The vagus nerve is the longest and most advanced of the 12 cranial nerves. It transmits data to or from the mind’s floor to tissues and organs elsewhere within the physique. It’s liable for regulating inside organ features, comparable to digestion, coronary heart fee, and respiratory fee, in addition to vasomotor exercise and reflex actions, comparable to coughing, sneezing, swallowing, and vomiting.
An irregular vagal tone with minimal coronary heart fee variability has been related to circumstances comparable to diabetes, coronary heart failure, and hypertension. Conversely, the best vagal method could signify a excessive variability between heartbeats.
Within the early 2000s, researchers began to indicate that vagus nerve stimulation may assist some sufferers who have been severely depressed and had not responded to different remedies. By 2005, the Meals and Drug Administration had permitted implantable pulse-generating gadgets that despatched electrical alerts to the vagus nerve to be used in sufferers with treatment-resistant melancholy.
Related gadgets have additionally been supported for weight problems — to assist management emotions of starvation and fullness. As well as, inside vagus nerve stimulation to deal with irritation may have purposes for psychiatric issues comparable to PTSD. Different circumstances improved by stimulating the vagus nerve embody epilepsy, diabetes, and inflammatory autoimmune circumstances comparable to Crohn’s illness or rheumatoid arthritis.
Dwelling treatments that enhance vagus tome embody holding the breath and submerging the face in chilly water. The method can set off the “diving reflex,” a response that slows the heartbeat and constricts blood vessels. Some individuals who have tried it report that it has a relaxing impact and might even cut back insomnia. Others wrap an ice pack in a fabric and place it on their chest to alleviate nervousness.
Picture credit score: Manu5, through Wikimedia Commons
Learn the article: This nerve influences almost each inside organ. Can it enhance our psychological state, too?
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