Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Blanz, SL; Musselman, ED; Settell, ML; Knudsen, BE; Nicolai, EN; Trevathan, JK; Verner, RS; Begnaud, J; Skubal, AC; Suminski, AJ; Williams, JC ...
Published in: Journal of neural engineering
February 2023

Electrical stimulation of the cervical vagus nerve using implanted electrodes (VNS) is FDA-approved for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, treatment-resistant depression, and most recently, chronic ischemic stroke rehabilitation. However, VNS is critically limited by the unwanted stimulation of nearby neck muscles-a result of non-specific stimulation activating motor nerve fibers within the vagus. Prior studies suggested that precise placement of small epineural electrodes can modify VNS therapeutic effects, such as cardiac responses. However, it remains unclear if placement can alter the balance between intended effect and limiting side effect. We used an FDA investigational device exemption approved six-contact epineural cuff to deliver VNS in pigs and quantified how epineural electrode location impacts on- and off-target VNS activation. Detailed post-mortem histology was conducted to understand how the underlying neuroanatomy impacts observed functional responses. Here we report the discovery and characterization of clear neuroanatomy-dependent differences in threshold and saturation for responses related to both effect (change in heart rate) and side effect (neck muscle contractions). The histological and electrophysiological data were used to develop and validate subject-specific computation models of VNS, creating a well-grounded quantitative framework to optimize electrode location-specific activation of nerve fibers governing intended effect versus unwanted side effect.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Journal of neural engineering

DOI

EISSN

1741-2552

ISSN

1741-2560

Publication Date

February 2023

Volume

20

Issue

1

Related Subject Headings

  • Vagus Nerve Stimulation
  • Vagus Nerve
  • Swine
  • Heart Rate
  • Heart
  • Electrodes, Implanted
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Animals
  • 4003 Biomedical engineering
  • 3209 Neurosciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Blanz, S. L., Musselman, E. D., Settell, M. L., Knudsen, B. E., Nicolai, E. N., Trevathan, J. K., … Ludwig, K. A. (2023). Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect. Journal of Neural Engineering, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-2552/acb3fd
Blanz, Stephan L., Eric D. Musselman, Megan L. Settell, Bruce E. Knudsen, Evan N. Nicolai, James K. Trevathan, Ryan S. Verner, et al. “Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect.Journal of Neural Engineering 20, no. 1 (February 2023). https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-2552/acb3fd.
Blanz SL, Musselman ED, Settell ML, Knudsen BE, Nicolai EN, Trevathan JK, et al. Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect. Journal of neural engineering. 2023 Feb;20(1).
Blanz, Stephan L., et al. “Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect.Journal of Neural Engineering, vol. 20, no. 1, Feb. 2023. Epmc, doi:10.1088/1741-2552/acb3fd.
Blanz SL, Musselman ED, Settell ML, Knudsen BE, Nicolai EN, Trevathan JK, Verner RS, Begnaud J, Skubal AC, Suminski AJ, Williams JC, Shoffstall AJ, Grill WM, Pelot NA, Ludwig KA. Spatially selective stimulation of the pig vagus nerve to modulate target effect versus side effect. Journal of neural engineering. 2023 Feb;20(1).
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of neural engineering

DOI

EISSN

1741-2552

ISSN

1741-2560

Publication Date

February 2023

Volume

20

Issue

1

Related Subject Headings

  • Vagus Nerve Stimulation
  • Vagus Nerve
  • Swine
  • Heart Rate
  • Heart
  • Electrodes, Implanted
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Animals
  • 4003 Biomedical engineering
  • 3209 Neurosciences