Neuroplastic and behavioral effects of skill- and strength-based swallowing rehabilitation

20 Apr 2023    

Ross Westemeyer has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Neuroplastic and behavioral effects of skill- and strength-based swallowing rehabilitation,” as part of the Human Sciences Doctor of Philosophy program in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Westemeyer is a native of Iowa City, Iowa.
 
The research involved participants with disordered and typical swallowing physiology participating in a skill- and strength based swallowing intervention. Swallowing-related and neuroimaging outcomes were applied at baseline and following each treatment. Results can inform clinicians of optimal ways to rehabilitate the swallow and facilitate neural recovery from dysphagia.

Westemyer’s advisor was Angela Dietsch, associate professor at Nebraska.