The pharyngeal reflex or gag reflex is a

reflex In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus. Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...

muscular contraction of the back of the throat, evoked by touching the roof of the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

, the back of the

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...

, the area around the

tonsils The tonsils are a set of lymphoid organs facing into the aerodigestive tract, which is known as Waldeyer's tonsillar ring and consists of the adenoid tonsil, two tubal tonsils, two palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. These organs play a ...

, the

uvula The palatine uvula, usually referred to as simply the uvula, is a conic projection from the back edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fibers. It also conta ...

, and the back of the

throat In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the trachea (windpip ...

. It, along with other aerodigestive reflexes such as reflexive pharyngeal swallowing, prevents objects in the

oral cavity In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on t ...

from entering the throat except as part of normal

swallowing Swallowing, sometimes called deglutition in scientific contexts, is the process in the human or animal body that allows for a substance to pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. Swallowing i ...

and helps prevent

choking Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen dep ...

, and is a form of coughing. The pharyngeal reflex is different from the laryngeal spasm, which is a reflex muscular contraction of the vocal cords.

Reflex arc

In a

reflex arc A reflex arc is a neural pathway that controls a reflex. In vertebrates, most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain, but synapse in the spinal cord. This allows for faster reflex actions to occur by activating spinal motor neurons w ...

, a series of physiological steps occur very rapidly to produce a reflex. Generally a

sensory receptor Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The ...

receives an environmental stimulus, in this case from objects reaching nerves in the back of the throat, and sends a message via an

afferent nerve A sensory nerve, or afferent nerve, is a general anatomic term for a nerve which contains predominantly somatic afferent nerve fibers. Afferent nerve fibers in a sensory nerve carry sensory information toward the central nervous system (CNS) fro ...

to the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

(CNS). The CNS receives this message and sends an appropriate response via an efferent nerve (also known as a

motor neuron A motor neuron (or motoneuron or efferent neuron) is a neuron whose cell body is located in the motor cortex, brainstem or the spinal cord, and whose axon (fiber) projects to the spinal cord or outside of the spinal cord to directly or indirect ...

) to effector cells located in the same initial area that can then carry out the appropriate response. In the case of the pharyngeal reflex: *the sensory limb is mediated predominantly by CN IX (glossopharyngeal nerve) *the motor limb by CN X (vagus nerve). The gag reflex involves a brisk and brief elevation of the soft palate and bilateral contraction of pharyngeal muscles evoked by touching the posterior pharyngeal wall. Touching the soft palate can lead to a similar reflex response. However, in that case, the sensory limb of the reflex is the CN V (trigeminal nerve). In very sensitive individuals, much more of the brain stem may be involved; a simple gag may enlarge to retching and vomiting in some.

Suppression and activation

Swallowing unusually large objects or placing objects in the back of the mouth may cause the pharyngeal reflex. Some people, for instance

sword swallower Sword swallowing is a skill in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach. This feat is not swallowing in the traditional sense. The natural processes that constitute swallowing do not take place, bu ...

s, have learned how to suppress it. In contrast, triggering the reflex is sometimes done intentionally to induce vomiting, by those who have

bulimia nervosa Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

. According to one study, one in three people lacks a gag reflex. However, on the other end of the spectrum are people with a hypersensitive gag reflex. This hypersensitivity can lead to issues in various situations, from swallowing a pill or large bites of food to visiting the dentist. Hypersensitivity is generally a conditioned response, usually occurring following a previous experience. There are a variety of ways to desensitize one's hypersensitivity, from relaxation to numbing the mouth and throat to training one's soft palate to get used to being touched. Anti-nausea medicines,

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but ...

s, local and

general anaesthetic General anaesthetics (or anesthetics, see spelling differences) are often defined as compounds that induce a loss of consciousness in humans or loss of righting reflex in animals. Clinical definitions are also extended to include an induced com ...

s, herbal remedies, behavioural therapies, acupressure,

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

, laser, and prosthetic devices can be used to manage exaggerated gag reflex during dental treatment. Studies showed with very low‐certainty evidence that acupuncture and laser at the P6 point (located in the wrist) reduced gagging without sedation. However, there was no difference when practiced with sedation. Therefore, more research needs to be carried out regarding these interventions.

Absence

In certain cases, absence of the gag reflex and pharyngeal sensation can be a symptom of a number of severe medical conditions, such as damage to the

glossopharyngeal nerve The glossopharyngeal nerve (), also known as the ninth cranial nerve, cranial nerve IX, or simply CN IX, is a cranial nerve that exits the brainstem from the sides of the upper medulla, just anterior (closer to the nose) to the vagus nerve. ...

, the

vagus nerve The vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve, cranial nerve X, or simply CN X, is a cranial nerve that interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. It comprises two nerves—the left and righ ...

, or

brain death Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...

. In unilateral (one-sided) glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX- sensory component) damage, there will be no gag response when touching the pharyngeal wall on the same side of the damaged nerve. With one-sided vagal nerve (CN X- motor component) damage, the soft palate will elevate and pull toward the intact side regardless of the side of the pharynx that is touched. This is because the sensory component is intact on both sides, but only the motor nerves supplying one side of the soft palatine and pharyngeal muscles is working, therefore the contraction of the muscles in the reflex is asymmetrical. If both CN IX and X are damaged on one side (not uncommon), stimulation of the normal side elicits only a unilateral response, with deviation of the soft palate to that side; no consensual response is seen. Touching the damaged side produces no response at all. At one point, it was thought that a lack of the gag reflex in stroke patients was a good predictor for dysphagia (difficulty with swallowing) or laryngeal aspiration (food or drink entering the

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...

), and was therefore commonly checked for. However, in one study, 37% of healthy people did not have a gag reflex, yet all subjects except for one still retained an intact pharyngeal sensation. These results suggest that the muscles that control the gag reflex remain independent of those that control normal swallowing. Since this reflex is commonly not found in healthy people, its predictive value in determining the risk for swallowing disorders is severely limited. Pharyngeal sensation, on the other hand, as seen by this study, is rarely absent, and could prove better at predicting future problems with swallowing.

Reflexive pharyngeal swallow

Closely related to the gag reflex, in which food or other foreign substances are forced back out of the

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its st ...

, swallowing generally pushes food through the digestive system into the stomach. This reflex in particular functions as a protective system for the upper respiratory tract as it not only forces the glottis to close, thereby preventing any substances getting into the airways, but also clears the pharynx of any residual substances by a swallow. This particular reflex is simply one of several aerodigestive reflexes, including also the pharyngoglottal closure reflex (in which no swallowing occurs yet the

glottis The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing vowels and voiced consonants. Etymology From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γλῶττα'' (glôtta), v ...

still closes) and the pharyngo-upper esophageal sphincter contractile reflex, which occurs mainly during gastroesophageal reflux episodes. All either forcibly close the glottis or allow the pharynx to remove particles into the digestive tract that may have been forced back up by both this tract and the upper respiratory tract. These reflexes can also protect the airways from any food or liquids that may spill over from the hypopharynx. The hypopharynx is the bottom part of pharynx, and can be considered the first area where the digestive tract splits from the airways. However, if the maximum capacity of fluids that the hypopharynx can safely hold is exceeded, then this excess fluid spills into the

and from there into the lungs. Therefore, these reflexes prevent levels reaching this maximum volume. Since both the digestive system and the respiratory system are connected by the pharynx, there are many problems and diseases that occur when the body is unable to regulate passage of food and air into the appropriate tracts. Perhaps the most preventable cause of damage to these reflexes originates from smoking. One study has shown that, when compared to non-smokers, the threshold volumes (the lowest volume at which one of these reflexes is triggered) for both the pharyngo-upper esophageal sphincter contractile reflex and reflexive pharyngeal swallowing is increased.

References

{{Authority control Human throat Reflexes Vomiting

Reflex arc

Suppression and activation

Absence

Reflexive pharyngeal swallow

See also

References