Repeated tongue lift movement induces neuroplasticity in corticomotor control of tongue and jaw muscles in humans

•All participants performed repeated tongue lift training (TLT) on 5 consecutive days.•TLT trigger neuroplasticity in corticomotor control of tongue and masseter muscles.•Results may have implications regarding functional aspects of oral rehabilitation.

This study investigated the effect of repeated tongue lift training (TLT) on the excitability of the corticomotor representation of the human tongue and jaw musculature. Sixteen participants performed three series of TLT for 41 min on each of 5 consecutive days. Each TLT series consisted of two pressure levels (5 kPa and 10 kPa). All participants underwent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyographic (EMG) recordings of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in four sessions: (1) before TLT on Day 1 (baseline), (2) after TLT on Day 1, (3) before TLT on Day 5, and (4) after TLT on Day 5. EMG recordings from the left and right tongue dorsum and masseter muscles were made at three pressure levels (5 kPa, 10 kPa, 100% tongue lift), and tongue, masseter, and first dorsal interosseous (FDI) MEPs were measured. There were no significant day-to-day differences in the tongue pressure during maximum voluntary contractions. The amplitudes and thresholds of tongue and masseter MEPs after TLT on Day 5 were respectively higher and lower than before TLT on Day 1 (P<0.005), and there was also a significant increase in tongue and masseter MEP areas; no significant changes occurred in MEP onset latencies. FDI MEP parameters (amplitude, threshold, area, latency) were not significantly different between the four sessions. Our findings suggest that repeated TLT can trigger neuroplasticity reflected in increased excitability of the corticomotor representation of not only the tongue muscles but also the masseter muscles.