All mammals must breathe and breathe continuously from birth. Similarly, all mammals, including infants, have high functional demands for feeding. However, the pathway that food takes through the pharynx interrupts respiration. The coordination…
Preterm infants often have dysphagia. Because reducing lifetime cumulative exposure to radiation in the context of diagnosis and treatment is a continuing goal of all medical fields which use X-ray imaging, efforts exist to reduce reliance on the…
The distribution and performance of aquatic vertebrates can be linked strongly to their ability to perform in variable conditions of flowing water. Performance in these variable conditions can be affected by both morphology and behaviour, and animals…
BACKGROUND: The formation of a bolus of food is critical for proper feeding function, and there is substantial variation in the size and shape of a bolus prior to a swallow. Preterm infants exhibit decreased abilities to acquire and process food, but…
Pectoral and pelvic girdle rotations play a substantial role in enhancing stride length across diverse tetrapod lineages. However, the pectoral and pelvic girdle attach the limbs to the body in different ways and may exhibit dissimilar functions,…
Swallowing is complex at anatomical, functional, and neurological levels. The connections among these levels are poorly understood, yet they underpin mechanisms of swallowing pathology. The complexity of swallowing physiology means that multiple…
Aerodigestive coordination is critical for safe feeding in mammals, and failure to do so can result in aspiration. Using an infant pig model, we analyzed the impact of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lesion on aerodigestive coordination and swallow…
All mammals undergo weaning from milk to solid food. This process requires substantial changes to mammalian oropharyngeal function. The coordination of swallowing and respiration is a crucial component of maintaining airway function throughout…
Feeding difficulties are especially prevalent in preterm infants, although the mechanisms driving these difficulties are poorly understood due to a lack of data on healthy infants. One potential mechanism of dysphagia in adults is correlated with…
Movements of the hyoid and thyroid are critical for feeding. These structures are often assumed to move in synchrony, despite evidence that neurologically compromised populations exhibit altered kinematics. Preterm infants are widely considered to be…
