Neurostimulation as an Approach to Dysphagia Rehabilitation: Current Evidence

Abstract

This review presents a synopsis of the current research in the field of peripheral and central neurostimulation for dysphagia and its relationship to advancing our knowledge in the field of human swallowing neurophysiology. Advances in the field of neurorehabilitation of motor systems in general have led to a wide range of approaches and are currently under rigorous investigations. Our field of dysphagia neurorehabilitation is sharing some of the formulated hypotheses and concepts for functional rehabilitation with neurostimulation. Importantly, results from studies looking into the cortical and subcortical control of human swallowing have been used as working hypotheses in the dysphagia neurorehabilitation field. For instance, based on our knowledge that peripheral and central inputs influence the swallowing network, experimental paradigms targeting swallowing neural reorganization have been trialled recently, prior to their translation into clinical practice for dysphagia rehabilitation. Here, we highlight the recent findings in the past year with the intention to stimulate potential research questions not yet investigated.