Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Subcutaneous Neurotophin 4 Infusion Using Osmotic Pumps Or Direct Muscular Injection Enhances Aging Rat Laryngeal Muscles, Richard D. Andreatta, Joseph C. Stemple, Tanya S. Seward, Colleen A. Mcmullen Jun 2017

Subcutaneous Neurotophin 4 Infusion Using Osmotic Pumps Or Direct Muscular Injection Enhances Aging Rat Laryngeal Muscles, Richard D. Andreatta, Joseph C. Stemple, Tanya S. Seward, Colleen A. Mcmullen

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Laryngeal dysfunction in the elderly is a major cause of disability, from voice disorders to dysphagia and loss of airway protective reflexes. Few, if any, therapies exist that target age-related laryngeal muscle dysfunction. Neurotrophins are involved in muscle innervation and differentiation of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). It is thought that neurotrophins enhance neuromuscular transmission by increasing neurotransmitter release. The neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) become smaller and less abundant in aging rat laryngeal muscles, with evidence of functional denervation. We explored the effects of NTF4 for future clinical use as a therapeutic to improve function in aging human laryngeal muscles. Here, we provide …


Bk Channels Mediate Synaptic Plasticity Underlying Habituation In Rats, Tariq Zaman, Cleusa De Oliveira, Mahabba Smoka, Chakravarthi Narla, Michael O. Poulter, Susanne Schmid Apr 2017

Bk Channels Mediate Synaptic Plasticity Underlying Habituation In Rats, Tariq Zaman, Cleusa De Oliveira, Mahabba Smoka, Chakravarthi Narla, Michael O. Poulter, Susanne Schmid

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Habituation is a basic form of implicit learning and represents a sensory filter that is disrupted in autism, schizophrenia, and several other mental disorders. Despite extensive research in the past decades on habituation of startle and other escape responses, the underlying neural mechanisms are still not fully understood. There is evidence from previous studies indicating that BK channels might play a critical role in habituation. We here used a wide array of approaches to test this hypothesis. We show that BK channel activation and subsequent phosphorylation of these channels are essential for synaptic depression presumably underlying startle habituation in rats, …