Figure 1

Definition of the activation and resting stages of swallowing-related muscle activity. The EMG recording of one representative swallowing act is shown (surface electrodes, recording from the submental muscles). For the SAM-analysis, the starting-point (M1) and the end (M2) of swallowing-related muscle activity were marked. The activation phase and the corresponding resting phase were defined. For estimation of the maximal null distribution and to calculate EMG swallowing power a third marker (M0) was set to distinguish background activity from the beginning of the preparation phase (M₀) (Methods).