ArticleJournal of neuroinflammation2022
Vagus nerve stimulation modulates hippocampal inflammation caused by continuous stress in rats.
Article in Journal of neuroinflammation, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does Auricular Acupoint-Related Therapy Enhance Rehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Pain research & management · 2026Pooled it
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation has no anti-inflammatory effect in diabetes.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- MERTK-related engulfment of norepinephrinergic neuronal presynaptic membrane by astrocytes following acute TBI and potentiation effect of peripheral nerve modulation.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Vagus nerve stimulation modulates LPS-induced epileptogenicity: the role of inflammation suppression.Research square · 2026Article
- The brain and heart-axis in neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Targeting the Gut Microbiota: Mechanistic Investigation of Polyphenol Modulation of the Gut-Brain Axis in Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Excitability-margin narrowing as a candidate gating mechanism for maladaptive circuit reactivation: a ventral CA1-centered model.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Vagus nerve stimulation: anti-inflammatory effects in epilepsy.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Neuroimmune Regulation for Acute Kidney Injury Therapy: Insights Along the Path From Bench to Bedside.Seminars in nephrology · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota, circadian rhythms and their interactions: implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of depression.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- The Role of Neuroinflammation and Network Anomalies in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.Neuroscience bulletin · 2025Review
- PI3K/Akt pathway and neuroinflammation in sepsis-associated encephalopathy.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2025Review
- Case Report: Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on acute pain after external fixation for bilateral open tibiofibular fractures.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- The Role of Alpha-7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Pain: Potential Therapeutic Implications.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Review
- Metagenomics reveals unique gut mycobiome biomarkers in major depressive disorder - a non-invasive method.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Neuron-Microglia Interaction is Involved in Anti-inflammatory Response by Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Prefrontal Cortex of Rats Injected with Polyinosinic:Polycytidylic Acid.Molecular neurobiology · 2024Article
- Complications and Mortality Rate of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.Cureus · 2024Article
- The gut-brain axis and cognitive control: A role for the vagus nerve.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2024Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies have shown that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can attenuate inflammatory responses in peripheral tissues and also improve some neurological disorders and cognitive function in the brain. However, it is not clear how VNS is involved in neuropathological processes in brain tissues. Here, we investigated the regulatory effects of VNS on the production of proinflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus of an animal model of continuous stress (CS).
methodsCS was induced by placing rats in cages immersed with water, and acute or chronic electrical stimulation was applied to the cervical vagus nerve of CS animals. Protein levels in the gastric and hippocampal tissues were measured by western blotting and protein signals analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. von Frey test and forced swimming test were performed to assess pain sensitivity and depressive-like behavior in rats, respectively.
resultsLevels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the gastric and hippocampal tissues were significantly increased in CS animals compared to the untreated control and downregulated by acute VNS (aVNS). Iba-1-labeled microglial cells in the hippocampus of CS animals revealed morphological features of activated inflammatory cells and then changed to a normal shape by VNS. VNS elevated hippocampal expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChR) in CS animals, and pharmacological blockade of α7 nAChR increased the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, thus suppressing cholinergic anti-inflammatory activity that was mediated by VNS. Chronic VNS (cVNS) down-regulated the hippocampal production of active form of caspase 3 and 5-HT1A receptors and also decreased levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the gastric and hippocampal tissues of CS animals. Pain sensitivity and depressive-like behavior, which were increased by CS, were improved by cVNS.
conclusionsOur data suggest that VNS may be involved in modulating pathophysiological processes caused by CS in the brain.
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Registered trials
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.