Self-Administration of Right Vagus Nerve Stimulation Activates Midbrain Dopaminergic Nuclei.

ABSTRACT: Background: Left cervical vagus nerve stimulation (l-VNS) is an FDA-approved treatment for neurological disorders including epilepsy, major depressive disorder, and stroke, and l-VNS is increasingly under investigation for a range of other neurological indications. Traditional l-VNS is thought to induce therapeutic neuroplasticity in part through the coordinated activation of multiple broadly projecting neuromodulatory systems in the brain. Recently, it has been reported that striking lateralization exists in the anatomical and functional connectivity between the vagus nerves and the dopaminergic midbrain. These emerging findings suggest that VNS-driven activation of this important plasticity-promoting neuromodulatory system may be preferentially driven by targeting the right, rathe

SUBMITTER: Brougher J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8716493 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature