This study was designed to investigate the significance of bolus types and volumes, delivery methods and swallowing instructions on lung volume at swallowing initiation in normal subjects in a single experiment using a multifactorial approach. Our broad range goal was to determine optimal lung volume range associated with swallowing initiation to provide training targets for dysphagic patients with disordered respiratory-swallow coordination. Our hypothesis was that swallows would be initiated within a limited range of quiet breathing lung volumes regardless of bolus volume, consistency or task. Results confirmed this hypothesis and revealed that swallows were initiated at mean lung volume = 244 ml). Cued swallows were initiated at lower quiet breathing volumes than un-cued swallows (cued = 201 ml; un-cued = 367 ml). Water boluses were initiated at slightly higher quiet breathing volumes than solids. Data suggest that swallows occur within a restricted range of lung volumes with variation due to instructions, bolus type and other experimental variables.

Mother–infant interactional synchrony has been hypothesized to be crucial for the development of many key neurodevelopmental behaviors in infants, including speech and language. Assessing synchrony is challenging because many interactive behaviors may be subtlety, if at all, observable in overt behaviors. Physiological measures, therefore, may provide valuable physiological/biological markers of mother–infant synchrony. We have developed a multilevel measurement platform to assess physiological synchrony, attention, and vocal congruency during dynamic face‐to‐face mother–infant interactions. The present investigation was designed to provide preliminary data on its application in a group of 10 mother–infant dyads (20 subjects) ranging in age from 7 to 8.5 months at the time of the experimentation. Respiratory kinematics, heart rate, and vocalization were recorded simultaneously from mothers and infants during nonstructured, face‐to‐face interactions. Novel statistical methods were used to identify reliable moments of synchrony from cross‐correlated, mother–infant respiration and to tag infant attention from heart rate deceleration. Results revealed that attention, vocal contingency, and respiratory synchrony are temporally clustered within the dyad interaction. This temporal alignment is consistent with the notion that biological synchrony provides a supportive platform for infant attention and mother–infant contingent vocalization.

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