HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 96/3/923    most recent 01013.2003v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cotter, L. A. Articles by Yates, B. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Cotter, L. A. Articles by Yates, B. J.

Effects of postural changes and vestibular lesions on genioglossal muscle activity in conscious cats

Departments of ¹Otolaryngology and ³Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213; and ²Department of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262

Submitted 18 September 2003 ; accepted in final form 27 October 2003

Previous studies in humans showed that genioglossal muscle activity is higher when individuals are supine than when they are upright, and prior experiments in anesthetized or decerebrate animals suggested that vestibular inputs might participate in triggering these alterations in muscle firing. The present study determined the effects of whole body tilts in the pitch (nose-up) plane on genioglossal activity in a conscious feline model and compared these responses with those generated by roll (ear-down) tilts. We also ascertained the effects of a bilateral vestibular neurectomy on the alterations in genioglossal activity elicited by changes in body position. Both pitch and roll body tilts produced modifications in muscle firing that were dependent on the amplitude of the rotation; however, the relative effects of ear-down and nose-up tilts on genioglossal activity were variable from animal to animal. The response variability observed might reflect the fact that genioglossus has a complex organization and participates in a variety of tongue movements; in each animal, electromyographic recordings presumably sampled the firing of different proportions of fibers in the various compartments and subcompartments of the muscle. Furthermore, removal of labyrinthine inputs resulted in alterations in genioglossal responses to postural changes that persisted until recordings were discontinued 1 mo later, demonstrating that the vestibular system participates in regulating the muscle's activity. Peripheral vestibular lesions were subsequently demonstrated to be complete through the postmortem inspection of temporal bone sections or by observing that vestibular nucleus neurons did not respond to rotations in vertical planes.

tongue musculature; vestibular system; obstructive sleep apnea; upper airway

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Arshian, R. J. Holtje, L. A. Cotter, C. D. Rice, S. P. Cass, and B. J. Yates Consequences of postural changes and removal of vestibular inputs on the movement of air in and out of the lungs of conscious felines J Appl Physiol, July 1, 2007; 103(1): 347 - 352. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. D. Wilson, L. A. Cotter, J. A. Draper, S. P. Misra, C. D. Rice, S. P. Cass, and B. J. Yates Vestibular inputs elicit patterned changes in limb blood flow in conscious cats J. Physiol., September 1, 2006; 575(2): 671 - 684. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Mori, L. A. Cotter, H. E. Arendt, C. J. Olsheski, and B. J. Yates Effects of bilateral vestibular nucleus lesions on cardiovascular regulation in conscious cats J Appl Physiol, February 1, 2005; 98(2): 526 - 533. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]