Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy does not prevent fever following intracerebroventricular prostaglandin E2: further evidence for the importance of vagal afferents in immune-to-brain communication.

Brain-mediated sickness responses can be blocked by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, suggesting that vagal afferents signal peripheral inflammation or infection. This study tested whether subdiaphragmatic vagotomy disrupts sickness responses by interrupting effector pathways. If this explanation is correct, intracerebroventricular prostaglandin E2-induced fever should be blocked by this procedure. Fever was unaffected by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, thus these data provide support for the conclusion that vagal afferents signal the brain during immune activation.