Universität zu Köln

Borgmann, Diba, Rigoux, Lionel, Kuzmanovic, Bojana, Thanarajah, Sharmili Edwin, Muente, Thomas F., Fenselau, Henning and Tittgemeyer, Marc (2021). Technical Note: Modulation of fMRI brainstem responses by transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation. Neuroimage, 244. SAN DIEGO: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. ISSN 1095-9572

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Abstract

Our increasing knowledge about gut-brain interaction is revolutionising the understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health, and even decision making in our everyday lives. In support of this interaction, the vagus nerve is a crucial pathway transmitting diverse gut-derived signals to the brain to monitor of metabolic status, digestive processes, or immune control to adapt behavioural and autonomic responses. Hence, neuromodulation methods targeting the vagus nerve are currently explored as a treatment option in a number of clinical disorders, including diabetes, chronic pain, and depression. The non-invasive variant of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS), has been implicated in both acute and long-lasting effects by modulating afferent vagus nerve target areas in the brain. The physiology of neither of those effects is, however, well understood, and evidence for neuronal response upon taVNS in vagal afferent projection regions in the brainstem and its downstream targets remain to be established. Therefore, to examine time-dependent effects of taVNS on brainstem neuronal responses in healthy human subjects, we applied taVNS during task-free fMRI in a single-blinded crossover design. During fMRI data acquisition, we either stimulated the left earlobe (sham), or the target zone of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve in the outer ear (cymba conchae, verum) for several minutes, both followed by a short 'stimulation OFF' period. Time-dependent effects were assessed by averaging the BOLD response for consecutive 1-minute periods in an ROI-based analysis of the brainstem. We found a significant response to acute taVNS stimulation, relative to the control condition, in downstream targets of vagal afferents, including the nucleus of the solitary tract, the substantia nigra, and the subthalamic nucleus. Most of these brainstem regions remarkably showed increased activity in response to taVNS, and these effect sustained during the post-stimulation period. These data demonstrate that taVNS activates key brainstem regions, and highlight the potential of this approach to modulate vagal afferent signalling. Furthermore, we show that carry-over effects need to be considered when interpreting fMRI data in the context of general vagal neurophysiology and its modulation by taVNS.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Borgmann, Diba UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Rigoux, Lionel UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Kuzmanovic, Bojana UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Thanarajah, Sharmili Edwin UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Muente, Thomas F. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Fenselau, Henning UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Tittgemeyer, Marc UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-592508
DOI:	10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118566
Journal or Publication Title:	Neuroimage
Volume:	244
Date:	2021
Publisher:	ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
Place of Publication:	SAN DIEGO
ISSN:	1095-9572
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language VAGAL SENSORY NEURONS; RESTING-STATE FMRI; MOTION CORRECTION; BED NUCLEUS; OPTIMIZATION; AMYGDALA; NETWORK; ROBUST Multiple languages Neurosciences; Neuroimaging; Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/59250