Simultaneous measurement of prefrontal Hb concentration and suprahyoid muscle activity during bonito broth ingestion

Background:

It has been reported that flavored food masses alter neural networks, including the prefrontal cortex (Babaei 2010). It has also been reported that swallowing movements differ (Mistry 2006, Leow 2007, Lee 2018). In this study, we attempted to simultaneously measure prefrontal HbO2 and surface electromyography of the suprahyoid muscle in order to investigate whether there is a difference in motor output depending on the taste of the food.

Methods:

　The subjects were 20 healthy young women. All were right-handed. A functional near-infrared spectrometer (OEG-17ME) was used to measure HbO2 concentration in the prefrontal cortex. The probes were 2 × 6 (16 CH) based on the Fpz of the international 10-20 method, and were attached to the bilateral frontal regions. A block design was used, and three different samples (bonito broth with a strong flavor, bonito broth with mild flavor, and hot water) were randomly selected five times each. The surface EMG was obtained and compared between samples. All samples were provided at 60°C. Subjects swallowed 15 ml of the samples freely. A double-blind design was used.

Results:

　Normalized Hb concentrations and hyoid muscle group integrals for each sample were highest for the strong flavor bonito broth (P < .001).

Conclusion:

　The results indicate that bonito with a strong flavor has a higher prefrontal cortex and muscle activity than bonito with a mild flavor. The results suggest that bonito broth with a strong flavor may be used for dietary support for patients with dysphagia and dementia.

References:

Babaei A, Kern M, Antonik S, Mepani R, Ward B D, Li S, Hyde J, Shaker R(2010). Enhancing effects of flavored nutritive stimuli on cortical swallowing network activity, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, 299(2), G422-9.

Leow LP, Huckabee ML, Sharma S, Tooley TP(2007). The influence of taste on swallowing apnea, oral preparation time, and duration and amplitude of submental muscle contraction, Chem Senses, 32(2), 119-28.

Mistry S, Rothwell JC, Thompson DG, Hamdy S(2006). Modulation of human cortical swallowing motor pathways after pleasant and aversive taste stimuli, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, 291(4),G666-71.