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Nutritive and non-nutritive swallowing apnea duration in term infants: implications for neural control mechanisms

Bronwen N Kelly1, Maggie-Lee Huckabee, Richard D Jones

  • 1Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson's and Brain Research, Christchurch, New Zealand. bmk21@student.canterbury.ac.nz

Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
|March 1, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Swallowing apnea duration (SAD) in infants is shorter during feeding than non-feeding states. This duration remains consistent throughout the first year, suggesting innate neural control for airway protection.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Medicine
  • Neuroscience
  • Speech and Hearing Science

Background:

  • Swallowing apnea duration (SAD) is crucial for airway protection against aspiration.
  • The influence of feeding and consciousness on SAD in healthy infants requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the impact of bolus ingestion and consciousness level on SAD in healthy term infants.
  • To analyze changes in SAD from birth to one year of age.

Main Methods:

  • Measured SAD in 10 healthy term infants during wakefulness, sleep, and feeding (breast/bottle).
  • Recorded SAD 10 times from birth to 1 year, analyzing 19,402 swallows.

Main Results:

  • SAD during feeding was significantly shorter than during non-nutritive swallowing (wakefulness and sleep).
  • No significant changes in SAD were observed within the first year across all conditions.
  • Relative durations of nutritive, wake, and sleep swallowing apnea remained constant with age.

Conclusions:

  • Infant swallowing apnea duration is primarily modulated by feeding state, not age.
  • The consistency of SAD suggests innate, brainstem-mediated neural control mechanisms present at birth.

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