Vagus Nerve Stimulation Improves Severe Depression by 70%, Major US Trial Finds
(www.sciencealert.com)
The study was paid for by the device manufacturer.
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You can do mild vagus nerve stimulation with deep breathing, as others have noted, as well as any number of other activities, methods and/or devices.
But speaking solely for myself, I often start meditation with vagus nerve stimulation in its simplest form, that of taking a few deep breaths that are OUT longer than they are IN.
So if I breathe IN for a count of four, I might breathe OUT for a count of seven or eight. My post-covid lungs are not the strongest, but it's not a competition: you just breathe OUT longer than you breathe IN.
I do it two or three times to change speed and for me it has a deeply grounding, settling effect.
I'm sure others have far more formal procedures, but I can't be bothered: this simple one works for me.
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"Vagus nerve stimulation," new kink unlocked?
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This is not the first study I have seen linking Vagus nerve stimulation to a dramatic improvement in mental health. That said, the same results can be achieved through regular abdominal exercises. Crunches, sit-ups, etc, all stimulate the vagus nerve. If you activate your abs regularly, you should achieve the same results as this device.
EDIT: Another link between abdominal work and brain function.
https://www.psypost.org/scientists-discover-a-hydraulic-link-between-the-abdomen-and-the-brain/
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On the subject of the vagus nerve and the brain...
There has been a strong correlation between the vagus nerve and Parkinson's. The vagus nerve goes from the gut straight to the brainstem, that has a neural pathway to the substantia nigra which produces dopamine for muscular control. People who have had their vagus nerve cut due to severe stomach ulcers (vagotomy) have been shown to have a significantly lower rate of Parkinson's. One thought is that the nerve acts as a pathway for toxins to travel from the gut straight to the brain (Braak's Hypothesis). There are also studies into dementia and a "silenced" vagus nerve.
Normally, the vagus nerve tells a part of the brainstem (the locus coeruleus) to spray the hippocampus with a chemical called norepinephrine. This chemical acts like a shield, lowering brain inflammation and protecting memory. If the vagus nerve is damaged or quieted by gut toxins, the hippocampus loses this protective shield, leaving it vulnerable to dementia damage.
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I didn't know what a vagus nerve was, I just assumed stimulating your bean would probably lift your mood.
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I wonder then if other sorts of vagus nerve stimulation are effective. Because you can stimulate your vagus nerve with deep breathing, Valsalva maneuver, and lots of other things.
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It's worth noting the trial was funded by LivaNova, the company that manufactures the VNS device, which has a financial interest in the trial's outcome.
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The US FDA approved VNS for treatment-resistant depression in 2005, though exactly how it works on depression isn't fully understood.
They make a device with no idea of what it does, then fund a study to see if they can call it a miracle.
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Doc, I need my vag stimulated, I'm depressed.
If you poke it enough you can force it to not be depressed for a while but I wonder if that's a good idea in the long term.
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