Gag reflex
The gag reflex is a reflex that prevents foreign bodies from entering the airways by contracting the back of the throat . It thus provides a certain protection against suffocation , for example .
The gag reflex is triggered by touching the base of the tongue and the soft palate , mainly the palatal arches , not primarily, as is often assumed, the uvula . The cranial nerves glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves are primarily responsible for its process.
The gag reflex is a so-called polysynaptic reflex , which means that it can be suppressed through concentration and even completely abtrained through excessive triggering (so-called habituation ). For this reason, people with bulimia often no longer have a gag reflex. However, the reflex can also become excessively strong through sensitization .
literature
- Karin Götsch: General and Special Pathology. Thieme, 2011, ISBN 978-3-13-167932-1 , p. 177.
- Karl-Michael Haus: Neurophysiological treatment in adults: Basics of neurology, treatment concepts, understanding hemiplegia. Springer, 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-41929-4 , p. 272.
- Klaus-Peter W. Schaps, Oliver Kessler, Ulrich Fetzner: The second - compact: neurology, psychiatry, psychosomatics. Springer, 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-46354-2 , p. 4.
- Matthias Sitzer: Textbook Neurology. Urban & Fischer, 2011, ISBN 978-3-437-41442-8 , p. 21.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Karl-Michael Haus: Neurophysiological treatment in adults: Basics of neurology, treatment concepts, understanding hemiplegia. Springer, 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-41929-4 , p. 272.
- ^ Matthias Sitzer: Textbook Neurology. Urban & Fischer, 2011, ISBN 978-3-437-41442-8 , p. 21.