Dr. Ruth Martin  Associate Professor, Graduate Program Chair                                      

Mailing address University of Western Ontario Elborn College, Rm 1510 London, Ontario, Canada N6B 1H1 Office Location Elborn College, rm 2568 Laboratory Location Elborn College, rm  2528 Phone (office): 519-661-2111 ext. 88186 Phone(lab): 519-661-2111 ext. 80017 Fax: 519-850-2369 E-mail: remartin@uwo.ca

Research Interests

The orofacial sensorimotor system supports a number of fundamental behaviours including swallowing, mastication, and speech production.  Our research is aimed at understanding how these orofacial behaviours are controlled by the central nervous system.

Our current studies combine functional brain imaging techniques with orofacial movement analysis in attempts to elucidate the relationships between brain activation and the orofacial function.  Previously we showed that swallowing is associated with activation of a number of cortical and subcortical structures including the lateral pericentral cortex, perisylvian cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, and right insula.

Based on these findings, one current study is focused on determining the specialized roles of each of these brain regions in swallowing regulation by (i) manipulating attributes of the swallowing task, and (ii) comparing swallowing with closely related behaviours such as voluntary tongue elevation, and voluntary apnea.  A secondary brain-imaging study is aimed at understanding the neuropathophysiology of swallowing impairment following hemispheric stroke, as well as the mechanisms driving subsequent swallowing recovery.

A.            B.           C.  

Figure A. Blood-Oxygenation-Level-Dependant (BOLD) response to voluntary saliva swallow. Figure B. Brain activation superimposed on an inflated brain showing multiple tasks; blue - tongue movement, red - voluntary saliva swallow, green - finger opposition, yellow - overlapping swallowing and tongue. Figure C. Modified barium swallow of healthy adult.

Publications