Vagus Nerve Stimulation Amplifies Task-Induced Cerebral Blood Flow Increase.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established palliative surgical treatment for refractory epilepsy. Recently, pairing VNS with rehabilitation received growing attention for their joint effect on neural plasticity. However, objective biological measurements proving the interaction between VNS effects and cortical recruitment are lacking. Studies reported that VNS induced little blood flow increase in the cerebral cortex.

Objective

This study tested the hypothesis that pairing VNS with a cognitive task amplifies task-induced cerebral blood flow (CBF).

Methods

This study included 21 patients implanted with vagus nerve stimulator to treat refractory epilepsy. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with sensors on the forehead measured CBF changes in the frontal c

SUBMITTER: Kunii N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8380847 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature