Body of Research

Research in neuromodulation has led to new therapeutic approaches to advance the field of bioelectronic medicine. Bioelectronic medicine exploits the fact that every organ in our bodies is neurally innervated and thus electrical interfacing with peripheral nerves can be a potential pathway for diagnosing or treating diseases such as diabetes. Aspects of this medicine share similarities to the theoretical concepts of clinical acupuncture, and align with research in neuro-auricular modulation (...

The only place on the body where the vagus nerve (VN) sends its only peripheral branch is on the outer ear. The auricle is where this VN branch surfaces to form a cutaneous receptive field in the pinna of the ear — an area responsive to peripheral nerve stimulation. Thus, the auricle allows for easy access for auricular (and transcutaneous auricular) vagus nerve stimulation (aVNS/taVNS), that relays the stimuli to the brainstem and higher brain regions via extensive projections to second and...