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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuromuscular Disorders and Peripheral Neuropathies
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1526453
Effects of baclofen on swallow motor pattern
Provisionally accepted
Nathan W Fielder 1
Michael Frazure 2 Poliacek Ivan 3
Donald C Bolser 4
Kimberly E Iceman 5*
Teresa Pitts 5*- 1 University of Louisville, Louisville, Colorado, United States
- 2 University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- 3 Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Martin, Slovakia
- 4 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
- 5 University of Missouri, Columbia, Kentucky, United States
Baclofen is a GABAB receptor agonist used clinically to manage spasticity. It has also been associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation and rates of aspiration pneumonitis. We hypothesized that baclofen would impair pharyngeal swallow, a vital airway protective reflex. Electromyography (EMG) activity was recorded in four spontaneously breathing, sodium pentobarbital-anesthetized cats. Swallow was stimulated by oral water infusion before and after administration of 3µg/kg and 10µg/kg ()baclofen doses. Swallow-related thyrohyoid EMG amplitude increased after 3µg/kg and 10µg/kg ()baclofen, while parasternal EMG amplitude decreased after 3µg/kg ()baclofen. Geniohyoid, thyroarytenoid, and thyropharyngeus EMG amplitudes increased on average, but did not reach significance. Clinically, increased thyrohyoid activation may extend duration of laryngeal abduction. Decreased parasternal activation could impair development of the negative intrathoracic pressure that aids bolus propulsion during swallow. These changes may reflect increased risk of aspiration, and more work is needed to study the effects of baclofen on airway protection.
Keywords: Swallow, Baclofen, GABAB, laryngeal, Diaphragm
Received: 11 Nov 2024; Accepted: 10 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fielder, Frazure, Ivan, Bolser, Iceman and Pitts. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Kimberly E Iceman, University of Missouri, Columbia, 65211, Kentucky, United States
Teresa Pitts, University of Missouri, Columbia, 65211, Kentucky, United States
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