Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has gained growing interest as a non-invasive and non-pharmacologic treatment option in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Animal experiments and clinical trials confirm that taVNS at the auricular concha region has beneficial eff...
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doaj-c83248f8de064cc784648f88227972182020-11-25T02:59:53ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2020-07-011410.3389/fnins.2020.00680533179Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model RatsShaoyuan Li0Yu Wang1Guojian Gao2Xiao Guo3Yue Zhang4Zixuan Zhang5Yifei Wang6Jinling Zhang7Junying Wang8Liang Li9Yongsheng Yang10Peijing Rong11Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaChina Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has gained growing interest as a non-invasive and non-pharmacologic treatment option in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Animal experiments and clinical trials confirm that taVNS at the auricular concha region has beneficial effects on depression. However, stimulation frequencies are selected empirically, and there is no evidence showing that any frequency is superior to the others. This study explores antidepressant-like effects of three frequencies of taVNS on rats subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups, i.e., the control, CUMS, 5 Hz-taVNS, 20 Hz-taVNS, and 100 Hz-taVNS groups. The three different frequencies were administered during the 30-min taVNS procedure once a day for 28 consecutive days. Rats exposed to CUMS showed signs of depression-like behaviors, including reduction in sucrose preference and increased immobility time in forced swimming and open field tests as well as significant dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as detected by plasma corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone concentration. The 28 days’ taVNS sessions with three frequencies elicited quite different consequences. Although 20 Hz taVNS significantly reversed the depression-like behaviors and downregulated the hyperactivity of the HPA axis, neither 5 nor 100 Hz showed any antidepressant-like effect on CUMS-induced rat behavior. Based on these results, we propose that, out of the three frequencies for taVNS intervention on depression, 20 Hz may be the optimized frequency to have a better modulation effect on HPA axis function by activating the auricular vagus nerve.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2020.00680/fulltranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)frequencydepressive-like behaviorhypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axischronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Shaoyuan Li Yu Wang Guojian Gao Xiao Guo Yue Zhang Zixuan Zhang Yifei Wang Jinling Zhang Junying Wang Liang Li Yongsheng Yang Peijing Rong |
spellingShingle |
Shaoyuan Li Yu Wang Guojian Gao Xiao Guo Yue Zhang Zixuan Zhang Yifei Wang Jinling Zhang Junying Wang Liang Li Yongsheng Yang Peijing Rong Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats Frontiers in Neuroscience transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) frequency depressive-like behavior hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) |
author_facet |
Shaoyuan Li Yu Wang Guojian Gao Xiao Guo Yue Zhang Zixuan Zhang Yifei Wang Jinling Zhang Junying Wang Liang Li Yongsheng Yang Peijing Rong |
author_sort |
Shaoyuan Li |
title |
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats |
title_short |
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats |
title_full |
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats |
title_fullStr |
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats |
title_full_unstemmed |
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation at 20 Hz Improves Depression-Like Behaviors and Down-Regulates the Hyperactivity of HPA Axis in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress Model Rats |
title_sort |
transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation at 20 hz improves depression-like behaviors and down-regulates the hyperactivity of hpa axis in chronic unpredictable mild stress model rats |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-453X |
publishDate |
2020-07-01 |
description |
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has gained growing interest as a non-invasive and non-pharmacologic treatment option in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Animal experiments and clinical trials confirm that taVNS at the auricular concha region has beneficial effects on depression. However, stimulation frequencies are selected empirically, and there is no evidence showing that any frequency is superior to the others. This study explores antidepressant-like effects of three frequencies of taVNS on rats subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups, i.e., the control, CUMS, 5 Hz-taVNS, 20 Hz-taVNS, and 100 Hz-taVNS groups. The three different frequencies were administered during the 30-min taVNS procedure once a day for 28 consecutive days. Rats exposed to CUMS showed signs of depression-like behaviors, including reduction in sucrose preference and increased immobility time in forced swimming and open field tests as well as significant dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as detected by plasma corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone concentration. The 28 days’ taVNS sessions with three frequencies elicited quite different consequences. Although 20 Hz taVNS significantly reversed the depression-like behaviors and downregulated the hyperactivity of the HPA axis, neither 5 nor 100 Hz showed any antidepressant-like effect on CUMS-induced rat behavior. Based on these results, we propose that, out of the three frequencies for taVNS intervention on depression, 20 Hz may be the optimized frequency to have a better modulation effect on HPA axis function by activating the auricular vagus nerve. |
topic |
transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) frequency depressive-like behavior hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2020.00680/full |
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