ReviewActa physiologica (Oxford, England)2020
The concept of skeletal muscle memory: Evidence from animal and human studies.
Review in Acta physiologica (Oxford, England), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Myonuclear permanence in skeletal muscle memory: a systematic review and meta-analysis of human and animal studies.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of progressive versus severe energy restriction on body composition and strength in concurrent trained women.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Trial
- Basal Tone, Muscle Memory and Denervation: Pathophysiological Foundations of Abdominal Wall Hernia Development and Recovery.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2026Review
- Effects of Clenbuterol on Body Composition and Strength Following Resistance Training, Detraining, and Retraining in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Degenerative Gastrocnemius Muscle Changes in a Goat Tibial Ostectomy Model Persist 10 Months After Splint Removal.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Myonuclear loss, rather than senescent myonuclei, associates with fiber type-specific atrophy in aging human skeletal muscle.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Loss of Myonuclei and Transcriptional Activity During Diaphragm Atrophy in Critically Ill Patients.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Article
- Musculoskeletal ultrasound-guided cellular therapy: Current applications and future directions in skeletal muscle regeneration.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2026Review
- The role of MEGF10 in myoblast fusion and hypertrophic response to overload of skeletal muscle.Journal of muscle research and cell motility · 2025Article
- Load-induced human skeletal muscle hypertrophy: Mechanisms, myths, and misconceptions.Journal of sport and health science · 2025Review
- Muscle memory theory: A critical evaluation.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Training and retraining liquid crystal elastomer metamaterials for pluripotent functionality.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Skeletal Muscle Memory: An Update From the Antidoping Perspective.Drug testing and analysis · 2025Review
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation training induces myonuclear accretion and hypertrophy in mice without overt signs of muscle damage and regeneration.Skeletal muscle · 2025Article
- Adipose-derived stem cells alleviate radiation-induced muscle fibrosis by promoting muscle regeneration.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Long-Term Physical Activity Mitigates Inflammaging Progression in Older Adults Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Mitigating disuse-induced skeletal muscle atrophy in ageing: Resistance exercise as a critical countermeasure.Experimental physiology · 2024Review
- Muscle fibre size and myonuclear positioning in trained and aged humans.Experimental physiology · 2024Article
- The Plateau in Muscle Growth with Resistance Training: An Exploration of Possible Mechanisms.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Review
- Relationship between strength training and shoulder pain in male and female water polo players.Journal of exercise rehabilitation · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Within the current paradigm of the myonuclear domain theory, it is postulated that a linear relationship exists between muscle fibre size and myonuclear content. The myonuclear domain is kept (relatively) constant by adding additional nuclei (supplied by muscle satellite cells) during muscle fibre hypertrophy and nuclear loss (by apoptosis) during muscle fibre atrophy. However, data from recent animal studies suggest that myonuclei that are added to support muscle fibre hypertrophy are not lost within various muscle atrophy models. Such myonuclear permanence has been suggested to constitute a mechanism allowing the muscle fibre to (re)grow more efficiently during retraining, a phenomenon referred to as "muscle memory." The concept of "muscle memory by myonuclear permanence" has mainly been based on data attained from rodent experimental models. Whether the postulated mechanism also holds true in humans remains largely ambiguous. Nevertheless, there are several studies in humans that provide evidence to potentially support or contradict (parts of) the muscle memory hypothesis. The goal of the present review was to discuss the evidence for the existence of "muscle memory" in both animal and human models of muscle fibre hypertrophy as well as atrophy. Furthermore, to provide additional insight in the potential presence of muscle memory by myonuclear permanence in humans, we present new data on previously performed exercise training studies. Finally, suggestions for future research are provided to establish whether muscle memory really exists in humans.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.