Electrophysiological Techniques to Evaluate Swallowing in Central and Peripheral Nervous System Disorders

Neurogenic dysphagia is a frequent condition that may result in serious complications. Despite high incidence of neurogenic dysphagia, the neurologist is not really interested in its clinical diagnosis and management. In this review, several neurophysiological methods are described to evaluate the neurogenic dysphagia. These kinds of assessment methods are important for early diagnosis and some management strategies against to progressive swallowing pathology. The longitudinal follow-up of the patients also provides data about the prognosis of dysphagia. In our opinion, the neurophysiological methods presented in this review are reliable, cheap, and easy applicable quantitative tests to detect and follow both clinical and subclinical dysphagia. All these electrophysiological techniques can be applied within the discipline of the EMG laboratory.