Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2021 Apr 1;42(5):1227-1242. doi: 10.1002/hbm.25288. Epub 2020 Dec 16.
An accruing body of research has shown that interoception (the sensing of signals from the body's internal milieu) relies on both a direct route (afforded by the vagus nerve) and a secondary route (supported by somatosensory mechanisms). However, no study has causally tested the differential role of these pathways, let alone via direct stimulation. To bridge this gap, we tested whether multidimensional signatures of interoception are modulated by noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS). Sixty-three participants were divided into an nVNS and a sham-stimulation group. Before and after stimulation, both groups performed a validated heartbeat detection (HBD) task including a genuinely interoceptive condition (monitoring one's own heartbeat) and a control exteroceptive condition (tracking an aurally presented heartbeat). Electroencephalographic signals were obtained during both conditions to examine modulations of the heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP). Moreover, before and after stimulation, participants were asked to complete a somatosensory heartbeat localization task. Results from the interoceptive condition revealed that, after treatment, only the nVNS group exhibited improved performance and greater HEP modulations. No behavioral differences were found for the exteroceptive control condition, which was nonetheless associated with significant HEP modulations. Finally, no between-group differences were observed regarding the localization of the heartbeat sensations or relevant cardiodynamic variables (heart rate and or heart rate variability). Taken together, these results constitute unprecedented evidence that the vagus nerve plays a direct role in neurovisceral integration during interoception. This finding can constrain mechanistic models of the domain while informing a promising transdiagnostic agenda for interoceptive impairments across neuropsychiatric conditions.
越来越多的研究表明,内感受(对来自身体内部环境的信号的感知)既依赖于直接途径(由迷走神经提供),也依赖于次要途径(由躯体感觉机制支持)。然而,没有研究通过直接刺激来因果性地测试这些途径的差异作用。为了弥补这一空白,我们测试了多维内感受特征是否可以通过非侵入性迷走神经刺激(nVNS)来调节。63 名参与者被分为 nVNS 组和假刺激组。在刺激前后,两组都进行了一项经过验证的心跳检测(HBD)任务,包括真正的内感受条件(监测自己的心跳)和控制的外感受条件(跟踪听觉呈现的心跳)。在这两种情况下都获得了脑电图信号,以检查心跳诱发电位(HEP)的调制。此外,在刺激前后,参与者被要求完成一个躯体感觉心跳定位任务。内感受条件的结果表明,治疗后,只有 nVNS 组表现出更好的表现和更大的 HEP 调制。在外感受控制条件下没有发现行为差异,但与显著的 HEP 调制相关。最后,在心跳感觉的定位或相关心动力学变量(心率和或心率变异性)方面,两组之间没有观察到差异。总之,这些结果构成了前所未有的证据,表明迷走神经在内感受过程中的神经内脏整合中起着直接作用。这一发现可以限制该领域的机械模型,同时为跨神经精神疾病条件的内感受障碍提供有前途的跨诊断议程。
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