Swallowing-related high gamma oscillatory changes revealed by human electrocorticograms

Abstract

Cerebral cortex plays a crucial role in swallowing. Previous studies revealed swallowing-related multiple cerebral loci, but temporal profile of neural activities during swallowing has not been unveiled clearly. In the present study, we used human electrocorticograms with high spatiotemporal resolution to investigate swallowing-related neural oscillatory changes. Here, we show that high gamma power increases in the precentral and postcentral gyri were observed during mouth movement and water injection. During swallowing, power increases in the high gamma band appeared in the frontal operculum and the subcentral area. We distinguished discrete cortical activities that previous studies demonstrated were equivalent activities that related to swallowing, and we showed that the frontal operculum and the subcentral area were mainly activated during swallowing.