Researchers At UT Dallas Conduct Studies In Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Researchers at the University of Texas in Dallas have found that certain movements or sounds, when used with nerve stimulation, has the capability to reorganize or alter the rate of activity of the brain.

Dr. Robert Rennaker, an associate professor at the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, explains the objective behind these studies, in saying, “Our goal is to use the brain’s natural neuro-modulatory systems to enhance treatments for neurological conditions ranging from chronic pain to motor disorders. Future studies will investigate its effectiveness in treating cognitive impairments.”

Publishing the findings in Cerebral Cortex, the researchers paired vagus nerve stimulation along with sounds and specific movements on rats to verify whether this increases the speed with which the brain works or changes the primary motor cortex.

In both experiments, the results were positive, only with the groups where sounds or movements were paired with nerve stimulation. With the success of the second experiment, it is now considered possible that people who have suffered brain trauma or a stroke can now be rehabilitated by repeated movement of the affected limb.

In fact, this study has concluded with the finding that standard therapy coupled with vagus nerve stimulation will lead to a comprehensive and quick reorganization of the brain, and which will prove to be instrumental in the speedy and complete recovery of a stroke patient.

Also, the other study which involved vagus nerve stimulation along with audio tones of varying speeds led to neural plasticity in the auditory cortex, and which can play a role in treating tinnitus properly.