Body of Research

Read more about a successful study to determine the effective anti-inflammation capacity of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) through development of a stimulating electrode system of transcutaneous auricular VN. Citation: Go YY, Ju WM, Lee CM, Chae SW, Song JJ. Different Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Parameters Modulate the Anti-Inflammatory Effects on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Inflammation in Mice. Biomedicines. 2022;10(2):247. Published 2022...

Acute inflammation can turn chronic, as shown in studies such as reported by Harvard Medical School in a special report on Fighting Inflammation: How to stop the damage before it compromises your health. In fact, an exacerbated inflammatory response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is believed to be one of the major causes of the morbidity and mortality of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, inflammation that turns chronic can become a re...

A review of the potential of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), concludes that targeting the anti-inflammatory properties of the vagus nerve with VNS could be of interest in the management of patients with IBD involving the digestive tract through a non-drug therapy. About 1.5 million Americans and 2.2 million people in Europe are affected by IBD. There is a rising incidence of IBD in Western countries, supporting the hypothesis that “Westernization” of our li...

Review article on the potential of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) in managing depression — and as it possibly relates to pain and other chronic conditions affected by negative emotional affect and psychological conditions such as depression.   Reference: Liu, CH., Yang, MH., Zhang, GZ. et al. Neural networks and the anti-inflammatory effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in depression. J Neuroinflammation 17, 54 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s1...

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...

Bioelectronic medicine progressively comes into focus as offering a non-pharmaceutical treatment option for various diseases. Here neuromodulation of the vagus nerve (VN) has gained a special interest. In a comprehensive review technical issues, modeling concepts, regulatory and safety requirements, and novel architectures of open and closed-loop aVNS paradigms, Kaniusas and his colleagues focus on the physiological role of VN including a biology-driven rationale for Auricular Vagus Nerve Sti...

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive neuromodulation therapy that was approved in 1997 for the alleviation of seizures; however, efforts to control epilepsy by stimulating the vagus nerve have been studied for over 100 years. The ability for VNS to affect various brain areas, has a wide indication for various intractable epileptic syndromes and epilepsyrelated comorbidities. Moreover, recent studies have shown anti-inflammatory effects of VNS, and the indication is expanding beyond ...

Badran et. al. provide commentary on the growing interest in modulating the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (ABVN). Researchers clearly want to know which ear target is optimal for taVNS e tragus or cymba conchae. Although the authors note discrepancies — identified by Burger and Verkuil in the investigation of a manuscript by Peuker and Filler describing vagus innervation of the ear — that they have found difficult to resolve, their commentary offers insights.[1] First, recognizing the i...

In a review of TNS, tVNS and Auricular Stimulation, Benjamina Mercante (and her colleagues Franca Deriu, and Claire-Marie Rangon) present possible sites and mechanisms of action in the Central Nervous System. The paper suggests that with the continuous advancement since the auricular maps of physician Paul Nogier, the field of advanced non-invasive neuromodulation via the ear, due to the innervation by the cervical plexus, may become the most affordable, accurate and powerful gateway to the b...

Since prior studies of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have had inconsistent findings (owing to variability in stimulation targets and parameters), the authors undertook to develop a transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)/functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) system enabling the comparison of taVNS in relation to control stimulation through concurrent electrical stimulation and fMRI acquisit...

Interhemispheric interaction has a major role in various neurobehavioral functions. Its disruption is a major contributor to the pathological changes in the setting of brain injury such as traumatic brain injury, peripheral nerve injury, and stroke, as well as neurodegenerative diseases. Shin and Pelled provide a review (yielding approximately 170 relevant articles) of noninvasive and state-of-the-art molecular based neuromodulation methods that focus on or have the potential to elucidate int...