Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Enhancing Recovery From Neurological Injury or Disease

Editors

David Pruitt

The University of Texas at Dallas

Tracy M Centanni

Texas Christian University

Eric Meyers

Battelle

Impact

Significant motor improvements and significant changes in sEMG measures of bicep mean frequency were seen in both the active and sham taVNS groups, suggestive of a training benefit from the robot. (A) Upper Extremity Fugl Meyer scores (mean ± SEM) improved for both the sham (N = 15) and active (N = 14) taVNS groups, with a mean improvement of 3 points (Friedman RM-ANOVA, sham P < 0.001, Chi-square = 20.920; active P < 0.001, Chi-square = 16.453). Improvements were significant at discharge and robust through follow-up (Tukey test, sham and active: adm-dc **P < 0.001, adm-fu *P < 0.01). (B) MRC motor power scores (mean ± SEM) were also improved for both the sham (N = 15) and active (N = 14) groups (Friedman RM-ANOVA, sham P < 0.01, Chi-square = 13.0; active P < 0.001, Chi-square = 15.434). These improvements were significant at discharge and robust through follow-up (Tukey test, active and sham: adm-dc *P ≤ 0.01; sham: adm-fu *P < 0.05, active adm-fu *P < 0.001). (C) Directional trends for sEMG are significant for both summed sham and active groups (mean ± SEM; N = 28; blue dashed line). Mean frequency of the biceps during flexion significantly increased across the combined group (One-way RM-ANOVA, P < 0.05, F = 3.274), between admission and follow-up (Tukey test, *P < 0.05). (D) Biceps iEMG (area under the RMS curve) during flexion approached a significant reduction (in% mean voluntary contraction) across the combined group (One-way RM-ANOVA, P = 0.050).

Original Research

25 November 2021

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tAVNS) Delivered During Upper Limb Interactive Robotic Training Demonstrates Novel Antagonist Control for Reaching Movements Following Stroke

Johanna L. Chang

, 7 more and

Bruce T. Volpe

9,305 views

39 citations

Compared to l-VNS, r-VNS self-administration increases c-Fos expression within catecholaminergic nuclei. (A,C,E) Representative 10x images and ROI boundaries used to quantify c-Fos expression within the VTA (A), SNc (C), and LC (E) following either l-VNS (left) or r-VNS (right). Sections were stained for tyrosine hydroxylase (red) to label catecholaminergic neurons, c-Fos (green) as a marker of neuronal activation, and the nuclear marker DAPI (omitted for clarity). (B,D,F) Mean gray value (MGV) of c-Fos fluorescence was significantly greater following r-VNS self-administration (red) than in l-VNS treated rats (blue) within both left (L) and right (R) brain hemispheres of the VTA (B), SNc (D), and LC (F). **p < 0.01; ****p < 0.0001; 2-way ANOVA between-group comparisons. Within each treatment group, no significant difference in c-Fos expression was observed between left and right brain hemispheres; full statistical results are presented in Tables 2, 3.

Original Research

16 December 2021

Self-Administration of Right Vagus Nerve Stimulation Activates Midbrain Dopaminergic Nuclei

Jackson Brougher

, 6 more and

Catherine A. Thorn

11,369 views

24 citations

Original Research

23 February 2022

Common Cholinergic, Noradrenergic, and Serotonergic Drugs Do Not Block VNS-Mediated Plasticity

Robert A. Morrison

, 7 more and

Seth A. Hays

4,933 views

7 citations

Original Research

19 August 2021

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy for the Treatment of Seizures in Refractory Postencephalitic Epilepsy: A Retrospective Study

Yulin Sun

, 11 more and

Guang Yang

2,849 views

6 citations

Visual representation of electrical waveform parameters for consideration during administration of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). The parameters described in the introduction are outlined here on a short time scale (A) as well as on a long time scale (B).

Review

13 July 2021

A Review of Parameter Settings for Invasive and Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) Applied in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Sean L. Thompson

, 6 more and

Bashar W. Badran

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established form of neuromodulation with a long history of promising applications. Earliest reports of VNS in the literature date to the late 1800’s in experiments conducted by Dr. James Corning. Over the past century, both invasive and non-invasive VNS have demonstrated promise in treating a variety of disorders, including epilepsy, depression, and post-stroke motor rehabilitation. As VNS continues to rapidly grow in popularity and application, the field generally lacks a consensus on optimum stimulation parameters. Stimulation parameters have a significant impact on the efficacy of neuromodulation, and here we will describe the longitudinal evolution of VNS parameters in the following categorical progression: (1) animal models, (2) epilepsy, (3) treatment resistant depression, (4) neuroplasticity and rehabilitation, and (5) transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS). We additionally offer a historical perspective of the various applications and summarize the range and most commonly used parameters in over 130 implanted and non-invasive VNS studies over five applications.

21,144 views

95 citations