Comparison Between Automatic and Volitional Swallow in Healthy Individuals Using Tongue Array and Cervical Auscultation Modules.

In healthy normal individuals, the act of swallowing can be performed volitionally or can occur spontaneously. Several attempts have been made to look into the possible differences that might exist between automatic swallow (AS) and volitional swallow (VS). The present study is an attempt to physiologically differentiate AS from that of VS, using combined modules of tongue array and cervical auscultation of Digital Swallowing Workstation. 15 males and 15 female participants in the age range of 18-25 participated in the present study. They performed an AS task and a VS task. These were analyzed for parameters of maximum amplitude, duration and pressure. The result of the study revealed higher values for all the parameters of VS, but a statistically significant difference only for the duration parameter of cervical auscultation. This finding leads to the impression that the duration of vocal fold closure plays a major role in airway protection. Similar interesting findings on effect of gender and nature and organization of AS and VS have been discussed.