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Article Topics
The field of bioelectronic medicine combines molecular medicine, bioengineering, and neuroscience to discover and develop nerve stimulating and sensing technologies to regulate biological processes and treat disease.
Work submitted to the journal will cover topics in these disciplines but may also expand to topics in the fields of disease biology, bioinformatics, bioengineering, materials science, nanotechnology, neurosurgery, and device development. Ethical, legal and financial issues related to bioelectronic medicine and device development are welcomed. Significant negative results will be considered.
The following are examples (not limitations) of topics which may be considered by the journal: basic science, preclinical science, clinical studies, transcranial modulation, telemetry, modeling, model-based control, neural decoding, algorithms, and related tools (i.e. electrodes).
Work submitted to the journal will cover topics in these disciplines but may also expand to topics in the fields of disease biology, bioinformatics, bioengineering, materials science, nanotechnology, neurosurgery, and device development. Ethical, legal and financial issues related to bioelectronic medicine and device development are welcomed. Significant negative results will be considered.
The following are examples (not limitations) of topics which may be considered by the journal: basic science, preclinical science, clinical studies, transcranial modulation, telemetry, modeling, model-based control, neural decoding, algorithms, and related tools (i.e. electrodes).
Single-Pulse and Unidirectional Electrical Activation of the Cervical Vagus Nerve Reduces Tumor Necrosis Factor in Endotoxemia
Authors
Peder S Olofsson, Yaakov A Levine, April Caravaca, Sangeeta S Chavan, Valentin A Pavlov, Michael Faltys, and Kevin J Tracey
Abstract
The inflammatory reflex is a neural circuit defined by action potentials transmitted in the vagus nerve that regulate cytokine production in the spleen. Detailed mechanistic studies implicate the vagus nerve, the splenic nerve, a T-cell subset that produces acetylcholine under the control of adrenergic signals, and alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChR). expressed on macrophages. This study defines the vagus nerve fibers that transmit the efferent signal in this pathway, a motor arc of the inflammatory reflex. Mice and rats were subjected to electrical cervical vagus nerve stimulation or sham surgery. Cytokine levels
in serum were measured in endotoxemic animals or in endotoxin-exposed blood samples. Evoked potentials were measured in
the vagus nerve and a portion of the vagus nerve was anesthetized using local application of lidocaine before stimulation. The lowest threshold subdiaphragmatic fibers in the rat vagus nerve have conduction velocities consistent with that of myelinated B fibers. The stimulation current threshold for significant suppression of serum TNF levels was similar in mice and rats (≤500 μA). Blockade of the fibers caudal to the site of vagus nerve stimulation impaired the inhibition of TNF release. A single suprathreshold pulse stimulation was sufficient to suppress TNF release in endotoxemia. These results indicate that single-pulse and unidirectional electrical activation of the cervical vagus nerve reduce TNF in endotoxemia.
Volume
Bioelectronic Medicine 2015
Page Range
37-42
DOI
10.15424/bioelectronmed.2015.00006
Date Published
May 13, 2015
Article PDF
Keywords
Olofsson, Levine, Caravaca, Chavan, Pavlov, Faltys, Tracey, vagus nerve, tumor necrosis factor, TNF, endotoxemia, inflammatory reflex, bioelectronic medicine, cytokine production
Article Type
Research Article
