Keilholz A, Homan C, Schroeder A, Osman K, Smith C, Pathak I, Streeter K, Ozden I, Ma L, Lever T, Nichols N (2023) Tongue exercise-induced functional and structural upper airway plasticity in a rodent model of hypoglossal (XII) motor neuron loss. American Physiology Summit 2023 Meeting Abstracts 38(S1)
Objective: Examine if upper airway function/coordination can be improved in lower motor neuron (LMN) degeneration by tongue exercise-induced axis plasticity.
Summary: Tongue muscle weakness in patients with motor neuron diseases suggests a potential role for therapeutic exercise but lacks evidence due to lack of an appropriate model. Data suggests that tongue exercise in CTB-SAP rats results in enhanced XII motor plasticity and mitigates structural airway changes. In conclusion, tongue exercise appears to cause XII-tongue axis plasticity to improve upper airway function and coordination in the face of XII LMN degeneration.
Usage: The authors developed a novel rodent model using intralingual injections of CTB-SAP to induce targeted loss of XII motor neurons and motor output.
Related Products: CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14)