Cerebral Hemodynamic Correlates of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Consciousness Restoration: An Open-Label Pilot Study

Yutian Yu; Yutian Yu; Yutian Yu; Yi Yang; Yi Yang; Shuoqiu Gan; Shuoqiu Gan; Shengnan Guo; Jiliang Fang; Shouyan Wang; Chunzhi Tang; Lijun Bai; Jianghong He; Jianghong He; Peijing Rong

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.684791

Frontiers in Neurology (Jul 2021)

Cerebral Hemodynamic Correlates of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Consciousness Restoration: An Open-Label Pilot Study

Yutian Yu,
Yutian Yu,
Yutian Yu,
Yi Yang,
Yi Yang,
Shuoqiu Gan,
Shuoqiu Gan,
Shengnan Guo,
Jiliang Fang,
Shouyan Wang,
Chunzhi Tang,
Lijun Bai,
Jianghong He,
Jianghong He,
Peijing Rong

Affiliations

Yutian Yu: Acupuncture Department, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Yutian Yu: Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, China
Yutian Yu: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Yi Yang: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Yi Yang: Department of Neurosurgery, PLA Army General Hospital, Beijing, China
Shuoqiu Gan: The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Shuoqiu Gan: Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Shengnan Guo: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Jiliang Fang: Department of Radiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Shouyan Wang: Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Chunzhi Tang: 0Clinical Medical College of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
Lijun Bai: The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Jianghong He: Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Jianghong He: Department of Neurosurgery, PLA Army General Hospital, Beijing, China
Peijing Rong: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.684791
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12

Abstract

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This study aimed to preliminarily illustrate the cerebral hemodynamic correlates of transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) in consciousness restoration. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) was adopted with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes before and after taVNS in 10 qualified patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). Before taVNS, five patients responded to auditory stimuli (RtAS), and five did not respond to auditory stimuli (nRtAS). The RtAS DOC patients obtained favorable prognoses after the 4-week taVNS treatment, whereas the nRtAS ones did not. Simultaneously, taVNS increased CBF of multiple brain regions in the RtAS DOC patients, but hardly in the nRtAS ones. In conclusion, the preserved auditory function might be the prior key factor of the taVNS responders in DOC patients, and taVNS might alleviate RtAS DOC by activating the salience network, the limbic system, and the interoceptive system.

Published in Frontiers in Neurology

ISSN: 1664-2295 (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
Website: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/

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