Effects of Vocal Training on Thyroarytenoid Muscle Neuromuscular Junctions and Myofibers in Young and Older Rats.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of vocal training on neuromuscular junction (NMJ) morphology and muscle fiber size and composition in the thyroarytenoid muscle, the primary muscle in the vocal fold, in younger (9-month) and older (24-month) Fischer 344 × Brown Norway male rats. Over 4 or 8 weeks of vocal training, rats of both ages progressively increased their daily number of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) through operant conditioning and were then compared to an untrained control group. Neuromuscular junction morphology and myofiber size and composition were measured from the thyroarytenoid muscle. Acoustic analysis of USVs before and after training quantified the functional effect of training. Both 4- and 8-week training resulted in less NMJ motor endplat

SUBMITTER: Shembel AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7812427 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature