The strange case of the ear and the heart: The auricular vagus nerve and its influence on cardiac control.

AR Murray, MK Mahadi, SA Deuchars, J Deuchars, Lucy Atkinson

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    32 Citations (Scopus)
    201 Downloads (Pure)

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)48-53
    JournalAutonomic Neuroscience
    Early online date28 Jun 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 28 Jun 2016

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