Swallowing and the organization of sucking in the human newborn.

The effect of varying amount and concentration of a sucrose solution on swallowing and sucking activity of newborns was studied. Swallowing activity increased relative to the number of sucks, and sucking rate slowed as amount and concentration of sucrose was increased. Sucking interresponse times associated with swallowing were approximately 200 msec longer than interresponse times not associated with swallows. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies of sucking in the newborn.