ArticleCureus2025
Impact of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Spatial Learning and Memory in Acrolein-Induced Alzheimer's Disease-Like Hippocampal Neuronal Damage in Wistar Rats.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of Kalanchoe pinnata, exercise, and stimulation on neuroinflammation, redox homeostasis, and neuropathic pain in a Wistar-rat model.World journal of experimental medicine · 2026Article
- A novel finding on sex-dependent diverse behavioral responses to the anticipation of a threat in a rat model of fear conditioning with the involvement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the prefrontal cortex.Learning & behavior · 2026Article
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Current Evidence and Future Directions.NeuroSci · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundData about the utility of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as a potential therapy for neurodegenerative disorders are still inconclusive. We used a rat model of acrolein-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration to investigate the effect of VNS on spatial learning and memory.
methodsA total of 24 Wistar rats were randomly allocated to one of the four groups: no acrolein exposure (n = 6), control (n = 6), sham (n = 6), and experimental (n = 6). The control, sham, and experimental groups were exposed to acrolein 2.5 mg/kg/day by gastric gavage for eight weeks. After acrolein exposure, the experimental and sham groups received transcutaneous auricular VNS and greater auricular nerve stimulation, respectively, under 2% isoflurane anesthesia for four weeks. Then, all animal groups were assessed for spatial learning and memory in a Morris water maze before being euthanized for hippocampus histological examination.
resultsThe mean time to find the hidden platform varied significantly between the no acrolein exposure group and each of the acrolein-exposed groups. The results of one-way ANOVA indicated a significant difference in the average swimming time between the four study groups (F = 14.64, p < 0.001). Results from the post-hoc analysis indicated that the mean difference was statistically significant between the "no acrolein exposure" and "control" groups (p < 0.001), the "no acrolein exposure" and "experimental" groups (p = 0.001), and between the "control" and "sham" groups (p< 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in swimming time to find the hidden escape platform between the sham and experimental groups (p = 0.060).
conclusionTranscutaneous auricular VNS has no significant effect on spatial learning or memory in Wistar rats with acrolein-induced hippocampus neuronal damage, indicating the need to review the long-standing notion that hippocampal neuronal loss causes spatial navigation deficits.
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Registered trials
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