Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation Pre-Treatment Reduces Neurological Dysfunction After Closed Head Injury in Mice

Andreia Morais; Joon Yong Chung; Limin Wu; Cenk Ayata; Bruce Simon; Michael J Whalen

doi:10.1089/neur.2023.0058

Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation Pre-Treatment Reduces Neurological Dysfunction After Closed Head Injury in Mice

Neurotrauma Rep. 2024 Feb 29;5(1):150-158. doi: 10.1089/neur.2023.0058. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Andreia Morais¹, Joon Yong Chung², Limin Wu², Cenk Ayata¹, Bruce Simon³, Michael J Whalen²

Affiliations

¹ Neurovascular Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.
³ ElectroCore, Inc., Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA.

Abstract

Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) has recently been suggested as a potential therapy for traumatic brain injury (TBI). We previously demonstrated that nVNS inhibits cortical spreading depolarization, the electrophysiological event underlying migraine aura, and is relevant to TBI. Our past work also suggests a role for interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in cognitive deficits after closed head injury (CHI) in mice. We show that nVNS pre-treatment suppresses CHI-associated spatial learning and memory impairment and prevents IL-1β activation in injured neurons, but not endothelial cells. In contrast, nVNS administered 10 min after CHI was ineffective. These data suggest that nVNS prophylaxis might ameliorate neuronal dysfunction associated with CHI in populations at high risk for concussive TBI.

Keywords: closed head injury; inflammation; vagus nerve stimulation.