Thermomechanical facilitation of swallowing evoked by electrical nerve stimulation in cats

Application of a cold metal probe to the anterior faucial pillar has been reported to improve swallowing in some patients with dysphagia. Although a variety of stimuli contribute to the initiation of swallowing, the effects of a controlled, cold-thermal stimulus combined with mechanical stimulation have not been examined. It is known that simultaneous stimulation of the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) and the superior laryngeal nerve may summate to facilitate swallowing in the cat. The goal of this study was to determine whether thermomechanical stimulation of the mucosa innervated by IX would interact with threshold electrical stimulation of the internal laryngeal nerve (ILN) to augment the swallowing response in cats. Four experimental conditions were tested over 24 trials in 4 pentobarbital-anesthetized cats. These included electrical stimulation of ILN, mechanical stimulation of the anterior faucial pillar with a thermode at ambient (room) temperature, concurrent ambient-mechanical and electrical stimulation, and concurrent cold-mechanical and electrical stimulation. Tissue was cooled to 8.9 degrees C during cold-mechanical-electrical stimulation and 25.3 degrees C during ambient-mechanical-electrical and ambient-mechanical alone stimulation. Ambient-mechanical stimulation alone did not produce swallowing. However, both forms of thermomechanical-electrical stimulation elicited a significantly greater number of swallows than did electrical stimulation alone. Therefore, mechanical stimulation with a thermode was capable of modifying the swallowing response in neurologically intact cats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)