Supporting data for "Neural effects of action observation and olfactory priming on effortful swallowing"

Priming, or the deliberate introduction of a stimulus to change response/s, is believed to make the brain more responsive to training. Action observation and olfactory stimulation have relevant neural and behavioral connections to swallowing and can be easily implemented as an adjunct technique to swallowing exercises. To deepen our understanding of exercise-based neural activity and the effects of priming, this thesis used functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS) to 1) measure brain activity during three swallowing exercise tasks and 2) investigate the effects of priming on effortful swallowing execution.