Frontiers in Network Physiology, 2023/07, 31205476. doi: 10.3389/fnetp.2023.1205476, type of study: ,cct,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Free full text   (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnetp.2023.1205476/full)

Keywords:

brain networks [1]
controlled clinical trial [324]
enteric nervous system [4]
epilepsy [9]
gut-brain axis [5]
vagus nerve [8]
visceral osteopathy [99]

Abstract:

Non-invasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation elicits similar therapeutic effects as invasive vagus nerve stimulation, offering a potential treatment alternative for a wide range of diseases, including epilepsy. Here, we present a novel, non-invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve, which is performed manually viscero-osteopathically on the abdomen (voVNS). We explore the impact of short-term voVNS on various local and global characteristics of EEG-derived, large-scale evolving functional brain networks from a group of 20 subjects with and without epilepsy. We observe differential voVNS-mediated alterations of these characteristics that can be interpreted as a reconfiguration and modification of networks and their stability and robustness properties. Clearly, future studies are necessary to assess the impact of such a non-pharmaceutical intervention on clinical decision-making in the treatment of epilepsy. However, our findings may add to the current discussion on the importance of the gut-brain axis in health and disease.