the whole oropharyngeal sequence of swallowing is short and in the range of 0.6–1.0 s; remarkably constant in all the mammals studied including the humans (Ertekin et al., 1995; Ertekin, 1996; Jean, 2001). In comparison with the extraordinary complexity and rapidity of the oropharyngeal phase, the esophageal phase of swallowing is simpler and slower. It consists of a peristaltic wave of contraction of the striated and smooth muscles, which propagates to the stomach. The whole esophageal phase may exceed 10 s in the conscious human (Jean, 1972, 2001; Miller, 1999). For the sake of better understanding, oropharyngeal swallowing can be reviewed separately under the two titles, oral and pharyngeal phases. 2.1. Oral phase of swallowing The oral phase of swallowing is mainly voluntary and highly variable in duration depending upon taste, environ- ment, hunger, motivation, and consciousness for the human subject. Its primary function is the movement of the tongue, pressing the bolus against the hard palate, and initiating the movement of bolus to the posterior part of the tongue and toward the oropharynx. The suprahyoid muscles of the floor of the mouth are particularly important to elevate the tongue, especially for solid bolus. In this stage, the contraction of the lips and cheek muscles (i.e. orbicularis oris and buccinator muscles) are crucial to prevent the escape of solid or liquid fromthe oral cavity (VII CN). This stage is ended by the triggering of the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. The nature of the triggering of the pharyngeal phase of swallowing is not clearly known. It is generally assumed that the afferent fibers involved in the initiation of swallowing are those running within the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, the glossophar- yngeal nerve, and the vagus nerve, especially its superior laryngeal branch (Miller, 1972, 1982, 1986, 1999). These nerves innervate peripheral areas such as the dorsum of the tongue, the epiglottis, the pillar of the fauces and the walls of the pharynx. Tactile, chemical, and electrical stimulations can induce swallowing in experimental animals (Miller, 1972, 1982, 1986, 1999; Kessler and Jean, 1985). At the brain stem level, all the afferent fibers involved in initiating or facilitating swallowing converge in the solitary tract and end in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). Therefore, the NTS constitutes the main afferent central structure (Kalia and Mesulam, 1980; Contreras et al., 1982; Miller, 1999; Jean, 2001). The NTS not only receives the main sensory fibers from the oropharyngeal and laryngeal regions, but also cortical descending inputs reach similar areas of the NTS. Some sensory inputs that initiate swallowing are transmitted to the region of the cortex that facilitates the initiation of the swallowing. It is possible that during repeated swallowing, descending signals from the cortical sites associated with swallowing decrease the threshold to evoke swallowing (Miller et al., 1997; Thexton and Crompton, 1998; Miller, 1999). These data are obtained from experimental research studies in animals. However, the initiation or triggering of swallowing is probably more complex in humans and may depend more on regions above the brain stem. It may be dependent on the type of bolus, single or continuous swallows and voluntarily or reflexively induced swallowing. Some factors seem to modulate the initiation of the voluntarily induced swallows in man. These are the bolus in the mouth (food or saliva), corticobulbar drive to the tongue muscles (XII CN), and the submental/suprahyoid muscles at the floor of the mouth (V and XII CN). The triggering of the spontaneous swallows probably does not require cortical drive but could involve communication with the cortex and subcortical regions, and can occur between meals and during non-REM sleep; and depends on the amount of saliva accumulated in the mouth (Lear et al., 1965; Lichter and Muir, 1975; Sochaniwskyj et al., 1986; Pehlivan et al., 1996; Ertekin et al., 2001a). There is no doubt that the mechanoreceptors, chemo- receptors, and thermoreceptors in the oral cavity, tongue, C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2227 and pharynx provide information essential to bolus identification. Sensory inputs from the oropharyngeal region, especially the tonsillar pillars, base of the tongue, and oropharyngeal mucosa have been proposed to be important for the triggering of swallows (IX and X CN) (Miller, 1972, 1999; Mansson and Sandberg, 1974, 1975a; Hollshwander et al., 1975; Hacker and Cattau, 1978; Nishino, 1993; Ali et al., 1994; Ertekin et al., 2000a, 2001a). In most human studies, such as studies of continuous drinking or eating, it has been reported that a swallow is not induced by water infusion into the valleculae until the liquid reached the pyriform sinuses and aryepiglottic folds (Pouderoux et al., 1996; Thexton and Crompton, 1998). A swallow, however, may be initiated earlier when the bolus makes contact with the upper third of the epiglottis than when it is confined to the valleculae and pyriform sinuses at the pharynx (Dua et al., 1997; Thexton and Crompton, 1998). In normal human subjects, it is evident that there is usually a gradual accumulation of prepared food on the posterior surface of tongue, and this solid food reaches the valleculae in advance of the initiation of the swallow (Palmer et al., 1992; Thexton and Crompton, 1998). The mucosa of the hypopharynx and around the larynx needs to be intact where the sensory signals may elicit the pharyngeal reflex swallows in man (Palmer et al., 1992; Pouderoux et al., 1996; Ertekin et al., 2000a). Thus, the initiation of the swallow can be expected from the posterior part of the oral cavity to the hypopharynx depending on the different kinds of bolus. In a small volume swallow (1–2 ml) such as saliva, there is no oral preparation, and the oral and pharyngeal stages occur in sequence. In contrast, when taking a large volume liquid bolus, the oral and pharyngeal stages overlap with each other, occurring simultaneously (Logemann, 1998; Ertekin and Palmer, 2000). The size of the bolus does not alter the sequence of events during oropharyngeal swallow- ing but modulates the timing of each part of the swallow (Ertekin et al., 1997). As the bolus size increases (1–20 ml), the pharyngeal transit time increases, as do laryngeal closure and elevation (Ertekin et al., 1997; Logemann, 1998). After 20 ml volume of water, normal subjects tend to divide the liquid into two or more segments (Ertekin et al., 1996). This is called piecemeal deglutition. Patients with neurogenic dysphagia are obliged to divide the bolus into two or more swallows successively, below the 20 ml volume of drinking water (Ertekin et al., 1996, 1998) (Fig. 1). Although the site, timing and density of the orophar- yngeal sensory input may vary from one bolus to another, and from normal subjects to the patients with sensory impairment, once swallowing is initiated, the cascade of the sequential muscle activation does not essentially alter from the perioral muscles downward. This is one of the lines of evidence for the existence of the central pattern generator (CPG) for the human swallowing that will be discussed later. 2.2. Pharyngeal phase of swallowing As it was mentioned above, the oral cavity and pharynx are anatomically separated but functionally integrated regions of the head and neck. These two regions are involved in the complex motor responses that include feeding, chewing, swallowing, speech, and respiration. From the point of swallowing, the oral and pharyngeal phases are highly interrelated and the distinction between them is often unclear. Therefore, we often use the term oropharynx and oropharyngeal swallowing due to their intimate interrelationship. When the movement of the bolus from the oral cavity to the pharyngeal spaces triggers the swallowing reflex or response, the following physiological events occur in rapid overlapping sequence. All of the events until the esophageal phase are mainly controlled by the CPG of the brain stem (Miller, 1982, 1999; Jean, 2001). These events are as follows: 1. The nasal, laryngeal and tracheal airway is protected by several “reflex” events including closure of the velo- pharyngeal isthmus by the palate, laryngeal elevation and suspension by suprahyoid/submental muscles and clo- sure of the larynx by laryngeal muscles of the vocal folds and epiglottis. Laryngeal elevation is a vital component of the airway protection as this action does not only facilitate closure of the vestibulae but also repositioning of the larynx anterosuperiorly under the tongue base. All swallows take place somewhere between late inspiration and late expiration, and there is always an apneic period during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing (Nishino et al., 1985; Martin et al., 1994; Paydarfay et al., 1995; Thexton and Crompton, 1998). Protection of the airway is essential owing to the CPG. The orolaryngopharyngeal protective reflexes also support the laryngeal closure according to the urgent need. 2. The tongue thrusts posteriorly to push the bolus throughout the pharynx and into the esophagus (XII CN). A sequential wave of contraction of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles (XCN) clears any remaining material into the esophagus. The main propulsive force acting on the bolus is thus, provided by the posterior movement of the tongue (Kahrilas et al., 1992; Thexton and Crompton, 1998). The pharyngeal contraction seems to be minimal in relation to bolus propulsion, although it facilitates subsequent pharyngeal clearance in associ- ation with a profound shortening of the pharynx (Kahrilas et al., 1992). 3. The upper esophageal sphincter (UES) relaxes and opens for the bolus transport into the esophagus. The UES consists primarily of the tonically contracting striated cricopharyngeus muscle. During a swallow, this muscle relaxes and is opened and the sphincter is pulled upon anteriorly by the contraction of the supra- hyoid/submental muscle groups. Then the pharyngeal C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–22442228 Fig. 1. The integrated orbicularis oris (O. Oris) (top traces in each pair) and submental muscle electromyography (SM-EMG) (lower trace in each pair) activities (surface electrodes) during swallowing of different amounts of water, increasing in quantity step by step from 3 to 20 ml. Note that all volumes were swallowed at one go up to 20 ml in a normal adult subject (A), while, in a stroke patient with dysphagia (B), the bolus is divided into two or more separate swallows during the swallowing of 10–20 ml water. (Arrows indicate the second and subsequent swallows). The sweep duration set at 10 s and the delay line was adjusted to O. Oris at 2 s. Amplitude calibration: 70 mV (A) and 50 mV (B). Time calibration: 1000 ms in all traces. C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2229 phase of swallowing is completed and the UES closes until the next swallow. During a swallow, the UES opens and the tonic EMG activity of the CP sphincter muscle ceases simultaneously (Ertekin et al., 1995; Ertekin and Aydogdu, 2002). For the physiology of the relaxation of the CP muscle and the opening of the UES, there are two diverse opinions. According to one view, the cessation of tonic activity of the CP muscle is believed to be due to a neural inhibition, possibly originating from the CPG at the medullary level (Doty and Bosma, 1956; Jean and Car, 1979; Miller, 1982; Ertekin et al., 1998, 2000c; Ertekin and Aydogdu, 2002). The contrary view is that the opening of the UES, together with the cessation of the tonic activity are brought about by traction of the suprahyoid muscles, which produce the anterior displacement of the larynx (Asoh and Goyal, 1978; Goyal, 1984; Ekberg, 1986; Dodds et al., 1988; Cook et al., 1989; Jacob et al., 1989; Lang et al., 1991). Probably, the mechanism of the opening and relaxation of the CP muscle of the UES is under neural control rather than biomechanical causes, since the relationship and correlation between the laryngeal relocation time and the opening of the UES found in normal subjects (Kahrilas et al., 1988; Cook et al., 1989; Jacob et al., 1989; Ertekin et al., 1997), clearly disappear in dysphagic patients with suprabulbar palsy due to different nervous system disorders (Ertekin et al., 2000b,c). 3. EMG in swallowing muscles The sequential and orderly activity of swallowing muscles can be demonstrated by EMG methods. Consider- able number of studies have been performed for swallowing muscles in experimental animals and to some extent in man. Doty and Bosma (1956) described the pattern of EMG activity in the oral and pharyngeal muscles in dog during swallowing elicited reflexively by electrical and mechanical stimuli. The pattern of EMG activity reported in that study and others subsequently, suggests the concept of a temporal pattern of sequential activation where the latency of a burst of EMG activity broadly reflects the distance of that muscle from the entrance of the mouth to the esophagus. EMG activity in each individual muscle consists of a phasic discharge in the form of a burst of EMG spikes which ranges in general between 200 and 800 ms depending on the muscle and the species including humans (Doty and Bosma, 1956; Hrycyshyn and Basmajian, 1972; Ertekin et al., 1995; Perlman et al., 1999; Jean, 2001). In addition to the bursts, when background activity is present in the muscles, there is a shorter inhibition, which is maintained until the actual swallowing contraction begins as a burst. A strong inhibition of the background activity is also observed after the phasic discharge. Therefore, the orophar- yngeal stage comprises an extraordinary sequence of inhibition and activation in pairs of swallowing muscles which have to be synchronised during the motor sequence. Once this complex motor sequence has been initiated, it invariably reaches the UES. Although some sensory inputs from the oropharynx may modulate the contractions, the basic program is not prevented (Jean, 2001). This is one of the characteristics of the CPG of swallowing. In an attempt to study the swallowing muscles by EMG, a few approaches can be used: Almost all of the muscle pairs related to deglutition can be recorded experimentally from the mouth level to the end of the pharynx. It is not practical to evaluate electromyogra- phically all pairs of oropharyngeal swallowing muscles in human studies. This is because it is difficult to reach some muscles superficially. However, a computer-aided method for calculating the independent components of several simultaneous surface EMG recordings from the face to the lower neck has recently been reported and demonstrated that it can be possible to approach the sequential muscle activation during swallowing in man (McKeown et al., 2002). We will have to wait for confirmatory studies on this line. Instead of recording from many muscles, it is usually more logical to record the EMG activity in a few but important deglutition muscle groups using superficial electrodes. One needle electrode or a wire electrode can be used for the deep-seated swallowing muscles (Perlman et al., 1999). The oropharyngeal and esophageal systems possess certain reflexes that may modify the swallowing and they may be protective against the unpredictable passage of bolus during a swallow. These kinds of protective reflexes can also be studied by providing natural or electrical stimuli to the oropharynx with some target deglutition muscles recorded either superficially or by needle electrodes (Hiiemae and Crompton, 1985; Miller, 1999). There are several groups of muscles of deglutition that were studied in detail: 1. Jaw and perioral muscles 2. Submandibular/suprahyoid muscles 3. Tongue muscles 4. Laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles 5. CP muscle of the UES. The first two groups of muscles are the easiest to pick up EMG activity superficially while the latter 3 groups are approached by needle electrodes or by means of intralumi- nar catheter electrodes. 3.1. Jaw and perioral muscles The oral phase of swallowing consists of both voluntary control and reflexive components integrated with feeding C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–22442230 and chewing (Hiiemae and Crompton, 1985; Miller, 1999). The oral phase of swallowing recruits the jaw closing muscles of the mandible (i.e. temporalis, masseter and medial pterygoid) to stabilise the mandible. As a result, the type of bolus affects the recruitment of the jaw closing muscles, and more EMG activity occurs when greater stabilisation of the mandible is needed (McNamara and Moyers, 1973; Miller, 1982, 1999; Thexton, 1992). During pharyngeal swallowing, the jaw closing muscles may stabilise the mandible. The masseter muscle can be superficially recorded together with the submental muscle group and their relationship is in sequence. It is the first in EMG activation and the submental muscles are subsequently activated while the larynx is being raised by the hyoid bone with the contraction ofthe submental/suprahyoid muscles. The end result is the protection of the upper airway during transfer of the bolus. Similarly, the perioral-facial muscles are the first recruits during the oral phase of swallowing to provide an anterior seal of the lips (Logemann, 1998; Murray et al., 1998; Miller, 1999). In normal human subjects, orbicularis oris and buccinator muscles firmly close the mouth to prevent food from escaping, flatten the cheeks and hold the food in contact with the teeth (Perlman and Christenson, 1997; Secil et al., 2002). Their contraction and muscle tone act as a valve mechanism (Logemann, 1996, 1998). It has been observed that the perioral muscle activity is ended just before the pharyngeal phase of swallowing, while the masseter activity can continue or reappear during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing (Ozdemirkıran, 2002) (Fig. 2). 3.2. Submandibular/suprahyoid muscles (SM muscles) The SM muscle complex (mylohyoid, geniohyoid and anterior digastric muscles) fires concurrently to initiate a swallow and function as the laryngeal elevators pulling the larynx upward (Miller, 1982; Donner et al., 1985; Jacob et al., 1989; Gay et al., 1994; Martin et al., 1994; Schultz et al., 1994; Ertekin et al., 1995; Perlman and Christenson, 1997; Logemann, 1998). For this reason, surface EMG activity of the SM muscles gives a considerable amount of information about the onset and duration of the orophar- yngeal swallowing, because the contraction of the SM muscles pulls up the hyoid bone into an anterosuperior position, which elevates the larynx and initiates other reflexive changes that constitute the pharyngeal phase of swallowing (Donner et al., 1985; Jacob et al., 1989; Dodds et al., 1990; Ertekin et al., 1995, 2000a, 2001a). Movements that occur from the beginning of SM muscle contraction to the elevation of the larynx are important for the safe passage of bolus to the pharyngoesophageal segment without escaping into other cavities. The contraction of SM muscles continues until the completion of the oropharyngeal swallowing process (Donner et al., 1985; Gay et al., 1994; Ertekin et al., 1995, 1998; Ertekin, 1996). When a swallow is initiated voluntarily, the contraction of the SM muscles should be controlled by at least two routes. During the initial part, SM muscles should be activated by the cortical drive either directly or via the brain stem CPG. The latter part of SM muscle activation should, however, be controlled by the CPG of the brain stem network, especially in the period immediately after the onset of laryngeal upward movement, which is an important and Fig. 2. The sequential muscle activation during 3 ml water swallowing in a normal subject. Uppermost trace is the laryngeal movement sensor (laryngeal sensor). Onset of upward movement of the larynx is demonstrated by the arrow (the onset of pharyngeal phase) and the beginning of the downward movement of the larynx was recorded as a positive deflection. The time interval between the onsets of two deflections indicates the upward movement of the larynx plus the relocation time during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. The orderly activation of the orbicularis oris, masseter, submental, thyroarytenoid and cricopharyngeal (CP) muscles is obtained from 5 superimposed EMG traces (needle recording in all but surface recording from the masseter and submental muscles). The arrows are the onset of EMG burst of each muscle except the CP sphincter muscle in which the onset of EMG pause (opening of the CP sphincter) is shown. Note the sequential and orderly activation of the muscles and EMG pause in CP sphincter during oropharyngeal swallowing. Amplitude calibration: 50, 30, 70, 100 and 50 mV for EMG traces (amplitude of laryngeal sensor signal is unimportant). Time calibration: 200 ms in all traces. The amplitudes of EMG in submental muscles and CP sphincter muscle were cut off by too high a gain on the amplifier. C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2231 early event of the pharyngeal phase in voluntarily induced deglutition (Dodds et al., 1990; Perlman et al., 1995; Ertekin et al., 2001a). In many of the dysphagic patients, the onset of SM-EMG is extremely prolonged, which indicates the difficulties of the cortically induced triggering mechanism due to the involvement of the corticobulbar fibers (Ertekin et al., 1998, 2000b,c, 2001b). 3.3. Tongue muscles Intrinsic fibers of the tongue muscle are very difficult to investigate by surface EMG electrodes except in transcra- nial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies (Muellbacher et al., 1994; Urban et al., 1996; Meyer et al., 1997). Surface electrodes are prone to recording artefacts, and it is difficult to fix them in the oral cavity during swallowing. Some EMG studies have been performed by using wire electrodes (Cunningham and Basmajian, 1969; Vitti et al., 1975; Cooper and Perlman, 1997). The genioglossus muscle has been mostly investigated by this method. Ultrasonographic, CAT scan, and some MRI studies seem to be superior for the deglutition studies of the tongue (Brown and Sonies, 1997). 3.4. Laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles EMG recordings of the pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles are not frequently investigated during deglutition. The reason is related to the difficulty in approaching these muscles non-invasively. Therefore, it is generally preferred to insert a needle electrode with the help of a laryngologist. Some laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles can be reached by percutaneous needle insertion or wire electrodes (Perlman et al., 1989, 1999; Schaefer, 1991; Spiro et al., 1994; McCulloch et al., 1996; Ertekin et al., 2000c,d). Examples involve the insertion to the thyroarytenoid muscle and the vocalis muscles as the laryngeal adductors (Hiroto et al., 1968; Mu and Yang, 1990; Schaefer, 1991; Yin et al., 1997) and the cricothyroid muscle (Schaefer, 1991; Yin et al., 1997). When the larynx is pulled up anterosuperiorly by the SM muscles during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing, the laryngeal adductor muscles are activated for the closure of the vocal cords. By this mechanism, the larynx and lower airways are thought to be protected from swallowing bolus that is passing through the pharynx. Laryngeal adductor muscles including the thyroarytenoid muscle are mainly activated for the protection of the larynx during swallowing. The protective activity of the laryngeal adductors usually begins after the contraction of the SM muscles in both voluntarily initiated and spontaneous reflex swallows. Thus, the activities of both groups of muscles are interrelated through the CPG of the swallowing program (Ertekin et al., 2000d). There are two additional EMG activities that are sometimes recorded and may have different roles; one adductor activity is observed just before swallowing and occurs very close but prior to the upward movement of the larynx (Fig. 3). This foreburst EMG activity appears to be related to the polysynaptic laryngeal reflex mechanisms that are triggered by the intraoral inputs and it is protective. Another EMG activity of the laryngeal adductors is recorded during the downward movement of the larynx, just after the end of the swallowing. This activity might be related to a fast and strong expiratory movement at the laryngeal folds (Ertekin et al., 2000d). In fact, the laryngeal Fig. 3. Thyroarytenoid EMG (rectified and integrated) activity of a normal subject with simultaneous recording of laryngeal vertical movement during swallowing of 3 ml water. The onset of upward deflection of the larynx is denoted by “0” and that of downward by “2”. Five traces were averaged in all. “Onset” and “End” belong to basic activity (from Ertekin et al., 2000d; by permission). C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–22442232 adductor reflex has been documented in response to the electrical stimulation ofthe superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) indicating that this is a polysynaptic brain stem reflex (Sasaki and Suzuki, 1967; Sasaki and Buckwalter, 1984). During deglutition, normal subjects always inhibit respiration, which is sometimes called the swallowing apnea and normal swallowing usually interrupts the expiratory phase of the respiratory cycle (Miller, 1982; Dodds, 1989; Dodds et al., 1990; Martin et al., 1994). After the swallow, normal subjects always resume breathing with expiration (Preiksaitis et al., 1992; Paydarfay et al., 1995). As a pharyngeal muscle, the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscles are investigated using bipolar hooked wire electrodes (Hairston and Sauerland, 1981; Perlman et al., 1989). Swallowing produces significantly dense EMG activity which lasts about 800 ms that is almost equal to that of the SM-EMG (Perlman et al., 1989). 3.5. Cricopharyngeal muscle of the upper esophageal sphincter CP muscle is a striated muscle sphincter situated at the pharyngoesophageal junction. It is one of the most important muscles for the evaluation of neurogenic dysphagia (Ertekin et al., 1995, 1998). EMG of the CP sphincter muscle has been studied in a variety of subhuman species to understand deglutition (Doty and Bosma, 1956; Kawasaki Ogura and Takenovchi, 1964; Levitt et al., 1965; Murakami et al., 1972; Asoh and Goyal, 1978; Venker-van Haagen et al., 1989; Lang et al., 1991; Medda et al., 1997), however, it has seldom been reported in healthy human subjects and patients (Shipp et al., 1970; Hellemans et al., 1974; Van Overbeek et al., 1985; Tanaka et al., 1986; Elidan et al., 1990a,b; Ertekin et al., 1995; Ertekin and Aydogdu, 2002). There are two main approaches to recording from the CP muscle: the percutaneous and intraluminal approaches. In the percutaneous approach, a concentric needle electrode is passed through the skin in a posterior and medial direction at the level of and just lateral to the cricoid cartilage (Ertekin et al., 1995, 1998; Ertekin and Aydogdu, 2002). A hook- wire electrode can also be used for this approach (Perlman et al., 1989, 1999; Perlman, 1993). The intraluminal approach to the CP muscle has mostly been used in the past. The wire electrodes are introduced by an endoscopic procedure under general anesthesia (Van Overbeek et al., 1985) or during oropharyngeal operations (Mu and Sanders, 1998; Sasaki et al., 1999; Brook et al., 1999). CP muscles have also been investigated by bipolar suction electrodes together with pharyngeal topical anesthesia (Palmer, 1989; Palmer et al., 1989). The CP sphincter muscle is tonically active during rest and this continuous activity ceases during a swallow in human subjects. During wet or dry swallowing, two bursts of increased EMG activity are clearly observed just before and after the CP-EMG pause. The foreburst may be a kind of protective reflex strictly related to oropharyngeal function and does not necessarily take part in the sequential muscle activity of deglutition, whereas the rebound activity is an electrical event that is strictly bounded by the CPG (Ertekin and Aydogdu, 2002). Foreburst of the CP muscle is similar to that obtained from the laryngeal adductor muscle (Ertekin et al., 2000d) (see Fig. 2, bottom trace). During a swallow, tonic motoneurons supplying the CP muscle are first inhibited and the CP sphincter is relaxed. Consequently, during the rebound burst, phasic larger motoneurons fire transiently to close the sphincter as fast as possible after passage of the bolus and the tonic motoneurons are re-excited. Although both units are under the control of the CPG, both are also influenced by sensory and cortical inputs (Ertekin et al., 2000a,b; Ertekin and Aydogdu, 2002). 4. Brain stem and swallowing We owe almost all our knowledge to experimental deglutition studies except some information that was generated by clinical studies. Therefore, most of the information related to the brain stem and swallowing has been obtained from non-human mammals. The precise pattern of muscle contraction and inhibition sequentially as mentioned above is dependent on brain stem neural structures that conceptually consist of 3 levels (Broussard and Altschuler, 2000b): 1. An afferent and/or descending input level that corre- sponds to sites of termination of peripheral and central swallowing afferent fibers. 2. An efferent level that corresponds to the motoneuron pools of the cranial motor nuclei that provide innervation to swallowing muscles. 3. An organising level that consists of an interneuronal network of “premotor” neurons in contact with both afferent and efferent levels. These premotor neurons or interneurons, which can initiate or organise the swallowing motor sequence, are known as the swallowing CPG (Jean, 1972, 1978, 2001; Jean et al., 1975; Miller, 1982; Bieger, 1984; Kessler and Jean, 1985). The experimental electrophysiological studies and the introduction of axoplasmic tracing techniques have demonstrated that swallowing premotor neurons are located within the NTS, the adjacent reticular formation surround- ing NTS and in the reticular formation around and just above the nucleus ambiguus (NA) of the ventrolateral medulla oblongata (Jean, 1984, 2001; Kessler and Jean, 1985; Broussard and Altschuler, 2000b). Thus, the swallowing interneurons or premotor neurons are located in these two main brain stem areas: the dorsal swallowing group (DSG) in and around NTS and ventral C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2233 swallowing group (VSG) just above the NA (Jean, 1972, 2001; Jean and Car, 1979; Amri et al., 1984; Kessler and Jean, 1985; Ezure et al., 1993; Umezaki et al., 1998). Swallowing premotor neurons might be involved in the bilateral and rostrocaudal coordination of the multiple motoneuronal pools. Experimental data suggest that within the swallowing network in the medullary level, VSG neurons are activated via DSG neurons and that all motoneurons of swallowing in the V, VII, IX, X, and XII motoneuron pools are driven by the premotor neurons of the VSG (Holstege et al., 1977; Jean et al., 1983; Jean, 2001). As shown in Fig. 4, the swallowing CPG includes two main groups of premotor neurons and motoneurons located within the NTS and the adjacent reticular formation and VSG located in the ventrolateral medulla adjacent to the NA. The DSG contains the generator neurons involved in the triggering, shaping and timing of the sequential or rhythmic swallowing pattern. The VSG contains the switching neurons, which distribute the swallowing drive to the various pools of the motoneurons involved in swallowing (Jean, 2001). These premotor neurons excite the motoneuron pools bilaterally from VSG. During the functioning of the swallowing network, both excitatory and inhibitory drives can be exerted along the anatomical pathways (Zoungrana et al., 1997). In fact the CPG for swallowing consists of two hemi- CPGs each located on one side of the medulla. Under physiological conditions, the two hemi-CPGs are tightly synchronised and organise the contraction of the bilateral muscles of the oropharyngeal region (Doty et al., 1967; Jean, 2001). Anatomical connections mediated by nerve fibers crossing the midline have been found to exist between the two medullary regions, where swallowing neurons are located in the DSG and VSG (Jean et al., 1983). Thus, the swallowing motor sequence is mainly generated in the ipsilateral hemi-CPG and this CPG transfers the swallowing pre-motoneuron signals to the contralateral CPG (Jean, 2001). Swallowing NTS neurons play a crucial role in these synchronisation processes. The dual swallowing centers on both sides of the medullary region and their extensive connections are important in understanding the nature of dysphagia in Wallenberg syndrome in man. Lateral medullary infarc- tion should primarily affect the NTS andin particular the NA and their vicinity in the medulla oblongata unilaterally. With the use of MRI, it has been demon- strated that in a lateral medullary infarction resulting in dysphagia and aspiration, the rostral and dorsolateral parts of the medulla are affected (Kim et al., 1994, 2000; Vigderman et al., 1998). A transverse section through the medulla corresponding approximately to the rostral third to fourth of the principal (inferior) olivary nucleus contains the site at which the NTS and NA are almost equally affected by the occlusion of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (Haines, 1991). Although a lesion of the lateral medullary infarction in human is unilateral, its effect on oropharyngeal swallowing is bilateral (Aydogdu et al., 2001), probably because the premotor neurons in and around NA and their connections are affected. Consequently, a disruption and/or disconnec- tion of their linkage to swallowing-related cranial motor neuron pools bilaterally and to the contralateral NA could produce the swallowing disorders in Wallenberg syndrome. The remaining intact ipsilateral premotor neurons and the contralateral center in the medulla oblongata may even- tually begin to operate and overcome the severity and long- term persistence of dysphagia (Aydogdu et al., 2001) (Fig. 5). It is generally assumed that the afferent fibers involved in the initiation of swallowing are those running within the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, the glossophar- yngeus and vagus nerve especially its SLN (Miller, 1972, Fig. 4. Schematic representation of the central pattern generator of swallowing. Peripheral and supramedullary inputs reach to and around nucleus tractus solitarius–dorsal swallowing group (NTS-DSG). NTS-DSG activates the ventral swallowing group of premotor neurons in the ventrolateral medulla–ventral swallowing group (VLM-VSG) adjacent to the nucleus ambiguus (NA). VLM-VSG drives the motoneuron pools of the V, VII, IX, X, XII, C1–3 CN bilaterally (modified from Jean, 2001). C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–22442234 1986). Sensory inputs can be initiated and continued either by mucosal receptors of the oropharynx and/or by lingual and/or palatopharyngeal mechanoreceptors during the swallowing of the saliva, liquid or solid foods (Miller, 1972; Mansson and Sandberg, 1974, 1975a,b; Ertekin et al., 2000a). It has been demonstrated that the variables of oropharyngeal swallowing can be modified by changes in bolus volumes (Kahrilas et al., 1988; Cook et al., 1989; Jacob et al., 1989; Dantas et al., 1990; Ertekin et al., 1997). It is believed that sensory feedback originating from the oropharyngeal mucosae and deeper receptors in the region may modify the CPG of the bulbar swallowing network (Miller, 1982). However, there has been much debate about the effects of mucosal receptors on oropharyngeal degluti- tion, because of the discrepancy among the studies of topical anesthesia of the oropharynx (Mansson and Sandberg, 1974; Hollshwander et al., 1975; Hacker and Cattau, 1978; Nishino, 1993; Ali et al., 1994). On the other hand, the sensory deficit in the oropharyngeal mucosae has been proven to be one of the important causes of dysphagia and aspiration in stroke patients (Aviv et al., 1996, 1997). Results obtained during topical anesthesia of the orophar- yngeal mucosae in human subjects suggest that adequate sensory inputs are necessary for the perception of the bolus volume and viscosity by the cerebral cortex and the bulbar swallowing network (Ertekin et al., 2000a). The insuffi- ciency of the sensory coding would produce an “uncertain evaluation” in the central nervous system. The main role of the oropharyngeal mucosal receptors may be to contribute to the initiation of swallowing, but when swallowing is triggered, the pattern and sequential activity of swallowing is not essentially changed (Ertekin et al., 2000a; Aydogdu et al., 2001). The sensory inputs physiologically modulate the central network activity to adapt the forthcoming motor sequence to the information arising from peripheral receptors. The continuous sensory feedback may influence the CPG and thus modulate the central programs (Jean, 1984). At the central level, all the afferent fibers involved in the initiation or facilitation of swallowing converge and terminate in the NTS. Thus, the NTS constitute the main afferent central structure involved in swallowing (Jean, 2001). In addition to the peripheral and suprasegmental descending inputs, there may exist a rostrocaudal inhibition within the swallowing network (Jean, 1972, 1984; Otake et al., 1992). The swallowing neurons controlling the distal parts of the swallowing tract are inhibited when neurons controlling the more proximal regions are excited (Jean, 1972). In this way, inhibition– excitation and again inhibition are successively transmitted throughout the swallowing network (Jean, 2001). The excitatory and inhibitory messages are transferred from NTS to the motoneuronal levels (Zoungrana et al., 1997). The result is a successful sequential activation and inhibition of the swallowing muscles. Within the swallowing CPG, some premotor neurons and motoneurons can be involved in at least two different tasks, such as swallowing and respiration, swallowing and mastication or swallowing and phonation (Jean, 2001). Therefore, common motoneurons may be involved in these activities. Some recent results have indicated that inter- neurons in DSG or VSG regions of the swallowing network also fire several motor behaviours such as swallowing, respiration, mastication and vocalisation (Kessler, 1993; Chiao et al., 1994; Oku et al., 1994; Jean, 2001). The common motoneurons might, therefore, be triggered by common pools of interneurons. It can be proposed that in mammals, the neurons liable to be involved in pattern generation can belong to different CPGs. Multifunctional neurons of this kind would make for great functional flexibility for mammals. It also appears that within the dorsal and ventral medulla there exists a common pool of neurons that might have multifunctional roles. Some of the components of the swallowing network are not dedicated to swallowing alone but can also serve some purpose in other central networks (Jean, 2001). Fig. 5. Swallowing associated connectivity of medulla oblongata and the regions affected by lateral medullary infaction (LMI). Top, area affected by LMI (shaded area) and the involvement of nucleus tractus solitarius and nucleus ambiguus in this region. Bottom, schematic representation of premotor neurons and their ipsilateral connections to V, VII, IX, X and XII cranial motor neuron pools and the contralateral swallowing center (from Aydogdu et al., 2001; by permission). C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2235 Little is known so far about synaptic transmitter mechanisms in brain stem swallowing CPG, even in experimental fields. Among the various neurotransmitters that are known to intervene in deglutition, the excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors, in particular those of the NMDA type, play an important role in triggering the motor event and patterning the motor sequence. Especially the fast information transfer uses EAA transmission by means of several glutamate receptors subtypes (Jean, 2001; Bieger, 2001). Inhibitory phenomena were reported to be associated by the GABAergic mechanism (Jean, 2001; Bieger, 2001). Local and reticular cholinergic neurons are implicated in pharyngoesophageal coupling in deglutition and the gener- ation of propulsive esophagomotor output (Bieger, 1991, 2001). As we have stated at the beginning of the review, the pharyngeal phase of the swallowing is controlled by the medullary CPG. The effects of the cortical control on the bulbar CPG are rather complex on the oropharyngeal swallowing as a whole in human subjects.For example, it can be said that material in the mouth (food or saliva) and the cortical drive to the tongue and the floor of the mouth are necessary for the initiation of the voluntarily induced swallows, whereas the triggering of the spontaneous swallows do not require any cortical drive. However, a reflex mechanism should play a role in both swallowing types. Perioral, submental, and lingual striated muscles can be controlled by the medullary CPG beyond the cortical drive. This can be shown by the EMG recording from those muscles mentioned above, during a spontaneous swallow- ing. In addition to the control of medullary CPG on the reflex and voluntary swallowing, some protective reflexes could also operate according to the level of risk of aspiration (Sasaki and Suzuki, 1967; Sasaki and Buckwalter, 1984; Ertekin et al., 2001a; Altschuler, 2001). The pharyngeal phase of swallowing may be controlled by the cortical drives via medullary CPG in addition to triggering the pharyngeal swallow. This is suggested from some clinical studies. The involvement of the corticobulbar-pyramidal fibers can cause dysphagia in which the relaxation and opening of the CP muscle of the UES becomes abnormal, especially in motor neuron disease and in suprabulbar palsy due to multiple strokes (Ertekin et al., 2000b,c). This suggests that descending excitatory and inhibitory drives influence the pharyngeal phase of swallowing and trigger and modulate the medullary pattern generator. The cortical control of the pontomedullary CPG must have increased phylogenetically and reached its maximum control in the human. 5. Cerebral cortex and voluntary swallowing Although the act of swallowing is thought to be mediated principally by brain stem mechanisms (Jean, 2001) converging evidence from electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and clinical studies indicates that the cerebral cortex also plays a fundamental role in the regula- tion of swallowing (Martin and Sessle, 1993; Miller, 1999). In animal models, particularly the non-human primate, studies employing cortical stimulation (Jean and Car, 1979; Huang et al., 1989; Martin et al., 1997, 1999), ablation or reversible inactivation of the cortex (Narita et al., 1999) and cortical neuronal recordings (Martin et al., 1997; Yao et al., 2001) have begun to delineate the detailed functional organisation of the cortical swallowing representation experimentally. An individual can command the swallow voluntarily (i.e. either food or saliva in his or her oral cavity). This fact suggests that the medullary swallowing network can be activated by cortical commands. On the other hand, a normal human fetus can swallow by the 12th gestational week, before the cortical and subcortical structures have developed (Thexton and Crompton, 1998; Jean, 2001). It has also been reported that swallowing is still possible in the human anencephalic fetus (Thexton and Crompton, 1998; Jean, 2001; Miller et al., 2003). Recent evidence indicates, however, that the cerebral cortex plays an important role in even the highly automatic type of swallowing in adult humans (Hamdy et al., 1999a,b; Kern et al., 2001a; Martin et al., 2001) as we discuss later. Several clinical reports have indicated that cortical dysfunction of any kind especially from the cerebro- vascular disorders may result in dysphagia (Gordon et al., 1987; Barer, 1989; Horner et al., 1990; Alberts et al., 1992; Robbins et al., 1993; Smithard et al., 1997a,b; Daniels and Foundas, 1997; Daniels et al., 1999; Smithard, 2002). Indeed, in different studies, incidence of dysphagia in conscious patients following stroke has been reported from just below 30% (Young and Durant-Jones, 1990) to over 50% (Gordon et al., 1987) depending upon various factors. Therefore, damage to the cerebral cortex can have a significant effect upon the peripheral swallowing mechan- ism operating at the brain stem level. The concept of the cortical control of swallowing can be drawn back to the studies of cerebral cortical stimulation in humans, electrically to the open cortex by Penfield and co- workers since 1937 (Penfield and Boldery, 1937; Penfield and Rasmussen, 1950; Penfield and Jasper, 1954). Recently, TMS to the human scalp suggests that swallowing is represented within multiple cortical foci including the lateral precentral and premotor cortices (Aziz et al., 1995, 1996; Hamdy et al., 1996, 1997a). It has also been possible to stimulate the CP muscle of the UES by TMS of the cortex (Ertekin et al., 2001b). In healthy subjects, there is a somatotopic arrangement of the various swallowing muscles in an asymmetrical representation between the two hemispheres (Hamdy et al., 1996). In stroke patients, damage to the hemisphere that has the greater representation of swallowing corticospinal output appears to predispose that individual to develop C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–22442236 swallowing problems (Hamdy et al., 1996). The recovery of swallowing function is associated with an enlargement of the cortical representation in the undamaged hemisphere suggesting that recovery depends on the presence of an intact projection from the undamaged hemisphere that can develop increased control over brain stem centers or CPG over a period of weeks (Hamdy et al., 1997b, 1998a,b). Unfortunately, information gathered using TMS refers only to the projections from motor regions of the cortex to swallowing muscles and not necessarily the cortical activity associated with functional swallowing (Hamdy et al., 1997a). The recent advance in functional brain imaging including functional MRI (fMRI) and PET studies now offers the opportunity to examine the cortical representation of swallowing in healthy humans (Hamdy et al., 1999a,b; Mosier et al., 1999a; Zald and Pardo, 1999). Functional studies of the human brain also indicate cortical involve- ment in swallowing to be multifocal and bilaterally represented. Most commonly cited of these foci include those corresponding to areas in the sensory/motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, insular (Hamdy et al., 1999a,b; Mosier et al., 1999a; Zald and Pardo, 1999) parietooccipital (Hamdy et al., 1999b; Zald and Pardo, 1999) and temporal (Hamdy et al., 1999a; Mosier et al., 1999a; Mosier and Bereznaya, 2001; Martin et al., 2001) regions. Swallowing also produces areas of increased signal change in the basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum and the internal capsule (Mosier et al., 1999a; Mosier and Bereznaya, 2001). Even with 1.5 T fMRI, the cranial nuclei of pons and medulla and other nuclei of the lower brain stem and cervical spinal cord might be localized in awake humans with specific sensory stimulation or motor per- formance (Komisaruk et al., 2002). The activation and role of some cortical foci during swallowing can be discussed as follows. 5.1. Lateral precentral gyrus The caudolateral sensorimotor cortex is important in the initiation of swallowing (Penfield and Boldery, 1937; Hamdy et al., 1999a). This region of cortex is closely linked to the control of tongue and face, so the presence of swallowing activity in this region is not surprising (Corfield et al., 1999; Kern et al., 2001b). In terms of the cortical motor control of human swallowing, there might be two distinct patterns of activity: first, the caudolateral motor cortex which may be associated with the initiation of the full swallowing sequence at the highest level and second, the premotor regions which may be more modulatory and concerned with “priming” the pharyngoesophageal com- ponents of swallowing (Hamdy et al., 1999a). As swallowing involves both hemispheres with large and more intense activity present in the right hemisphere, the motor/premotor areas have greater volume recruitment in the right hemisphere in right-handed subjects (Kern et al., 2001b) or with handedness independent hemisphericdominance (Hamdy et al., 1996; 1997a, 1999b). 5.2. Supplementary motor area (SMA) The supplementary motor area (SMA) represented in the superior and middle frontal gyri, is believed to be associated with motor planning and, in particular, with planning of sequential movements (Tanji et al., 1996) as occurs with oropharyngeal swallowing. Therefore, SMA may play a dynamic role in the execution of different swallowing tasks, the activity of which may depend on the degree of difficulty of the task (Mosier et al., 1999b). 5.3. Anterior cingulate cortex Activation of this region during volitional swallowing may reflect the attentional and/or affective component of the swallowing task. Its activation with swallowing may also reflect a role for this region in the mediation of visceromotor activity such as digestive functions (Hamdy et al., 1999a,b; Kern et al., 2001b). 5.4. Insula and frontal operculum Insular function is thought to involve sensorimotor integration, auditory and speech processing and effects on cardiovascular rhythm (Augustine, 1996). In primates, stimulation of the insula evokes swallowing, whereas stimulation of the frontal operculum preferentially induces mastication but at a higher stimulation level also evokes the swallowing sequence (Martin et al., 1997, Martin and Sessle, 1993). In fact neuroimaging studies of representation of taste in the human brain have found cortical areas activated to taste such as the frontal operculum/insula and the orbitofrontal cortex (Small et al., 1997, 1999; Zald et al., 2002; O’Doherty et al., 2001). Water, a substance that itself has a taste and is known to activate neurons in the primate insular and orbitofrontal taste cortices, is used as the cortical stimulus in swallowing studies (Zald et al., 2002). Given this, important questions to consider are how the taste of water and other foods and their swallowing interact with each other and how we can differentiate the cortical representation of taste from swallowing. These problems need to be addressed in future studies. As it can be understood from above that swallowing is associated with activation of the inferior frontal gyrus corresponding to the inner face of the frontal operculum or Brodmann’s area 44 on the cortical convexity adjacent to the sylvian fissure in some subjects. Frontal operculum must have contributions to swallowing because sensations of the human mouth and pharynx have been partly localized to the operculum (Penfield and Jasper, 1954). This area of cortex C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2237 also may play a role in the control of non-speech orofacial sensorimotor behaviours (Martin et al., 2001). 5.5. Somatosensory and parietal cortex The swallowing tasks yield activation of the lateral postcentral gyrus localized to Brodmann’s area 3, 2, 1 and/or 43. This finding of swallow-related activation of the postcentral gyrus might reflect various types of orophar- yngeal sensory processing and underscore the importance of afferent information in the regulation of swallowing (Martin et al., 2001). Cortical activation during both swallowing and swallowing-related motor tasks that can be performed independent of swallowing was also found in the parie- tooccipital region corresponding to Brodmann’s areas 7, 9 and 31 (Kern et al., 2001b). Somatosensory and parietal regions have been cited as a region of activity during mechanical and chemical stimulation of the esophagus (Furlong et al., 1998; Kern et al., 1998; Aziz et al., 1997, 2000) as well as during sensation of swallowing urge (Kern et al., 2001b). The somatosensory cortex and posterior parietal cortex are likely to have a sensory role in the control of swallowing. It might, therefore, be speculated that these regions are utilized in the reception and higher processing of sensation arising from the oropharynx and esophagus which may then be linked to modulation of the motor activity via connectivity with precentral cortex and insula (Hamdy et al., 1999a; Aziz et al., 2000). 5.6. Temporal cortex The swallow-related activation of the superior temporal gyrus, corresponding to Brodmann’s areas 42/41 and 22/21 was found during water bolus swallow (Martin et al., 2001). The temporal lobe has been implicated in a number of functions that are related to swallowing. PET findings suggest that the anteromedial temporal lobe is involved in human taste quality recognition (Small et al., 1997). It can be proposed that the temporal lobe activations reflect the processing of the acoustic correlates of swallowing, swallow-related sounds that are audible to the swallower, by the auditory cortex (Martin et al., 2001). Another view is that the temporal cortex together with the prefrontal cortex could play a supplementary role in the regulation of swallowing and feeding because of its relationship with taste and imagery of food (Hamdy et al., 1999a). The role of the subcortical structures including basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum in the swallowing function has not been clarified using neuroimaging methods, however, clinical studies indicate that in some disorders of the basal ganglia, dysphagia can be seen whereas in pure cerebellar disorders, it is difficult to encounter swallowing problems (Ertekin et al., 1998, 2002; Ertekin and Palmer, 2000; Ertekin, 2002). 5.7. Lateralization of cortical function in swallowing Although human voluntary swallowing is represented within a number of spatially and functionally distinct cortical foci bilaterally, these regions may be activated differently by volitional swallowing. There is a kind of lateralization between hemispheres in the regulation of swallowing (Martin et al., 2001; Mosier et al., 1999b; Kern et al., 2001a). Especially during swallowing, the sensorimotor cortex is organised bilaterally but display interhemispheric asymmetry independent of handedness (Hamdy et al., 1996). The hemispheric lateralization has been reported in the right hemisphere or the left hemisphere without a consistent pattern of lateralization from the sensorimotor cortices (Hamdy et al., 1996). Lateralization to the right hemisphere tends to be greater than that in the left hemisphere (Mosier et al., 1999b; Martin et al., 2001) while the activity was found to be dominant for one hemisphere with left hemispheric dominance more prevalent among normal healthy sub- jects (Mosier et al., 1999b). Why the right hemisphere shows stronger lateralization is unclear and remains to be determined. Swallowing is a phylogenetically old physiological function. In an investigation of functional brain asym- metry during childhood, it was shown that human infants are right-hemisphere dominant up to the age of 3 years at which point an asymmetric shift to the left occurs (Chiron et al., 1997). It can be speculated that stronger lateralization in the right hemisphere during the swallow- ing task may represent a primal cortical organisational structure (Mosier et al., 1999b). Activation of the insula was found to be lateralized to the right hemisphere in right-handed subjects for voluntary saliva swallow, suggesting a functional hemi- spheric dominance of the insula for the processing of swallowing, salivation and gustatory functions (Zald and Pardo, 1999; Small et al., 1999). The development of dysphagia in human subjects was reported as a result of damage to the right anterior insular region (Hamdy et al., 1997b; Daniels and Foundas, 1997). It is likely that the alternate hemispheric lateralization may reflect a cortical organisation scheme for swallowing that facilitates the diverse neuromuscular demands of different swallowing tasks (Mosier et al., 1999b). Further examination of the role of hemispheric lateralization in the cortical control of swallowing and its implications for normal and abnormal swallowing is necessary. 5.8. Volitional versus reflexive swallowingin cortical regulation It has been reported that reflexive or automatic swallows are represented in the sensorimotor cortex and that volitional swallow (or voluntarily initiated swallow) is represented in multiple cortical regions including C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–22442238 the primary sensorimotor cortex. The total volume activity during volitional swallowing is significantly larger than that during reflexive swallows in either hemisphere. For the reflex swallow, there is a significant larger left hemispheric volume compared with the right hemisphere (Kern et al., 2001a). In another report, the automatic (naive) swallowing of saliva or other highly automatic types of swallowing were also demonstrated to activate the cerebral cortex (Martin et al., 2001). The fact that area M1 (precentral cortex) is activated in over 80% of human subjects in association with the automatic saliva swallows is of particular interest, given that this cortical region is classically considered to be involved in voluntary movement execution. Automatic swallowing produced activation within several other common cortical regions: lateral postcentral gyrus and right insula (Martin et al., 2001). The signal changes in fMRI peak some 9–12 s after the swallow. This may indicate that in swallowing, the time course of associated neuronal activity is prolonged (Hamdy et al., 1999a). This may be related to all of the processes of swallowing from oral, pharyngeal and esophageal phases. This long-lasting event incorporates secondary motor activity in the esophagus and continual modulatory ascend- ing sensory input with descending motor output (Hamdy et al., 1999a), however, whether this phenomenon occurs in reflexive swallowing remains to be clarified in future neuroimaging studies. 5.9. How the cortex works with multiple foci during swallowing The fact that volitional swallowing is represented in multiple cortical regions can simply be explained by the sensory inputs (i.e. tactile, gustatory) coming from the oropharyngeal and esophageal inner surfaces which activate the sensorimotor cortex, posterior parietal, anterior insula, and temporal cortex and the motor output being initiated from the precentral and lateral motor cortex. Other regions might be related with the emotional and attentional aspects of swallowing such as the anterior cingulate cortex. All non- sensorimotor regions of the cerebral loci may be related with swallow-related intent and planning and possible urge (Kern et al., 2001a). Such an explanation for the multiple cortical foci during swallowing may favor a singular, hierarchical model from multiple sensory inputs to the single motor output to and from the cortex descending through the CPG of the pontobulbar region. Involvement of many different cortical sites, on the other hand, also suggests that the control of swallowing may be organised differently from that suggested by the hierarchical projection system (Bass, 1997; Mosier and Bereznaya, 2001). It has been hypothesized that there are two separate, serial pathways from the sensorimotor cortex or insula to thalamus. Organisation of the control of voluntary repetitive swallowing into two parallel systems may confer the ability to effectively coordinate and integrate this highly complex, sequentially based motor behaviour. It is suggested that the cortical organisational scheme for swallowing may incorporate a functional structure that supersedes the anatomical structure, in which each functional unit or module, performs a specific role in sensorimotor planning and execution (Bass, 1997; Mosier and Bereznaya, 2001). We will have to wait for further studies for a clearer understanding of the inter- actions of several cortical foci during swallowing. 5.10. Clinical implications The fact that cortical representation of swallowing is multifocal and bilateral may lead to two concepts: 1. The extent of cortical and subcortical representation could explain why so many neurological conditions produce dysphagia (Zald and Pardo, 1999; Kern et al., 2001a). 2. The same physiological phenomena help to describe the critical role for the intact hemisphere reorganis- ation in recovery from dysphagia in stroke, because the return of swallowing is associated with increased pharyngeal representation in the unaffected hemisphere (Hamdy et al., 1997b, 1998b). The organisation of the healthy human swallowing motor cortex can be altered in a sustained manner after electrical sensory stimu- lation of the pharynx (Hamdy et al., 1998b). Sensory driven reorganisation of human motor cortex is highly dependent upon the frequency, intensity, and duration of stimulus applied. Those patterns of input associated with enhanced excitability (5 Hz, 75% maximal tolerated intensity for 10 min) induce stronger cortical activation to fMRI. When applied to acutely dyspha- gic stroke patients, swallowing corticobulbar excit- ability is increased mainly in the undamaged hemisphere, being strongly correlated with an improvement in swallowing function. Thus, input to human adult brain can be programmed to promote beneficial changes in neuroplasticity and function after cerebral injury (Fraser et al., 2002; Siebner and Rothwell, 2003; Hamdy et al., 2002). A role for fMRI in examining cortical and subcortical functions in abnormal swallowing should be necessary for future studies. Having established a normal database, fMRI may prove an adjunctive technique to conventional MR imaging in the investigation of dysphagia following cerebral injury, insult and disease. Also, the temporal relationship between activation in the swallowing CPG in the ponto- bulbar region and the primary somatosensory cortex remains to be elucidated and is a subject for future investigation. C. Ertekin, I. Aydogdu / Clinical Neurophysiology 114 (2003) 2226–2244 2239 6. Conclusions Swallowing is subdivided into 3 phases: oral, pharyngeal and, esophageal phases. The oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx are anatomically separated but functionally inte- grated for the complex and sequential motor responses that include chewing, swallowing and speech. From the point of swallowing, the oral and pharyngeal phases are highly interrelated and the term oropharyngeal swallowing is often used. Despite this, the oral phase is often accepted as voluntary, while the pharyngeal phase is considered a reflex response. Apart from the chewing and taste functions, the oral phase is primarily related with the oral preparation and the triggering to the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. Sensory inputs arising from posterior oral, pharyngeal and some laryngeal mucosae and transmitted to the medullary NTS and the cerebral cortex are necessary for the triggering of the bolus in the oropharyngeal region. Once swallowing is initiated, the cascade of the sequential muscle activation does not essentially alter from the perioral muscles down- ward. The main events are the transport of the food safely to pharyngoesophageal segment by the activation of the tongue, submental/suprahyoid muscles and pharyngeal constrictor muscles and the relaxation and opening the CP sphincter muscle. During the food transport, the airway is protected and closed by several laryngeal muscles and the larynx is pulled up. The sequential and orderly activity of swallowing muscles can be demonstrated by EMG methods. Submen- tal/suprahyoid muscles are easily recorded by surface electrodes and demonstrate the onset and complete duration of the oropharyngeal phase of swallowing. Laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles are approached by needle electrodes or by means of intraluminar catheter electrodes. The CP muscle of the UES is tonically active during rest and the tonic activity ceases during a swallow. Some premotor neurons or interneurons are found in the bulbar reticular formation, which can initiate or organisethe swallowing motor neurons. Their network is known as the CPG. These neurons are located in and around the NTS and around the NA of the ventrolateral medulla oblongata. The premotor neurons in and around NTS contain the generator neurons involved in the triggering, shaping and timing of the sequential swallowing pattern. The premotor neurons around the NA contain the switching neurons which distribute the swallowing drive to the various pools of the motoneurons involved in swallowing (V, VII, IX, X, XII cranial motoneurons). Anatomical connections mediated by nerve fibers crossing the midline exist between the two medullary regions where the swallowing neurons are located in and around the NTS and NA. The descending excitatory and inhibitory drives from the cortex and subcortex influence the oropharyngeal swallow- ing and trigger and modulate the CPG. The cortical control of CPG must have increased phylogenetically and reached its maximum control in the humans. The recent advance in the functional brain imaging including fMRI and PET image studies now offer the opportunity to examine the cortical representation of swallowing in human. These studies indicate that cortical involvement in swallowing is multifocal and bilaterally represented. Most commonly cited of these foci include those corresponding to areas in the sensory/motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, insular, opercular, parietooccipital, and temporal regions. Swallowing also produces areas of increased signal change in the basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum. Although human voluntary swallowing is represented bilaterally, there is interhemispheric asymmetry indepen- dent of handedness. Lateralization to the right hemisphere tends to be greater than that in the left hemisphere. Insular cortex is found to lateralize to the right hemisphere in right- handed subjects for voluntary saliva swallows. It has also been reported that reflexive or automatic swallows are represented in the primary sensorimotor cortex and in several other common cortical regions. Such functional neuroimaging and TMS studies may lead some concepts. First of all, the extent of cortical and subcortical representation explains why so many cortical and subcortical neurological conditions produce dysphagia. Second, the same findings help to describe the critical role for the intact hemisphere reorganisation in recovery from dysphagia in stroke, as the return of swallowing is associated with increased pharyngeal representation in the unaffected hemisphere. There are also various possibilities for the treatment of dysphagia given the multiple and bilateral representation of swallowing in the cortex, including the increase of sensory inputs (i.e. electrical) to the cerebral cortex to promote beneficial changes towards cortical plasticity. 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