Simultaneous dynamic and functional MRI scanning (SimulScan) of natural swallows

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Dynamic and functional MRI are vital for studying swallowing motor behaviors and brain activity.
• Current methods require disruptive sensors and cued tasks, limiting naturalistic observation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simultaneous MRI acquisition technique (SimulScan) for covertly studying uncued natural swallows.
• To enable dynamic monitoring of oropharyngeal motions alongside functional brain imaging.

Main Methods:

• SimulScan acquired dynamic mid-sagittal MRI slices (14.5 fps) and functional oblique-axial slices (TR 1.6512 s) concurrently.
• Three healthy adults underwent 15-min scans viewing a movie, allowing for passive, uncued swallow observation.
• Dynamic images were used to time swallow onsets for functional MRI analysis.

Main Results:

• SimulScan successfully captured dynamic oropharyngeal movements during natural swallows.
• Functional maps revealed brain activation patterns consistent with previous cued swallowing studies, excluding task-stimulus processing regions.
• The technique allowed for covert, uncued study of swallowing neurophysiology.

Conclusions:

• SimulScan offers a non-disruptive method for studying swallowing dynamics and associated brain activity.
• This technique holds potential for advancing research into swallowing disorders and neuromuscular conditions.
• It facilitates the study of natural, uncued motor behaviors in a controlled neuroimaging environment.