KHz-frequency electrical stimulation selectively activates small, unmyelinated vagus afferents.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Vagal reflexes regulate homeostasis in visceral organs and systems through afferent and efferent neurons and nerve fibers. Small, unmyelinated, C-type afferents comprise over 80% of fibers in the vagus and form the sensory arc of autonomic reflexes of the gut, lungs, heart and vessels and the immune system. Selective bioelectronic activation of C-afferents could be used to mechanistically study and treat diseases of peripheral organs in which vagal reflexes are involved, but it has not been achieved.

Methods

We stimulated the vagus in rats and mice using trains of kHz-frequency stimuli. Stimulation effects were assessed using neuronal c-Fos expression, physiological and nerve fiber responses, optogenetic and computational methods.

Results

Intermittent kHz s

SUBMITTER: Chang YC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10164362 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature