Recording of Swallowing Events Using Electromyography as a Non-invasive Measurement of Salivation

Abstract

The present study examined whether the measurement of swallowing activity by electromyography (EMG) provides a sensitive and valid method for the assessment of the amount of saliva secreted. Thirteen subjects tasted lemon juice and water, and smelled lasagna and hay, while the amount of saliva, measured with the aid of cotton dental rolls, was compared with the number of peaks in the EMG activity of the musculus digastricus. Swallowing indeed differentiated between the stimuli and the correlation between the number of swallows and the amount of saliva was significant. The present data suggest that monitoring the swallowing movement using EMG might be a sensitive, valid and reliable method for the measurement of salivary flow. The use is recommended for the measurement of salivation when a simple and non-invasive method is needed.

Chocolate versions of the Food Cravings Questionnaires. Associations with chocolate exposure-induced salivary flow and ad libitum chocolate consumption

“…The most common technique for measuring salivation in the context of food and eating is the use of cotton dental rolls (Wooley & Wooley, 1981), often referred to as the StronginHinsie-Peck Test (Peck, 1959). This method was chosen in the current study as well, because it is easier to apply than counting the number of swallows (which requires recording of electromyography; Nederkoorn et al, 1999) and it is more comfortable for both the experimenter and the participant than collecting saliva in a cup (White, 1977).…”

“…Furthermore, associations with salivary flow and ad libitum chocolate intake were tested. There are different techniques for the measurement of salivary flow, all of which are intercorrelated (Nederkoorn, Smulders, & Jansen, 1999;White, 1977). The most common technique for measuring salivation in the context of food and eating is the use of cotton dental rolls (Wooley & Wooley, 1981), often referred to as the StronginHinsie-Peck Test (Peck, 1959).…”

Neurobiological Mechanisms Involved in Sleep Bruxism

“…Currently, it is not easy to conduct research assessing the differences in salivary flows during sleep between normals and SB patients, since it is obviously impossible to make repetitive measures of total saliva volume over a given time without disrupting sleep itself (e.g., use of a collector tube or asking the subject to spit). However, it is possible to assess the difference in swallowing rates during sleep by the use of a non-invasive neck collar strain gauge that measures hyoid bone movement (e.g., laryngeal displacement) as an indicator of swallowing, in parallel with surface EMG recordings of suprahyoid and masseter activity (Nederkoorn et al, 1999;Ertekin et al, 2001). This technique also allows natural saliva swallowing to be clearly distinguished from experimental water swallowing (Perlman et al, 1999;Ertekin et al, 2001).…”

Learned desires

“…Facial EMG reactivity is thought to reflect an individual's evaluation of a stimulus, and it seems sensitive to appetitive conditioning effects (Armel, Pulido, Wixted, & Chiba, 2009). Finally, swallowing activity may provide a suitable measure for appetitive responding (Meyer et al, 2015;Nederkoorn, Smulders, & Jansen, 1999).…”