ArticleJournal of neuroinflammation2021
Mechanisms underlying antidepressant effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on CUMS model rats based on hippocampal α7nAchR/NF-κB signal pathway.
Article in Journal of neuroinflammation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 128 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation With Rehabilitation on the Recovery of Upper Extremity Function After Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neural plasticity · 2025Pooled it
- Electroacupuncture for treating depression-related insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of mind-body exercise in chronic cardiopulmonary dyspnoea patients-a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Neural, Anti-Inflammatory, and Clinical Effects of Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation improves functional dyspepsia with sleep disturbance via enhanced vagal activity: a randomized controlled trial.International journal of surgery (London, England) · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of atopic dermatitis alleviation through transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced mouse model.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation alleviates chronic heart failure by targeting cathepsin K/p53-mediated ferroptosis.Biology direct · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors by Enhancing Autophagy to Attenuate Hippocampal Neuroinflammation via the VEGF/AKT1/ERK Pathway in CUMS Rats.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Inhibition of FKBP51 alleviates depressive-like behaviors via AKT/mTOR-dependent autophagy and synaptic plasticity.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Effects of resveratrol in a chronic stress model of layer chicks: insights from transcriptomics, metabolomics, and network pharmacology.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Immunotherapy for depression: targeting cytokine pathways in major depressive disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Vagus nerve stimulation modulates LPS-induced epileptogenicity: the role of inflammation suppression.Research square · 2026Article
- Article
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves emotional and cognitive functions in post-traumatic stress disorder rats through anti-inflammation, neuroprotection, and modulation of the hippocampal nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-heme oxygenase-1-glutathione peroxidase 4 pathway.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2026Article
- Voluntary wheel running exercise attenuates VPA-induced ASD-like behaviors in male rats: implication of the vagal pathway of the gut-brain axis.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Acupuncture as a modulator of microglial polarization and pyroptosis in depression: evidence from a chronic unpredictable mild stress rat model.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Article
- Targeting the Gut Microbiota: Mechanistic Investigation of Polyphenol Modulation of the Gut-Brain Axis in Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Novel anxiolytic-antidepressant combinations TF-1 and TF-2 and their intervention mechanisms in a mouse model of comorbid anxiety and depression (CAD).Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation: mechanisms, applications, and research progress.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundStress-induced neuroinflammation was considered to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of depression. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a relatively non-invasive alternative treatment for patients suffering from major depressive disorder. The anti-inflammatory signal of vagus nerve is mediated by α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAchR), and the hippocampus, the region with the most distribution of α7nAchR, regulates emotions. Here, we investigated the role of α7nAchR mediating hippocampal neuroinflammation in taVNS antidepressant effect though homozygous α7nAChR (-/-) gene knockout and α7nAchR antagonist (methyllycaconitine, MLA).
methodsThere were control, model, taVNS, α7nAChR(-/-) + taVNS, hippocampus (Hi) MLA + taVNS and Hi saline + taVNS groups. We used the chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS) method to establish depressive model rats for 42 days, excepting control group. After the successful modeling, except the control and model, the rats in the other groups were given taVNS, which was applied through an electroacupuncture apparatus at the auricular concha (2/15 Hz, 2 mA, 30 min/days) for 21 days. Behavioral tests were conducted at baseline, after modeling and after taVNS intervention, including sucrose preference test (SPT), open field test (OFT) and forced swimming test (FST). These tests are widely used to evaluate depression-like behavior in rats. The samples were taken after experiment, the expressions of α7nAchR, NF-κB p65, IL-1β and the morphology of microglia were detected.
resultsDepression-like behavior and hippocampal neuroinflammation in CUMS model rats were manifested by down-regulated expression of α7nAchR, up-regulated expression of NF-κB p65 and IL-1β, and the morphology of microglia was in amoebic-like activated state. TaVNS could significantly reverse the above-mentioned phenomena, but had rare improvement effect for α7nAChR(-/-) rats and Hi MLA rats.
conclusionThe antidepressant effect of taVNS is related to hippocampal α7nAchR/NF-κB signal pathway.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.