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https://hdl.handle.net/11055/1288| Book Title: | Vagus Nerve Stimulation | Chapter No./Title: | Chapter 15 - Vagus nerve stimulation for the management of chronic pain | Chapter Authors/Editors: | Russo M Chakravarthy K Kinfe TM Staats PS Ayata C Lerman I Abd-Elsayed A |
Issue Date: | 2025 | Publisher: | Academic Press | Description: | Abstract The vagus nerve, a crucial component of the parasympathetic nervous system, plays a pivotal role in regulating autonomic balance. Originating in the brain stem, it serves as a link between the higher brain centers, autonomic nervous system, central and peripheral nervous systems, immune system, and visceral organs through extensive branching and afferent/efferent innervation. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has proven effective in treating refractory epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression, while also showing promise in managing chronic pain. Its potential analgesic effects have been demonstrated in animals, with comparable effects documented in epilepsy patients with implanted VNS devices. Further support comes from experimental pain studies in healthy humans and neuroimaging studies. Potential benefits have also been explored in primary headache disorders, fibromyalgia, visceral and pelvic pain, and other pain conditions using modern noninvasive systems. Proposed mechanisms for the analgesic effects of VNS include activation of the cholinergic antiinflammatory pathway and modulation of spinal nociceptive transmission. Future research may focus on central sensitization states and pain conditions in which widespread brain-immune interaction is involved. | URI: | https://hdl.handle.net/11055/1288 | ISBN: | 978-0-12-816996-4 |
| Appears in Collections: | Scholarly and Clinical |
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