The strange case of the ear and the heart: The auricular vagus nerve and its influence on cardiac control
Aaron R Murray, Lucy Atkinson, Mohd K Mahadi, Susan A Deuchars, Jim Deuchars, Aaron R Murray, Lucy Atkinson, Mohd K Mahadi, Susan A Deuchars, Jim Deuchars
Abstract
The human ear seems an unlikely candidate for therapies aimed at improving cardiac function, but the ear and the heart share a common connection: the vagus nerve. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (ABVN), a unique cutaneous subdivision of the vagus distributed to the external ear. Non-invasive electrical stimulation of this nerve through the skin may offer a simple, cost-effective alternative to the established method of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which requires a surgical procedure and has generated mixed results in a number of clinical trials for heart failure. This review discusses the available evidence in support of modulating cardiac activity using this strange auricular nerve.
Keywords: Auricular; Autonomic; Heart; Sympathetic; Vagus; Vagus nerve stimulation.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Source: PubMed