Mechanisms of Improving Feeding Function With Capsaicin Following Local Anesthesia in Infant Pigs.

Objectives: Sensory deficits are detrimental to feeding performance, whereas sensory stimulation can improve feeding. Capsaicin is one sensory intervention that improves swallowing in adult humans and alters feeding in an infant animal model. This study assessed the role of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) in infant feeding, and determined whether capsaicin reversed or compensated for deficits associated with IAN anesthesia.

The effects of simulated gastroesophageal reflux on infant pig oropharyngeal feeding physiology.

The neural connectivity among the oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus is a critical component of infant feeding physiology. Central integration of oral and pharyngeal afferents alters motor outputs to structures that power swallowing, but the potential effects of esophageal afferents on preesophageal feeding physiology are unclear. These effects may explain the prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in infants suffering from gastroesophageal reflux (GER), though the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unknown.