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      Non-invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation Effects on Hyperarousal and Autonomic State in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Preliminary Evidence

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          Abstract

          Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a reaction to trauma that results in a chronic perception of threat, precipitating mobilization of the autonomic nervous system, and may be reflected by chronic disinhibition of limbic structures. A common injury preceding PTSD in veterans is mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This may be due to the vulnerability of white matter in these networks and such damage may affect treatment response. We evaluated transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS), a non-invasive, low-risk approach that may alter the functions of the limbo-cortical and peripheral networks underlying the hyperarousal component of PTSD and thus improve patient health and well-being. In this single visit pilot study evaluating the impact of tVNS in 22 combat veterans, we used a between-subjects design in people with either PTSD with preceding mTBI or healthy controls. Participants were randomized into stimulation or sham groups and completed a posturally modulated autonomic assessment and emotionally modulated startle paradigm. The primary measures used were respiratory sinus arrhythmia (high-frequency heart rate variability) during a tilt-table procedure derived from an electrocardiogram, and skin conductance changes in response to acoustic startle while viewing emotional images (International Affective Picture System). The stimulation was well tolerated and resulted in improvements in vagal tone and moderation of autonomic response to startle, consistent with modulation of autonomic state and response to stress in this population. Our results suggest that tVNS affects systems underlying emotional dysregulation in this population and, therefore, should be further evaluated and developed as a potential treatment tool for these patients.

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          Most cited references48

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          Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation in healthy humans reduces sympathetic nerve activity.

          Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is currently used to treat refractory epilepsy and is being investigated as a potential therapy for a range of conditions, including heart failure, tinnitus, obesity and Alzheimer's disease. However, the invasive nature and expense limits the use of VNS in patient populations and hinders the exploration of the mechanisms involved. We investigated a non-invasive method of VNS through electrical stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve distributed to the skin of the ear--transcutaneous VNS (tVNS) and measured the autonomic effects. The effects of tVNS parameters on autonomic function in 48 healthy participants were investigated using heart rate variability (HRV) and microneurography. tVNS was performed using a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine and modified surface electrodes. Participants visited the laboratory once and received either active (200 μs, 30 Hz; n = 34) or sham (n = 14) stimulation. Active tVNS significantly increased HRV in healthy participants (P = 0.026) indicating a shift in cardiac autonomic function toward parasympathetic predominance. Microneurographic recordings revealed a significant decrease in frequency (P = 0.0001) and incidence (P = 0.0002) of muscle sympathetic nerve activity during tVNS. tVNS can increase HRV and reduce sympathetic nerve outflow, which is desirable in conditions characterized by enhanced sympathetic nerve activity, such as heart failure. tVNS can therefore influence human physiology and provide a simple and inexpensive alternative to invasive VNS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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            Cerebral correlates of autonomic cardiovascular arousal: a functional neuroimaging investigation in humans.

            1. States of peripheral autonomic arousal accompany emotional behaviour, physical exercise and cognitive effort, and their central representation may influence decision making and the regulation of social and emotional behaviours. However, the cerebral functional neuroanatomy representing and mediating peripheral autonomic responses in humans is poorly understood. 2. Six healthy volunteer subjects underwent H215O positron emission tomography (PET) scanning while performing isometric exercise and mental arithmetic stressor tasks, and during corresponding control tasks. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored during scanning. 3. Data were analysed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM99). Conjunction analyses were used to determine significant changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during states of cardiovascular arousal common to both exercise and mental stressor tasks. 4. Exercise and mental stressor tasks, relative to their control tasks, were associated with significantly (P < 0.001) increased MAP and HR. Significant common activations (increased rCBF) were observed in cerebellar vermis, brainstem and right anterior cingulate. In both exercise and mental stress tasks, increased rCBF in cerebellar vermis, right anterior cingulate and right insula covaried with MAP; rCBF in pons, cerebellum and right insula covaried with HR. Cardiovascular arousal in both categorical and covariance analyses was associated with decreased rCBF in prefrontal and medial temporal regions. 5. Neural responses in discrete brain regions accompany peripheral cardiovascular arousal. We provide evidence for the involvement of areas previously implicated in cognitive and emotional behaviours in the representation of peripheral autonomic states, consistent with a functional organization that produces integrated cardiovascular response patterns in the service of volitional and emotional behaviours.
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              Increased extracellular concentrations of norepinephrine in cortex and hippocampus following vagus nerve stimulation in the rat.

              The vagus nerve is an important source of afferent information about visceral states and it provides input to the locus coeruleus (LC), the major source of norepinephrine (NE) in the brain. It has been suggested that the effects of electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve on learning and memory, mood, seizure suppression, and recovery of function following brain damage are mediated, in part, by the release of brain NE. The hypothesis that left vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) at the cervical level results in increased extracellular NE concentrations in the cortex and hippocampus was tested at four stimulus intensities: 0.0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mA. Stimulation at 0.0 and 0.25 mA had no effect on NE concentrations, while the 0.5 mA stimulation increased NE concentrations significantly in the hippocampus (23%), but not the cortex. However, 1.0 mA stimulation significantly increased NE concentrations in both the cortex (39%) and hippocampus (28%) bilaterally. The increases in NE were transient and confined to the stimulation periods. VNS did not alter NE concentrations in either structure during the inter-stimulation baseline periods. No differences were observed between NE levels in the initial baseline and the post-stimulation baselines. These findings support the hypothesis that VNS increases extracellular NE concentrations in both the hippocampus and cortex.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Med (Lausanne)
                Front Med (Lausanne)
                Front. Med.
                Frontiers in Medicine
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                2296-858X
                31 July 2017
                2017
                : 4
                : 124
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VAMC , Gainesville, FL, United States
                [2] 2Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, College of Medicine, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL, United States
                [3] 3Center for Neuropsychological Studies, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL, United States
                [4] 4Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL, United States
                [5] 5Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, United States
                [6] 6School of Informatics and Computing, Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN, United States
                [7] 7The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN, United States
                Author notes

                Edited by: Michel Goldman, Free University of Brussels, Belgium

                Reviewed by: Domenico De Berardis, National Health Service, Italy; Frederick Robert Carrick, Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in Association with University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

                *Correspondence: John B. Williamson, john.williamson@ 123456neurology.ufl.edu

                Specialty section: This article was submitted to Family Medicine and Primary Care, a section of the journal Frontiers in Medicine

                Article
                10.3389/fmed.2017.00124
                5534856
                28824913
                d3dd46d2-555f-4467-bd93-5bfbafc6713a
                Copyright © 2017 Lamb, Porges, Lewis and Williamson.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 19 April 2017
                : 17 July 2017
                Page count
                Figures: 3, Tables: 2, Equations: 0, References: 58, Pages: 9, Words: 6732
                Funding
                Funded by: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 10.13039/100000738
                Award ID: Brain Rehabilitation Research Center (BRRC) Center Grant B6793C and BRRC Innovation Award No. 0214BRRC-17
                Categories
                Medicine
                Original Research

                posttraumatic stress disorder,traumatic brain injury,hyperarousal,autonomic,transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation,vagal,transcutaneous,sympathetic

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