scholarly journals Differential effects of targeted tongue exercise and treadmill running on aging tongue muscle structure and contractile properties

2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 472-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Kletzien ◽  
John A. Russell ◽  
Glen E. Leverson ◽  
Nadine P. Connor
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Exercise Group ◽  
Contractile Properties ◽  
Treadmill Running ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Tongue Muscle ◽  
Muscle Structure ◽  
Old Rats

Age-associated changes in tongue muscle structure and strength may contribute to dysphagia in elderly people. Tongue exercise is a current treatment option. We hypothesized that targeted tongue exercise and nontargeted exercise that activates tongue muscles as a consequence of increased respiratory drive, such as treadmill running, are associated with different patterns of tongue muscle contraction and genioglossus (GG) muscle biochemistry. Thirty-one young adult, 34 middle-aged, and 37 old Fischer 344/Brown Norway rats received either targeted tongue exercise, treadmill running, or no exercise (5 days/wk for 8 wk). Protrusive tongue muscle contractile properties and myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition in the GG were examined at the end of 8 wk across groups. Significant age effects were found for maximal twitch and tetanic tension (greatest in young adult rats), MHCIIb (highest proportion in young adult rats), MHCIIx (highest proportion in middle-aged and old rats), and MHCI (highest proportion in old rats). The targeted tongue exercise group had the greatest maximal twitch tension and the highest proportion of MHCI. The treadmill running group had the shortest half-decay time, the lowest proportion of MHCIIa, and the highest proportion of MHCIIb. Fatigue was significantly less in the young adult treadmill running group and the old targeted tongue exercise group than in other groups. Thus, tongue muscle structure and contractile properties were affected by both targeted tongue exercise and treadmill running, but in different ways. Studies geared toward optimizing dose and manner of providing targeted and generalized tongue exercise may lead to alternative tongue exercise delivery strategies.

Myogenic regulatory factors during regeneration of skeletal muscle in young, adult, and old rats

1997 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 1270-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Marsh ◽  
David S. Criswell ◽  
James A. Carson ◽  
Frank W. Booth
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Muscle Regeneration ◽  
Tibialis Anterior Muscle ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Myogenic Regulatory Factors ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Regulatory Factors ◽  
Old Rats

Marsh, Daniel R., David S. Criswell, James A. Carson, and Frank W. Booth. Myogenic regulatory factors during regeneration of skeletal muscle in young, adult, and old rats. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(4): 1270–1275, 1997.—Myogenic factor mRNA expression was examined during muscle regeneration after bupivacaine injection in Fischer 344/Brown Norway F1 rats aged 3, 18, and 31 mo of age (young, adult, and old, respectively). Mass of the tibialis anterior muscle in the young rats had recovered to control values by 21 days postbupivacaine injection but in adult and old rats remained 40% less than that of contralateral controls at 21 and 28 days of recovery. During muscle regeneration, myogenin mRNA was significantly increased in muscles of young, adult, and old rats 5 days after bupivacaine injection. Subsequently, myogenin mRNA levels in young rat muscle decreased to postinjection control values by day 21 but did not return to control values in 28-day regenerating muscles of adult and old rats. The expression of MyoD mRNA was also increased in muscles at day 5 of regeneration in young, adult, and old rats, decreased to control levels by day 14 in young and adult rats, and remained elevated in the old rats for 28 days. In summary, either a diminished ability to downregulate myogenin and MyoD mRNAs in regenerating muscle occurs in old rat muscles, or the continuing myogenic effort includes elevated expression of these mRNAs.

scholarly journals Inactivity, age, and exercise: single-muscle fiber power generation

2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Hee Kim ◽  
LaDora V. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Peak Power ◽  
Weight Bearing ◽  
Type I ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Maximal Force ◽  
Old Rats ◽  
Type I Fibers

We examined the effects of mild therapeutic exercise during a period of inactivity on size and contractile functions of myosin heavy chain (MHC) type I ( n = 204) and type II ( n = 419) single fibers from the medial gastrocnemius in three age groups. Young adult (5–12 mo), middle-aged (24–31 mo), and old (32–37 mo) F344BNF1 rats were assigned to one of three groups: weight-bearing control, non-weight bearing (NWB), and NWB plus exercise (NWBX). Fourteen days of hindlimb suspension were applied in NWB rats. The NWBX rats exercised on the treadmill for 15 min, four times a day, during the period of NWB. The NWBX did not improve peak power, but increased normalized power of MHC type I fibers in young adult rats. In MHC type II fibers, NWBX did not change peak power, isometric maximal force, Vmax, and fiber size from young adult and middle-aged rats. NWBX did not improve peak power and isometric maximal force and showed a dramatic decline in Vmax and normalized power in the old rats. Collectively, mild treadmill exercise during a period of inactivity does not improve peak power of MHC type I or type II fiber from the gastrocnemius in young, middle-aged, and old rats. However, NWBX is beneficial in enhancing normalized power of MHC type I fibers in young adult rats, most likely due to the stimulus intensity and the ability of the individual fibers to adapt to the stimulus. In contrast, several factors, such as impaired adaptation potential, inappropriate exercise intensity, or increased susceptibility to muscle damage, may contribute to the lack of improvement in the older rats.

Alterations in Contractile Properties of Tongue Muscles in Old Rats

2005 ◽  
Vol 114 (10) ◽  
pp. 799-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumikazu Ota ◽  
Nadine P. Connor ◽  
Richard Konopacki
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Contractile Properties ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Tongue Muscle ◽  
Fischer 344 ◽  
Muscle Contractile Properties ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Old Rats ◽  
Muscle Contractile

Objectives: Fatigue and weakness are well-known signs of aging that are related to sarcopenia, or loss of skeletal muscle mass, organization, and strength. Sarcopenia may affect swallowing. The tongue plays a vital role in swallowing, but there is limited knowledge regarding age-related changes in lingual muscle contractile properties. Our purpose was to determine whether alterations in tongue force, temporal features of tongue muscle contraction, and fatigability are manifested as a function of aging in old rats. Methods: We evaluated tongue muscle contractile properties in young and old Fischer 344/Brown Norway rats. Contractions were elicited via bilateral electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerves. Results: Maximum tongue forces and fatigability were not significantly altered in old animals, but aging was associated with significantly longer twitch contraction time and longer half-decay recovery time intervals (p <.01). Conclusions: The results indicated that old animals generated sufficient maximum tongue forces, but were slower in achieving these forces than young animals. These findings are consistent with reports of altered temporal parameters of tongue actions during swallowing in humans, and suggest that a disruption in the timing of muscle contraction onset and recovery may contribute to the altered tongue kinetics observed with aging.

scholarly journals Stimulus-specific adaptation in auditory thalamus of young and aged awake rats

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (8) ◽  
pp. 1892-1902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben D. Richardson ◽  
Kenneth E. Hancock ◽  
Donald M. Caspary
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Specific Adaptation ◽  
Auditory Thalamus ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Medial Geniculate ◽  
Awake Rats

Novel stimulus detection by single neurons in the auditory system, known as stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA), appears to function as a real-time filtering/gating mechanism in processing acoustic information. Particular stimulus paradigms allowing for quantification of a neuron's ability to detect novel or deviant stimuli have been used to examine SSA in the inferior colliculus, medial geniculate body (MGB), and auditory cortex of anesthetized rodents. However, the study of SSA in awake animals is limited to auditory cortex. The present study used individually advanceable tetrodes to record single-unit responses from auditory thalamus (MGB) of awake young adult and aged Fischer Brown Norway (FBN) rats to 1) examine the presence of SSA in the MGB of awake rats and 2) determine whether SSA is altered by aging in MGB. MGB single units in awake FBN rats displayed SSA in response to two stimulus paradigms: the oddball paradigm and a random blocked/interleaved presentation of a set of frequencies. SSA levels were modestly, but nonsignificantly, increased in the nonlemniscal regions of the MGB and at lower stimulus intensities, where 27 of 57 (47%) young adult MGB units displayed SSA. The present findings provide the initial description of SSA in the MGB of awake rats and support SSA as being qualitatively independent of arousal level or anesthetized state. Finally, contrary to previous studies in auditory cortex of anesthetized rats, MGB units in aged rats showed SSA levels indistinguishable from SSA levels in young adult rats, suggesting that SSA in MGB was not impacted by aging in an awake preparation.

scholarly journals Effects of aging on mineralocorticoid-induced salt appetite in rats

2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (12) ◽  
pp. R1498-R1505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Thunhorst ◽  
Terry G. Beltz ◽  
Alan Kim Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Saline Solution ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Salt Appetite ◽  
Aged Rats ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Renal Handling ◽  
Saline Preference ◽  
Old Rats ◽  
Middle Aged Adult ◽  
Effects Of Aging

This work examined the effects of age on salt appetite measured in the form of daily saline (i.e., 0.3 M NaCl) drinking in response to administration of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA; 5 mg/kg body wt) using young (4 mo), “middle-aged” adult (12 mo), and old (30 mo) male Brown Norway rats. Water and sodium intakes, excretions, and balances were determined daily. The salt appetite response was age dependent with “middle-aged” rats ingesting the most saline solution followed in order by young and then old rats. While old rats drank the least saline solution, the amounts of saline ingested still were copious and comprise an unambiguous demonstration of salt appetite in old rats. Middle-aged rats had the highest saline preference ratios of the groups under baseline conditions and throughout testing consistent with an increased avidity for sodium taste. There were age differences in renal handling of water and sodium that were consistent with a renal contribution to the greater saline intakes by middle-aged rats. There was evidence of impaired renal function in old rats, but this did not account for the reduced saline intakes of the oldest rats.

Age-related immunosenescence in Fischer 344 rats: influence of exercise training

1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1932-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Nasrullah ◽  
R. S. Mazzeo
Keyword(s):  
Endurance Training ◽  
Interleukin 2 ◽  
Cytolytic Activity ◽  
Treadmill Running ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Fischer 344 Rats ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Fischer 344 ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Old Rats

The present investigation examined the extent to which 15 wk of endurance training could influence immune function in young, middle-aged, and older animals. Forty-eight male Fischer 344 rats were divided into trained and untrained groups. Training consisted of treadmill running at 75% maximal running capacity for 1 h/day, 5 days/wk, for 15 wk. Animals were killed at 8, 17, and 27 mo, at which time splenocytes were isolated. The capacity for lymphocyte proliferation in response to mitogen (concanavalin A, ConA), interleukin-2 (IL-2) production, and cytolytic activity against YAC-1 target cells was determined. ConA-induced proliferation declined significantly with age. Training suppressed the proliferative response in the young (-41%) and middle-aged animals (-27%) compared with the age-matched controls; however, training improved this response (+58%) in the older group. IL-2 production followed a pattern similar to that for mitogen-induced proliferation, such that production declined with age and was reduced with training in young and middle-aged animals but was significantly more improved in the older animals than in age-matched controls. The ability to lyse target cells, measured as percent cytotoxicity, declined steadily with advancing age at all effector-to-target cell ratios tested: 52, 14, and -16% for 8-, 17-, and 27-mo-old rats, respectively. It was concluded that the capacity for ConA-induced splenocyte proliferation, IL-2 production, and cytolytic activity declines significantly with advancing age. Furthermore, 15 wk of endurance training suppressed proliferation and IL-2 production in young animals but improved these responses in older animals. Training had no effect on cytolytic activity.

Expression of acetylcholine receptor mRNAs in atrophying and nonatrophying skeletal muscles of old rats

1998 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. 1903-1908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald R. Gomes ◽  
Frank W. Booth
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptor ◽  
Biceps Brachii ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Γ Subunit ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Old Rats

We examined the age-related association in skeletal muscle between atrophy and expression of mRNAs encoding both the γ-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR), and myogenin, a transcription factor that upregulates expression of the γ-subunit promoter. Gastrocnemius and biceps brachii muscles were collected from young (2-mo-old), adult (18-mo-old), and old (31-mo-old) Fischer 344/Brown Norway F1 generation cross male rats. In the gastrocnemius muscles of old vs. young and adult rats, lower muscle mass was accompanied by significantly elevated AChR γ-subunit and myogenin mRNA levels. In contrast, the biceps brachii muscle exhibited neither atrophy nor as drastic a change in AChR γ-subunit and myogenin mRNA levels with age. Expression of the AChR ε-subunit mRNA did not change with age in either gastrocnemius or biceps brachii muscles. Thus changes in skeletal muscle AChR γ-subunit and myogenin mRNA levels may be more related to atrophy than to chronological age in old rats.

Sympathetic pharmacological denervation in ageing rats: effects on ovulatory response and follicular population

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebeca Chávez-Genaro ◽  
Paula Lombide ◽  
Roberto Domínguez ◽  
Patricia Rosas ◽  
Francisco Vázquez-Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Combined Treatment ◽  
Ovarian Response ◽  
Sympathetic Denervation ◽  
Progressive Reduction ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Reproductive Senescence ◽  
Noradrenergic Innervation ◽  
Old Rats ◽  
Control Adult

The present study analyses the participation of ovarian innervation during reproductive senescence. We use the model of acute peripheral pharmacological sympathetic denervation with guanethidine in young (3 months old), middle-aged (12 months old) or old (18 months old) rats with spontaneous or induced ovulation. Ovarian levels of norepinephrine (NE) were measured by HPLC and the oestrous cycle, the number of ovulating animals and the percentage of atretic follicles were also assessed. Aged animals showed a progressive reduction in ovulatory capacity and an increase in ovarian NE content. Acute denervation increased the percentage of healthy follicles in 12- and 18-month-old rats compared with control adult animals. Combined treatment of denervation plus stimulation with gonadotrophins doubled the number of ova shed in young adult rats and restablished a partial ovulation in 12-month-old rats. The results suggest that ovarian noradrenergic innervation plays a modulator role in ovarian physiology during the ageing ovary process. The action of ovarian noradrenergic innervation seems to be associated with folliculogenesis and the ovarian response to gonadotrophins.

scholarly journals Para-chloroamphetamine (PCA)-induced ejaculation in aged rats, semen analysis and artificial insemination

1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 332-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru R. Saito ◽  
Ryoji Hokao ◽  
Yasumasa Wakafuji ◽  
Noriyuki Igarashi ◽  
Yoshio Agematsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Artificial Insemination ◽  
Semen Analysis ◽  
Active Movement ◽  
Aged Rats ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Reproductive Ability ◽  
Sperm Counts ◽  
Old Rats

The present study was undertaken to determine sperm motility and counts in semen yielded by para-chloroamphetamine (PCA)-induced ejaculation of aged rats which had lost their reproductive ability, and to attempt artificial insemination with suspensions of spermatozoa obtained in this way. The semen yielded by PCA-induced ejaculation from aged (75-week-old) rats had average sperm counts of 0.82±0.69 × 107, which were much lower than the average counts (9.42±1.65 × 107) for semen spontaneously ejaculated by young adult rats (14 weeks old). However, 77.5% of the spermatozoa contained in the PCA-induced semen were rated as showing the most active movement. Spermatozoa collected in this way were injected into the upper parts of both uterine horns or into both ovarian bursae. Both methods made the females pregnant, but the results were better after injection into the ovarian bursae. The offspring born to these females showed no abnormalities.

Anatomic capillarization is maintained in relative excess of fiber oxidative capacity in some skeletal muscles of late middle-aged rats

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 2257-2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell T. Hepple ◽  
Janis E. Vogell
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Oxidative Capacity ◽  
Brown Norway ◽  
Aged Rats ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
White Region ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscles

The anatomic size of the capillary-to-fiber (C/F) interface plays an important role in O2 flux from blood to tissue by determining the surface area available for diffusion and is maintained in relative proportion to fiber mitochondrial volume across a wide range of muscle aerobic capacity. In the present study, we examined an estimate of the anatomic size of the C/F interface [the quotient of the individual C/F ratio and fiber perimeter, C/F perimeter exchange (CFPE) index] and fiber oxidative capacity in different skeletal muscles, or muscle regions, to test the hypothesis that capillarization would be maintained in relative excess of reduced fiber oxidative capacity in aged muscles. The right gastrocnemius, plantaris, and soleus muscles from young adult (8 mo old) and late middle-aged (28–30 mo old) Fischer 344 × Brown Norway F1 hybrid rats were excised for evaluation of flux through electron transport chain complexes I–III and/or morphometric estimation of capillarization. Muscle mass was lower in the gastrocnemius muscles of the older animals (2,076 ± 32 vs. 1,825 ± 47 mg in young adult vs. late middle-aged, respectively; mean ± SE) but not the plantaris or soleus muscles. Fibers were smaller in the white region of gastrocnemius muscles but larger in the red region of gastrocnemius muscles of the older animals. There was no difference in the number of capillaries around a fiber, the individual C/F ratio, or the CFPE index between groups for any muscle/region, whereas flux through complexes I–III was reduced by 29–43% in late middle-aged animals. Thus the greater quotient of indexes of anatomic capillarity (individual C/F ratio or CFPE index) and fiber oxidative capacity in soleus and the white region of gastrocnemius muscles, but not in the red region of gastrocnemius muscles of the older animals, shows that anatomic capillarity is maintained in relative excess of oxidative capacity in some muscle regions in late middle-aged rats.

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