The impact of automated milk delivery on infant feeding performance


SOCIETY FOR INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
2021 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING (VAM)
January 3 – Febuary 28, 2021

Meeting Abstract


P21-7  Sat Jan 2  The impact of automated milk delivery on infant feeding performance Steer, KE*; Edmonds, CE; Gould, FDH; Adjerid, K; Bond, LE; German, RZ; Mayerl, CJ; NEOMED, Rootstown OH; NEOMED, Rootstown OH; Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford NJ; NEOMED, Rootstown OH; NEOMED, Rootstown OH; NEOMED, Rootstown OH; NEOMED, Rootstown OH kes179@zips.uakron.edu

Infant feeding is a complex process involving the acquisition, transport, and swallowing of food using multiple structures including the tongue, jaws, palate, pharynx and the larynx. Infants acquire food by depressing the mandible and tongue to draw milk from the breast into the oral cavity. Following food acquisition, the tongue moves in a wave posteriorly to transport food to the valleculae and prepare for swallowing. Swallowing is then triggered by sensory stimulation in the valleculae. Here, we tested whether the automated delivery of milk would impact infant feeding performance. We surgically implanted radiopaque markers into three points on the tongue, as well as on the mental process, hyoid, and soft palate. We filmed infant pigs using biplanar videofluoroscopy (100 fps) when feeding on a bottle and at two different automated volume delivery rates. We found that the anterior tongue moved significantly more when sucking during bottle feeding than during automated milk delivery. Furthermore, we found that during swallowing the posterior tongue moved significantly more when bottle feeding than during automated milk delivery. These results suggest that automated milk delivery results in reduced tongue movement, which impacts both the parts of the tongue involved in suction generation (anterior) and swallowing (posterior). By delivering milk using an automated system, the tongue is likely generating less suction, which has downstream impacts on feeding performance. Thus, understanding the sensorimotor integration involved in infant feeding will improve our understanding of the physiology of infant feeding, and improve infant health for compromised populations.

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