Modeling the Tongue

The Visual Tract Vocalization Laboratory explores two models of the tongue: Representational and Predictive Modeling.

1. Representational Model

Principal Strains
Schematic of tongue in motion, demonstrating two orthogonal directions of primary stretch.
Blue = compression; Red = expansion


At any location in the tongue, there are two orthogonal directions of primary stretch. Principal Strains show the amount of stretch in those two directions.

 

Movie of /i/-/u/

MRI of tongue in motion
Midsagittal tMRI of /i/-/u/ (MICSR). The tongue moves back and down for /u/.

 

 

Movie of /a/-/u/

MRI of tongue in motion
Midsagittal tMRI of /a/-/u/ with sound. The tongue moves up for /u/ and forward for the breath.

Schematic of mouth saying ee-oo

 

  1. The lower lip expands outward (red).
  2. The tongue tip compresses horizontally at midline, obliquely at sides.
  3. Hyoglossus compresssion appears at right.
 
 

Schematic of mouth saying aa-oo

 

  1. The lower lip expands outward (red).
  2. The jaw muscles compress horizontally.

Predictive Model I

3D Finite Element Model of the tongue containing five muscles: genioglossus, transversus, verticalis, superior longitudinalis, inferior longitudinalis. Five segments of genioglossus are highlighted.

Undeformed

 

 

Front Raising

3. Predictive Model II

RM_FEM_muscles

3D Finite Element Model of the tongue designed for Restore Medical Inc, Minneapolis, in conjuction with Reiner Wilhelms-Tricarico, Paul Buscemi, Mark Carlson, for the purpose of modeling sleep apnea.  The model contains a jaw, hyoid and tongue with 3 extrinsic and 4 intrinsic tongue muscles (not palatoglossus); and three jaw/hyoid muscles (mylohyoid, geniohyoid, digastric).