Non-invasive Measurement of Vagus Activity in the Brainstem - a Methodological Progress Towards Earlier Diagnosis of Dementias?

Overview

Journal J Neural Transm (Vienna)

Specialties Neurology
Physiology

Date 2007 Feb 20

PMID 17308983

Citations 21

Authors

T Polak

A-C Ehlis

J B M Langer

M M Plichta

F Metzger

T M Ringel

A J Fallgatter

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild functional disturbances should precede gross structural damage and even more clinical symptoms, possibly by decades. Moreover, alterations in the brainstem are supposed to occur earlier as cortical affections. Based on these considerations, we developed a new method aiming at the measurement of vagal brainstem functioning by means of evoked potentials after electrical stimulation of the cutaneous representation of the vagus nerve in the external auditory channel. In the current study, a first sample of patients with Alzheimer's disease (n = 7) and mild cognitive impairment (n = 3) were investigated (6m, 4f, range from 57 to 78 y, mean age 68.6 years). Vagus somatosensory evoked potentials (VSEP) were characterized by significantly longer latencies as compared to healthy age- and gender-matched controls (p < 0.05). Future large scale studies - also including preclinical stages of AD - have to assess the value of this non-invasive, fast and cheap method in the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders.

Citing Articles

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Herrmann M, Wuttke A, Breuninger L, Eff J, Ettlinger S, Fischer M J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2024; 132(3):455-468.

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Evaluation of different vagus nerve stimulation anatomical targets in the ear by vagus evoked potential responses.

de Gurtubay I, Bermejo P, Lopez M, Larraya I, Librero J Brain Behav. 2021; 11(11):e2343.

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Transcutaneous auricular VNS applied to experimental pain: A paired behavioral and EEG study using thermonociceptive CO2 laser.

Dumoulin M, Liberati G, Mouraux A, Santos S, El Tahry R PLoS One. 2021; 16(7):e0254480.

PMID: 34252124 PMC: 8274876. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254480.

Cortical Responses to Vagus Nerve Stimulation Are Modulated by Brain State in Nonhuman Primates.

Rembado I, Song W, Su D, Levari A, Shupe L, Perlmutter S Cereb Cortex. 2021; 31(12):5289-5307.

PMID: 34151377 PMC: 8567998. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab158.

Stress and Tinnitus; Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation Attenuates Tinnitus-Triggered Stress Reaction.

Ylikoski J, Markkanen M, Pirvola U, Lehtimaki J, Ylikoski M, Jing Z Front Psychol. 2020; 11:570196.

PMID: 33041937 PMC: 7527536. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570196.

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