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vagus nerve

This shows a boy drinking from a water bottle

·January 27, 2022·5 min read

How Gut Neurons Communicate With the Brain to Control Thirst

A new study sheds light on the gut-to-brain osmolality signaling that regulates thirst, revealing a sensory pathway that mediates the process.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 2, 2021·4 min read

Gut to Brain: Nerve Cells Detect What We Eat

When it comes to hunger and satiety, nerve cells in the vagus nerve fulfill opposing tasks.

This shows a weighing scale and tape measure

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 5, 2021·4 min read

Unwanted Weight Gain or Weight Loss During the Pandemic? Blame Your Stress Hormones

A recent study found 42% of participants gained, on average, 29 lb of unwanted weight during the pandemic, with people gaining 1.5lb per month. Researchers say a combination of stress, hormones, and dwindling motivation to exercise during the lockdowns may be to blame.

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·October 13, 2020·4 min read

Hunger Hormone Impacts Memory

The hunger hormone ghrelin doesn't just influence where and when animals eat, it also appears to have an impact on memory. Disrupting signaling of ghrelin to the vagus nerve caused rats to forget they had just eaten, even though the animals remembered they had just had access to food. Findings suggest disrupted ghrelin signaling could negatively impact episodic memory.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 3, 2020·3 min read

Earbud-like nerve stimulator shows promise for relieving indigestion

For the 15% of American adults who suffer from frequent indigestion or functional dyspepsia, a new, non-invasive treatment may provide some relief. Respiratory-gated Auricular Vagal Afferent Nerve Stimulation (RAVANS), a form of taVNS, delivers short pulses of painless electrical current to the vagus nerve in tune with respiratory rhythms. The device can modulate the stomach's response to food ingestion, which is often impaired in those with functional dyspepsia.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 6, 2020·6 min read

Newly identified digestive-brain axis controls food choice

Study reveals a novel learning process orchestrated between the digestive system and brain that compels animals to seek out novel foods.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 28, 2020·4 min read

Non-invasive electrostimulation leads to improved memory

Non-invasive auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (atVNS), applied to an accessible area of the ear, improves memory in mouse models of intellectual disability.

This shows the outline of two bodies. One has the head highlighted red, the other has the gut highlighted red

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 7, 2019·4 min read

Where does Parkinson’s disease start? In the brain or gut? Or both?

Lewy body disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, comprise of two distinct subtypes. One subtype originates in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of the gut and spreads to the brain. The other originates in the brain, or enters the brain via the olfactory system, before spreading to the brainstem and PNS.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·September 25, 2019·4 min read

Does migraine leave your head spinning? Noninvasive treatment shows early promise

Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) helps improve symptoms of pain and vertigo in patients with vestibular migraines.

This shows a man wearing the tvns ear piece

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 30, 2019·5 min read

‘Tickle’ therapy could help slow aging

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation helps improve sleep patterns and mental health in aging people. The therapy works by increasing parasympathetic activity and decreasing sympathetic activity.

This shows a mouse and a diagram of a mouse brain

Featured Neuroscience

·July 4, 2019·5 min read

Unraveling the brain’s reward circuits

Study reveals how ArGP and dopamine neurons are linked, and how food and drugs affect them differently. The findings offer clues for the development of new treatments for obesity and substance use disorders.

This diagram shows how a-synuclein travels from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 26, 2019·6 min read

New research shows Parkinson’s disease origins in the gut

A new study adds to the growing body of evidence that Parkinson's disease may start in the gut. Researchers found gut-to-brain propagation of alpha-synuclein spread via the vagus nerve. The study provides a more accurate model of Parkinson's progression and could lead to new treatments to halt or prevent this neurodegenerative disease.

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vagus nerve

How Gut Neurons Communicate With the Brain to Control Thirst

Gut to Brain: Nerve Cells Detect What We Eat

Unwanted Weight Gain or Weight Loss During the Pandemic? Blame Your Stress Hormones

Hunger Hormone Impacts Memory

Earbud-like nerve stimulator shows promise for relieving indigestion

Newly identified digestive-brain axis controls food choice

Non-invasive electrostimulation leads to improved memory

Where does Parkinson’s disease start? In the brain or gut? Or both?

Does migraine leave your head spinning? Noninvasive treatment shows early promise

‘Tickle’ therapy could help slow aging

Unraveling the brain’s reward circuits

New research shows Parkinson’s disease origins in the gut

Robot Yawns Spark Contagious Yawning in Chimps

Conquering Nightmares and Insomnia with Science

Obeying Orders Lowers Moral Responsibility Perception in the Brain

Brain Area Stores and Resolves Hypotheses for Landmark Ambiguity

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