Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Swallowing: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Swallowing is a process that ensures the survival of the human being, and its disorders need global health care. Because of advances in the use of functional neuroimaging techniques, the finding that the cerebral cortex contributes significantly to the control of swallowing has been recognized.

Objectives: This study aimed to perform a systematic review of articles by functional neuroimaging examinations and swallowing.

Data synthesis: The PubMed database was queried, analyzing studies published in the period from January to May 2013. We used the following Keywords: “fMRI” AND “dysphagia” and “fMRI” AND “swallowing” in searching abstracts of articles published in journals indexed in the past 10 years. The studies were reviewed by analyzing their titles and abstracts by two researchers and were considered as a criterion for inclusion in this study, the research field analysis or meta-analysis involving humans, use of neurofunctional tests, reference to swallowing function, and analysis of the adult population and/or elderly, compared with neurological pathologies. The studies were categorized as the number of participants, type of jobs, population, and results.

Results: The search found 1,167 articles, of which 397 were repeated, 728 were excluded for lack of appropriateness criteria, and the remaining 35 contained complete published articles that met the proposed criteria for this systematic review.

Conclusion: There is involvement of different cortical areas acting together and overlapping on the functions related to oral sensorimotor that fit and can change as a result of aging and neurological pathologies system forms.