Differential impact of tongue exercise on intrinsic lingual muscles.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS:Aging is associated with muscle fiber hypotrophy and decreased percentages of rapidly contracting myosin heavy chain (MyHC) type IIb muscle fibers. Tongue exercise programs used to treat dysphagia target age-related decline in tongue muscle function, but the impact of exercise on the intrinsic tongue muscles is unknown. We hypothesized that exercise would induce muscle fiber hypertrophy and increase the percentage of MyHC IIa fibers in the intrinsic tongue. STUDY DESIGN:Animal model. METHODS:Eight old and eight young-adult rats underwent 8 weeks of tongue exercise training, and 8 animals of each age group served as controls. Longitudinal, transverse, and verticalis muscle samples from the anterior, middle, and posterior regions of the tongue were sectioned and stained

SUBMITTER: Cullins MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6003827 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature