Thompson, Nicole;
Ravagli, Enrico;
Mastitskaya, Svetlana;
Iacoviello, Francesco;
Stathopoulou, Thaleia-Rengina;
Perkins, Justin;
Shearing, Paul R;
... Holder, David; + view all
(2023)
Organotopic organization of the porcine mid-cervical vagus nerve.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
, 17
, Article 963503. 10.3389/fnins.2023.963503.
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Abstract
Introduction: Despite detailed characterization of fascicular organization of somatic nerves, the functional anatomy of fascicles evident in human and large mammal cervical vagus nerve is unknown. The vagus nerve is a prime target for intervention in the field of electroceuticals due to its extensive distribution to the heart, larynx, lungs, and abdominal viscera. However, current practice of the approved vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) technique is to stimulate the entire nerve. This produces indiscriminate stimulation of non-targeted effectors and undesired side effects. Selective neuromodulation is now a possibility with a spatially-selective vagal nerve cuff. However, this requires the knowledge of the fascicular organization at the level of cuff placement to inform selectivity of only the desired target organ or function. / Methods and results: We imaged function over milliseconds with fast neural electrical impedance tomography and selective stimulation, and found consistent spatially separated regions within the nerve correlating with the three fascicular groups of interest, suggesting organotopy. This was independently verified with structural imaging by tracing anatomical connections from the end organ with microCT and the development of an anatomical map of the vagus nerve. This confirmed organotopic organization. / Discussion: Here we show, for the first time, localized fascicles in the porcine cervical vagus nerve which map to cardiac, pulmonary and recurrent laryngeal function (N = 4). These findings pave the way for improved outcomes in VNS as unwanted side effects could be reduced by targeted selective stimulation of identified organ-specific fiber-containing fascicles and the extension of this technique clinically beyond the currently approved disorders to treat heart failure, chronic inflammatory disorders, and more.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Organotopic organization of the porcine mid-cervical vagus nerve |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fnins.2023.963503 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.963503 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2023 Thompson, Ravagli, Mastitskaya, Iacoviello, Stathopoulou, Perkins, Shearing, Aristovich and Holder. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
| Keywords: | vagus nerve, fascicular anatomy, fascicles, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuromodulation, selective stimulation, organotopic organization |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Med Phys and Biomedical Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10169723 |
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