Preterm Birth Impacts the Timing and Excursion of Oropharyngeal Structures During Infant Feeding

Swallowing in mammals requires the precise coordination of multiple oropharyngeal structures, including the palatopharyngeal arch. During a typical swallow, the activity of the palatopharyngeus muscle produces pharyngeal shortening to assist in producing pressure required to swallow and may initiate epiglottal flipping to protect the airway. Most research on the role of the palatopharyngeal arch in swallowing has used pharyngeal manometry, which measures the relative pressures in the oropharynx, but does not quantify the movements of the structures involved in swallowing. In this study, we assessed palatopharyngeal arch and soft palate function by comparing their movements in a healthy population to a pathophysiological population longitudinally through infancy (term versus preterm pigs). In doing so, we test the impact of birth status, postnatal maturation, and their interaction on swallowing. We tracked the three-dimensional (3D) movements of radiopaque beads implanted into relevant anatomical structures and recorded feeding via biplanar high-speed videofluoroscopy. We then calculated the total 3D excursion of the arch and soft palate, the orientation of arch movement, and the timing of maximal arch constriction during each swallow. Soft palate excursion was greater in term infants at both 7 and 17 days postnatal, whereas arch excursion was largely unaffected by birth status. Maximal arch constriction occurred much earlier in preterm pigs relative to term pigs, a result that was consistent across age. There was no effect of postnatal age on arch or soft palate excursion. Preterm and term infants differed in their orientation of arch movement, which most likely reflects both differences in anatomy and differences in feeding posture. Our results suggest that the timing and coordination of oropharyngeal movements may be more important to feeding performance than the movements of isolated structures, and that differences in the neural control of swallowing and its maturation in preterm and term infants may explain preterm swallowing deficits.