scholarly journals Acute vagus nerve stimulation does not affect liking or wanting ratings of food in healthy participants

Appetite ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 105813
Author(s):  
Franziska K. Müller ◽  
Vanessa Teckentrup ◽  
Anne Kühnel ◽  
Magdalena Ferstl ◽  
Nils B. Kroemer
Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (10) ◽  
pp. e1085-e1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maike Möller ◽  
Jan Mehnert ◽  
Celina F. Schroeder ◽  
Arne May

ObjectiveThe trigeminal autonomic reflex is a physiologic reflex that plays a crucial role in primary headache and particularly in trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, such as cluster headache. Previous studies have shown that this reflex can be modulated by the vagus nerve, leading to an inhibition of the parasympathetic output of the reflex in healthy participants. The aim of the present study was to characterize neural correlates of the modulatory effect of noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) on the trigeminal autonomic reflex.MethodsTwenty-one healthy participants were included in a 2-day, randomized, single-blind, within-subject design. The reflex was activated inside the MRI scanner using kinetic oscillation stimulation placed in the left nostril, resulting in an increase in lacrimation. After the first fMRI session, the participants received either sham vagus nerve stimulation or nVNS outside the scanner and underwent a subsequent fMRI session.ResultsnVNS prompted an increase in activation of the left pontine nucleus and a decreased activation of the right parahippocampal gyrus. Psychophysiologic interaction analyses revealed an increased functional connectivity between the left pontine nucleus and the right hypothalamus and a decreased functional connectivity between the right parahippocampal gyrus and the bilateral spinal trigeminal nuclei (sTN).ConclusionsThese findings indicate a complex network involved in the modulatory effect of nVNS including the hypothalamus, the sTN, the pontine nucleus, and the parahippocampal gyrus.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Koepp ◽  
Johannes Klaus ◽  
Magdalena Ferstl ◽  
Franziska K Müller ◽  
Anne Kühnel ◽  
...  

Introduction: The vagus nerve plays a prominent role in the regulation of food reward and energy metabolism. However, previous studies using vagus nerve stimulation yielded conflicting results regarding changes in food reward in healthy participants and participants with major depressive disorder (MDD), for which vagal nerve stimulation is an effective treatment. Methods: We investigated the acute effects of right transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on ratings of liking and wanting of food and non-food items in 63 participants, including 31 patients with MDD. To test for taVNS-induced changes and interactions with between-subject variables group (MDD vs. healthy controls) and questionnaire scores as well as within-subject variables, we performed linear mixed-effects analysis. In addition, we assessed whether individual taVNS-induced changes in food reward ratings were dependent on average ratings.Results: taVNS increased liking of food cues in participants with MDD (p= 0.023), but not in healthy participants (p= 0.657). Specifically, taVNS induced larger improvements in liking ratings with increasing scores of anhedonia (p= 0.029). Notably, across all participants, taVNS reduced the variance of food liking compared to sham, suggesting that taVNS normalizes extreme liking ratings towards moderate levels (p = 0.039).Discussion: Our results show that taVNS acutely ameliorates hedonic responses in MDD suggesting that it could provide an effective treatment of anhedonia. Since anhedonia is difficult to treat with conventional therapies, taVNS may provide a powerful adjuvant to rapidly improve motivational deficiencies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska K Müller ◽  
Vanessa Teckentrup ◽  
Anne Kühnel ◽  
Magdalena Ferstl ◽  
Nils B Kroemer

The vagus nerve plays a vital role in the regulation of food intake and vagal afferent signals may help regulate food cue reactivity by providing negative homeostatic feedback. Despite strong evidence from preclinical studies on vagal afferent ″satiety″ signals in guiding food intake, evidence from human studies is largely inconclusive to date. Here, we investigated the acute effects of left or right transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on subjective ratings of wanting and liking of various food and non-food items in 82 healthy participants (46 women, MBMI = 23.1 kg/m2). In contrast to previous reports in patients with depression, we found moderate to anecdotal evidence supporting the absence of taVNS-induced changes in food ratings. To test whether the absence of taVNS effects on food ratings is due to heterogeneity in the sample, we conducted post hoc subgroup analyses by splitting the data according to stimulation side and sex (between-subject factors) as well as caloric density, perceived healthiness, and flavor (sweet vs. savory) of the food (within-subject factors). This multiverse analysis largely supported the absence of taVNS-induced changes since the strongest subgroup effects provided only anecdotal evidence in favor of taVNS-induced changes. We conclude that acute taVNS only has a marginal effect on subjective ratings of food, suggesting that it is an unlikely mechanism for the reported long-term effects of VNS on body weight. In light of an absence of acute taVNS effects on food craving, our results call for future research on the correspondence between acute and chronic effects of vagal afferent stimulation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1381-1387
Author(s):  
Ying Yuan ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Dongyu Wu ◽  
Dahua Zhang ◽  
Weiqun Song

Purpose Severe dysphagia with weak pharyngeal peristalsis after dorsal lateral medullary infarction (LMI) requires long-term tube feeding. However, no study is currently available on therapeutic effectiveness in severe dysphagia caused by nuclear damage of vagus nerve after dorsal LMI. The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the potential of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) to improve severe dysphagia with weak pharyngeal peristalsis after dorsal LMI. Method We assessed the efficacy of 6-week tVNS in a 28-year-old woman presented with persisting severe dysphagia after dorsal LMI who had been on nasogastric feeding for 6 months. tVNS was applied for 20 min twice a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. The outcome measures included saliva spitted, Swallow Function Scoring System, Functional Oral Intake Scale, Clinical Assessment of Dysphagia With Wallenberg Syndrome, Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale, and upper esophagus X-ray examination. Results After tVNS, the patient was advanced to a full oral diet without head rotation or spitting. No saliva residue was found in the valleculae and pyriform sinuses. Contrast medium freely passed through the upper esophageal sphincter. Conclusion Our findings suggest that tVNS might provide a useful means for recovery of severe dysphagia with weak pharyngeal peristalsis after dorsal LMI. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9755438


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e14-e15
Author(s):  
Mark C Genovese ◽  
Yaakov A Levine ◽  
David Chernoff

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-85
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Marmo da Costa e Souza ◽  
Felipe Ricardo Pereira Vasconcelos De Arruda ◽  
Jose Anderson Galdino Santos ◽  
Jamerson De Carvalho Andrade ◽  
Suellen Mary Marinho Dos Santos Andrade ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  

Introduction: Vagus nerve stimulation is a palliative treatment for patients with refractory epilepsy to reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures. A bipolar helical electrode is placed around the left vagus nerve at the cervical level and is connected to the pulse generator placed in a subcutaneous pocket, most commonly in the subclavian region. Methods: Between March 1998 and October 2019, we performed 196 procedures related to the vagal nerve stimulation at the Neurosurgery Department in Motol University Hospital. Of these, 126 patients were vagal nerve stimulator implantation surgeries for intractable epilepsy. The cases included 69 female and 57 male patients with mean age at the time of the implantation surgery 22±12.4 years (range 2.1−58.4 years). Results: Nine patients (7.1%) were afflicted by complications related to implantation. Surgical complications included postoperative infection in 1.6%, VNS-associated arrhythmias in 1.6%, jugular vein bleeding in 0.8% and vocal cord paresis in 2.4%. One patient with vocal cord palsy also suffered from severe dysphagia. One patient (0.8%) did not tolerate extra stimulation with magnet due to a prolonged spasm in his throat. The extra added benefit of vagus stimulation in one patient was a significant reduction of previously regular severe headaches. Conclusion: Vagus nerve stimulation is an appropriate treatment for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who are not candidates for focal resective surgery. Implantation of the vagus nerve stimulator is a relatively safe operative procedure.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document