In this video we explaine (transcutaneous) vagus nerve stimulation (VNS/tVNS).
The vagus nerve is one of the most crucial nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system. It is involved in contoling heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, digestion, hunger, thirst and much more. It also has been related to affective processing and dysfunction of the vagus nerve has been related to various psychiatric disorders, including depression.
Stimulation of the vagus nerve can be done with an implanted device, which is placed inside the chest and directly connects to the vagus nerve. It sends very brief pulses to the vagus nerve. Stimulation consists of several seconds of current pulses, followed by several minutes of no stimulation. Implanted VNS is FDA approved for epilepsy and depression.
Stimulation of the vagus nerve can also be achieved non-invasively via transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS). There are two kinds: One stimulates the vagus nerve through the neck, called transcutaneous cervical VNS (ctVNS / tcVNS). The other stimulates the vagus nerve via the auricular branch in the ear. This is known as transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS). These non-invasive ways are promising, but more research is required to find the optimal parameters.
References:
Thompson, S. L., O'Leary, G. H., Austelle, C. W., Gruber, E., Kahn, A. T., Manett, A. J., Short, B., & Badran, B. W. (2021). A Review of Parameter Settings for Invasive and Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) Applied in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders. Frontiers in neuroscience, 15, 709436. doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.70...
Wheless, J. W., Gienapp, A. J., & Ryvlin, P. (2018). Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy update. Epilepsy & behavior : E&B, 88S, 2-10. doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2018....
Yap, J. Y. Y., Keatch, C., Lambert, E., Woods, W., Stoddart, P. R., & Kameneva, T. (2020). Critical Review of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Challenges for Translation to Clinical Practice. Frontiers in neuroscience, 14, 284. doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00284
Zhang, H., Guo, Z., Qu, Y., Zhao, Y., Yang, Y., Du, J., & Yang, C. (2022). Cognitive function and brain activation before and after transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation in healthy adults: A concurrent tcVNS-fMRI study. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 1003411. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.10...
Produced and narrated by: Miles Wischnewski
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