Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026

Minimally Invasive Murine Laryngoscopy for Close-Up Imaging of Laryngeal Motion During Breathing and Swallowing
Published on: December 1, 2023
The effects of feedback on volitional manipulation of airway protection during swallowing
Phoebe Macrae1, Cheryl Anderson, Isha Taylor-Kamara
1a Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine , Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore , Maryland.
Abstract:
Volitional control of autonomic responses, such as heart rate and blood pressure, can be facilitated with the use of augmented feedback. Oropharyngeal swallowing typically includes both volitional and reflexive components, offering a unique opportunity for observing how performance is affected by feedback. Sixteen healthy participants (M age=29 years, SD=10 years) completed multiple trials of a novel airway closure technique during swallowing under one of two conditions: no feedback or feedback. The feedback condition included knowledge of performance and knowledge of results. Only the feedback group improved performance across trials (p=.01), with no difference from baseline seen for the no feedback group (p=.66). These results show that airway closure during swallowing can be volitionally manipulated with augmented feedback.
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