Neural Control of Feeding and Swallowing

Eating and drinking are basic pleasures in life that most of us take for granted, yet the ease with which we perform these tasks belies their complex neurologic system of control. Recent studies of human swallowing have begun to unravel some of these complexities, evolving our understanding and thus ultimately helping to generate novel therapies for the treatment of swallowing problems after cerebral injury, such as stroke. This article provides a general overview of current knowledge of the neural control mechanisms that underlie the coordination of mastication, oral transport, swallowing, and respiration in humans.