Phases of Respiration Surrounding Swallowing: Examining the Impact on Swallowing Impairment and Airway Protection in Parkinson’s Disease

The phases and timing of breathing with swallowing are tightly coordinated and swallowing typically initiates during the expiratory phase of quiet breathing in healthy adults. The phase of respiration during which the swallow is initiated has been linked to swallowing impairment and decreased airway protection in dysphagic cohorts following stroke and head and neck cancer treatment. However, despite the high prevalence of respiratory and swallowing impairments and increased risk of aspiration pneumonia in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), limited and variable research examines respiratory-swallowing measures in these patients. The overarching aim of the three studies conducted in this dissertation investigation is to develop a greater understanding of the impact of respiratory-swallowing measures such as respiratoryswallowing phase patterns, respiratory cessation duration, and lung volume at swallow initiation, on swallowing impairment and airway protection in individuals with PD