抄録
Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays an important
role in human volition, but its function in
swallowing is not well known. We tested the
hypothesis that visual inputs given before volitional
swallowing modulate the ACC activity. We evaluated
the relationship between visual effect on
swallowing “behavior” and “brain activity” using
EMG (electromyography) and fMRI (functional
magnetic resonance imaging). Seven healthy volunteers
participated in the EMG study, and 10 volunteers
in the fMRI study. Visual images, i.e., photographs
of food (DRINK) or general items (GENERAL),
were used as the visual input and these
were provided with (WS) or without (DS) water.
Both behavioral and brain activity data were
recorded during each trial in four (DRINK/WS,
GENERAL/WS, DRINK/DS, GENERAL/DS) conditions.
EMG study showed that the latency was significantly
shorter with DRINK input than that with
GENERAL input in the WS condition. Meanwhile, in
the fMRI study, the maximum MR signal change
was greater with GENERAL than that with DRINK in
both WS and DS conditions. Thus, it appears that
there was a relationship between swallowing
behavior and the ACC activity in volitional swallowing
