The effects of feedback on volitional manipulation of airway protection during swallowing

Volitional control of autonomic responses, such as heart rate and blood pressure, can be facilitated with the use of augmented feedback. Oropharyngeal swallowing typically includes both volitional and reflexive components, offering a unique opportunity for observing how performance is affected by feedback. Sixteen healthy participants (M age = 29 years, SD = 10 years) completed multiple trials of a novel airway closure technique during swallowing under one of two conditions: no feedback or feedback. The feedback condition included knowledge of performance and knowledge of results. Only the feedback group improved performance across trials (p =.01), with no difference from baseline seen for the no feedback group (p =.66). These results show that airway closure during swallowing can be volitionally manipulated with augmented feedback.