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Tibial Nerve Transection - A Standardized Model for Denervation-induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Mice
Published on: November 3, 2013
Disuse atrophy increases the muscle mechanoreflex in rats
Naoyuki Hayashi1, Satoshi Koba, Takayoshi Yoshida
1Institute of Health Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. naohayashi@ihs.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|June 25, 2005
Summary
Disuse atrophy, a condition of muscle weakening, enhances the muscle mechanoreflex, a bodily response to muscle stretch. This suggests that atrophied muscles become more sensitive to mechanical stimuli, impacting physiological responses.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Neuroscience
- Muscle Biology
Background:
- Muscle mechanoreflex plays a role in cardiovascular regulation.
- Disuse atrophy leads to muscle mass loss and altered muscle properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of disuse atrophy on the magnitude of the muscle mechanoreflex.
- To determine if muscle atrophy alters the pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to mechanical muscle stimulation.
Main Methods:
- Disuse atrophy was induced in rat triceps surae muscles via a 1-week plaster cast.
- The pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to calcaneal tendon stretch were recorded in decerebrated rats.
- Responses were compared between atrophied and contralateral control muscles at both absolute and relative tensions.
Main Results:
- Atrophied muscles had significantly lower mass compared to control muscles.
- The pressor response to muscle stretch was significantly greater in atrophied muscles than in control muscles, even at equivalent relative tensions.
- No significant difference was observed in the cardioaccelerator response between atrophied and control muscles.
Conclusions:
- Disuse atrophy increases the magnitude of the muscle mechanoreflex.
- This heightened reflex response in atrophied muscles, particularly the pressor component, may have implications for cardiovascular control during conditions of muscle unloading.
