Sex Differences in Skeletal Muscle Flashcards

1
Q

What is biological sex?

A
  • Sex assigned at birth
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2
Q

Compare female and male body compositon

A
  • Males tend to have a higher % of muscle tissue
  • Women have a higher % of essential and non-essential fats
  • Males have a higher bone density
  • ## Males may have a higher resting metabolic rate
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3
Q

Describe the muscle fibre differences between sexes

A
  • Strength and size of myscle differs between the sexes
  • Similar pattern in old and young fibres
  • Fibre distribution varies between males and females
  • Dependent on the muscle
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4
Q

Describe the strength and size of muscles between sexes

A
  • Males tend to have larger and stronfer muscles compared to females
  • When presented as a relative % difference are reduced
  • Females are more fatigue resistant, possibly due to differences in fibre type distribution
  • Fatigue differences are task specific
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5
Q

Describe sex hormone profiles in relation to skeletal muscle

A
  • Sex hormones can cross the blood brain barrier
  • They can affect some of the nerve signal release from the brain to the muscle and impact how we use them
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6
Q

Explain the difference in motor units and firing rates between sexes

A
  • Men have a stronger muscle/force than women
  • Firing rate was identified to be different between the sexes
  • Motor unit potential = smaller at both contraction levels in females than males
  • Recruitment strategies between contraction level are similar between sexes
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7
Q

What are some significant findings of testosterone’s role in SKM?

A
  • Has an anabolic impact on SKM
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEAS, the precursors of T (DHT), progressively decrease with ageing
  • Some of the associated sex hormones demonstrate associations with MU firing rate
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8
Q

What role does the menstrual cycle play in SKM?

A
  • Can be used to identify the key parameters of muscle function that sex hormones may influence
  • Number of key stages of MC are already eluded to
  • No difference in muscular performance
  • Differences at low level contractions firing rate but not firing rate variability
  • Possibel influence of hormones at low level contractions
  • Suggest a stronger influence of progesterone over oestrogen
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9
Q

What are some muscle changes with age?

A
  • Muscle reduces in size and strength with age
  • Neuromuscular capacity of muscle also changes with age
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10
Q

What is the correlation of exercise and muscle?

A
  • Exercise can alleviate some of the muscle loss with age
  • Both males and females can gain advantages in muscle no matter when they take up exercise
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11
Q

Explain the role of neuromuscular function in exercise and muscle

A
  • Long-term athletic training does not prevent age-related loss of muscle size, regardless of athletic discipline
  • Physical activity into older age may facilitare more successful axxonal sprouting and reinervation of denervated dibres, preventing rapid loss of muscle strength
  • These benefits may be localised to muscle most involved in the exercise regime
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12
Q

Describe middle age and its influence on SKM

A
  • Majority of declines begin to occur here
  • Similar betwen men and women but firing rate differs
  • Sex hormones could also influence neuromuscular adaptationns to exercise across the life span
  • Menopause - key stage of life
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