Soft palate reflex: technical requirements and first results

The present study describes technical prerequisites for soft palate reflex measurements and first results. Reflex measurements can be done using standard electromyographic methods. The data-processing system that records and processes the electromyographic signals was activated when the soft palate was stimulated by a newly developed device. The first results of objective soft palate reflex measurements in 15 healthy subjects show that the musculus levator veli palatini reacts to a mechanical stimulation of the soft palate with a contraction that can be measured electromyographically. The response latencies were constant in the individual subjects. In 12 subjects a minimum of 30 ms and a maximum of 61 ms was recorded. In one healthy subject, the reflex was activated only after 167 ms. No reflex could be evoked in two subjects. The stimulus was always supraliminal. Reaction time was longer following surface anesthesia of the oral mucosa.