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In Vivo Evaluation of the Mechanical and Viscoelastic Properties of the Rat Tongue
Published on: July 6, 2017
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Progressive Protrusive Tongue Exercise Does Not Alter Aging Effects in Retrusive Tongue Muscles
Tiffany J Glass1, Joanie E Figueroa2, John A Russell1
1Department of Surgery-Otolaryngology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Frontiers in Physiology
|November 8, 2021
Summary
Progressive resistance tongue exercise did not alter age-related changes in retrusive tongue muscles. Aging significantly impacted muscle function and myosin heavy chain profiles, but exercise did not mitigate these effects.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Gerontology
- Muscle Biology
Background:
- Exercise-based dysphagia treatments may improve swallowing by inducing muscle adaptations.
- Previous research showed tongue exercise impacts genioglossus (GG) muscles.
- The effect of tongue exercise on retrusive tongue muscles (styloglossus, SG; hyoglossus, HG) in aging is unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of progressive resistance tongue exercise on aging retrusive tongue musculature (HG and SG).
- To determine if tongue exercise can mitigate age-related changes in retrusive tongue muscles, hypothesized to involve slower fiber types.
Main Methods:
- Male Fischer 344/Brown Norway rats were divided into young, middle-aged, and old groups.
- Rats underwent an 8-week progressive resistance protrusive tongue exercise or sham condition.
- Contractile properties and myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform composition of HG and SG muscles were assessed.
Main Results:
- Aging significantly altered retrusive tongue muscle contractile properties, with older rats exhibiting longer contraction and decay times.
- Age-related changes in MyHC profiles were observed in HG and SG muscles, indicating a shift towards slower fiber types.
- Tongue exercise did not significantly impact any of the measured biological outcomes in the retrusive tongue muscles.
Conclusions:
- Aging induces significant functional and molecular changes in retrusive tongue muscles.
- Protrusive tongue exercise, as studied, does not appear to mitigate age-related changes in these muscles.
- The findings suggest that protrusive tongue exercise may not influence retrusive tongue muscle function in the context of aging.
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