Frequency-specific cortical subnetworks support fast human swallowing.

Authors

Paul Muhle, Jonas von Itter, Anne Jung, Bendix Labeit, Ivy Cheng, Inga Claus, Andreas Wollbrink, Joachim Gross, Rainer Dziewas, Sonja Suntrup-Krueger

Published in

Communications biology. Volume 9. Issue 1. Aug 07, 2026. Epub Aug 07, 2026.

Abstract

Fast, highly constrained sensorimotor acts require rapid coordination of distributed cortical systems on subsecond timescales. Here, we used source-resolved magnetoencephalography to characterise time-locked cortical connectivity during voluntary swallowing in 74 healthy adults. Cluster-based network statistics revealed focal swallowing-related connectivity changes confined to anatomically selective subnetworks. Undirected phase-lagged connectivity identified theta- and low-gamma weighted phase lag index (wPLI) effects involving somatosensory, motor, supramarginal, and insular regions. Directed connectivity revealed sparse high-gamma phase slope index (PSI) subnetworks centred on the primary somatosensory cortex and anterior insula. Time-window analyses demonstrated temporally evolving low-gamma interactions between posterior parietal and insular regions, while laterality analyses showed rightward theta-band directed asymmetries during later swallowing phases. In contrast, global graph-theoretical metrics and node-level hub measures remained largely stable after correction for multiple comparisons. These findings indicate that voluntary swallowing is supported by focal, frequency-specific, and temporally structured cortical interactions rather than broad global network reconfiguration.

PMID:
42567925
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 08 Aug 2026.

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