A new application for electropalatography: swallowing.
Electropalatography (EPG) has been applied to linguistic research and speech pathology. This study evaluated whether EPG could provide useful information on swallow-related tongue action. Specifically, the investigation focused on the quantification of tongue-palate contact patterns for swallowing and on the effects of bolus volume and consistency. Five normal subjects were tested during swallows of 5 and 30 ml of water, 5 and 30 ml of gelatin, and saliva. By segmenting the EPG time-motion sequences into four stages (prepropulsion, propulsion, full contact, withdrawal) and compartmentalizing the palate into six bins (front, central, back, lateral, medial, midline), temporal and spatial characteristics of deglutitive tongue-palate contact were revealed. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were found in contact timing across bolus sizes and consistencies for the propulsion and full contact stages. Water was propelled faster than gelatin. and 30-ml gelatin faster than 5-ml gelatin. Dry swallows had a longer full contact stage than water. Contact patterns, though not statistically analyzed at this time, appeared to vary little as a function of bolus properties. Our findings suggest potential value in using EPG to investigate the timing and patterning of abnormal tongue movements associated with disordered swallowing.
Chi-Fishman
G
G
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland at College Park 20742, USA.
Stone
M
M
D000328:Adult; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology