Insights into Neonatal Oral Feeding through the Salivary Transcriptome

Figure 1

Through salivary gene expression analyses, genes involved in multiple developmental systems that are required for successful neonatal oral feeding can be monitored noninvasively and simultaneously. Combining gene targets, such as those identified, may ultimately lead to a noninvasive, objective, and accurate salivary diagnostic platform to determine readiness to orally feed in the newborn.