The Influence of Sleep on the Behaviour of the Upper Airway Muscles, Genioglossus and Tensor Palatini

人类的气道只有有限的骨或软骨支撑，需要肌肉活动来保持气道畅通。这些肌肉的中枢活动在睡眠时减少，导致阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停。潜在的治疗方法包括药物或电刺激上呼吸道肌肉。然而，由于缺乏对上呼吸道肌肉控制的理解，这一点受到了阻碍。这个项目将研究两个关键的肌肉，颏舌肌和腭张肌。

The human airway has limited bone or cartilage support and muscular activity is required to keep the airway open. Central activation of these muscles is reduced during sleep, resulting in the disorder Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. Potential treatments include pharmocological or electrical stimulation of upper airway muscles. However, this is hampered by a lack of understanding of the control of upper airway muscles. This project will study two critical muscles, genioglossus and tensor palatini.