University of Tübingen, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
University of Tübingen, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 72076, Tübingen, Germany; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Brain Stimul. 2022 Sep-Oct;15(5):1279-1289. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2022.08.019. Epub 2022 Sep 5.
Maintaining energy homeostasis is vital and supported by vagal signaling between digestive organs and the brain. Previous research has established a gastric network in the brain that is phase synchronized with the rhythm of the stomach, but tools to perturb its function were lacking.
To evaluate whether stomach-brain coupling can be acutely increased by non-invasively stimulating vagal afferent projections to the brain.
Using a single-blind randomized crossover design, we investigated the effect of acute right-sided transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) versus sham stimulation on stomach-brain coupling.
In line with preclinical research, taVNS increased stomach-brain coupling in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and the midbrain while boosting coupling across the brain. Crucially, in the cortex, taVNS-induced changes in coupling occurred primarily in transmodal regions and were associated with changes in hunger ratings as indicators of the subjective metabolic state.
taVNS increases stomach-brain coupling via an NTS-midbrain pathway that signals gut-induced reward, indicating that communication between the brain and the body is effectively modulated by vago-vagal signaling. Such insights may help us better understand the role of vagal afferents in orchestrating the recruitment of the gastric network which could pave the way for novel neuromodulatory treatments.
维持能量平衡至关重要，这得益于消化器官与大脑之间的迷走神经信号。先前的研究已经建立了大脑中的胃网络，该网络与胃的节律呈相位同步，但缺乏干扰其功能的工具。
评估非侵入性刺激迷走神经传入投射到大脑是否可以急性增加胃-脑耦合。
使用单盲随机交叉设计，我们研究了急性右侧经皮耳迷走神经刺激（taVNS）与假刺激对胃-脑耦合的影响。
与临床前研究一致，taVNS 增加了孤束核（NTS）和中脑的胃-脑耦合，同时增强了整个大脑的耦合。至关重要的是，在大脑皮层中，taVNS 诱导的耦合变化主要发生在跨模态区域，并与饥饿评分的变化相关，饥饿评分是代谢状态的主观指标。
taVNS 通过 NTS-中脑途径增加胃-脑耦合，该途径信号传递肠道诱导的奖励，表明迷走神经传入信号有效地调节了大脑和身体之间的通讯。这些见解可能有助于我们更好地理解迷走神经传入在协调胃网络募集中的作用，为新型神经调节治疗铺平道路。
