PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Adding vagus nerve stimulation to training sessions may boost how well sounds are perceived

2024-10-09
(Press-News.org) Just as a musician can train to more sharply distinguish subtle differences in pitch, mammals can improve their ability to interpret hearing, vision, and other senses with practice. This process, which is called perceptual learning, may be enhanced by activating a major nerve that connects the brain to nearly every organ in the body, a new study in mice shows.

Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the investigation centers on the vagus nerve, which carries signals between the brain and the heart, digestive system, and other organs. Experts have long explored targeting this nerve with mild electrical pulses to treat a wide variety of conditions ranging from epilepsy and depression to posttraumatic stress disorder and hearing disorders. Results of such efforts have been mixed, however, and the underlying mechanisms that might lead to improved hearing had until now remained unclear.

To more closely examine whether vagus nerve stimulation can boost perceptual learning, the study team trained 38 mice to tell apart musical tones. At first, performance improved for all animals, which made fewer and fewer mistakes over time. However, while those without the treatment maxed out after about a week of training, rodents that received nerve stimulation continued to get better at the task, making roughly 10% fewer errors on average for most tests than they did prior to simulation. In addition, mice in this group made half as many mistakes as their counterparts on the most challenging assessments, in which they needed to distinguish very similar tones.

“Our findings suggest that activating the vagus nerve during training can push past the limits of what animals, and perhaps even humans, can learn to perceive,” said study lead author Kathleen Martin, BS, a graduate student at the Neuroscience Institute at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

In a second part of the investigation, the researchers assessed how and where vagus nerve stimulation affects the brain. The results revealed that the technique boosts activity in the cholinergic basal forebrain, a region involved in attention and memory. When the team instead suppressed this area during nerve activation, rodents did not gain additional learning benefits.

In addition, the team showed that vagus nerve stimulation increased neuroplasticity, a process in which brain cells become more able to adapt to new experiences and form memories, in the auditory cortex, the brain’s main center of hearing. This can lead to long-term cellular changes that allow new skills to endure well after training occurred, says Martin.

She notes that targeting the vagus nerve to boost hearing has previously been controversial among experts, with past studies in animals failing to show significant improvements.

The new study, which published online Sept. 16 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, suggests that the method can indeed work, although results took longer to show up than researchers initially expected, the authors say. This delay, Martin adds, might in part arise because the electrical pulses used in the technique can distract test animals, which may need time to adjust to the sensation.

The authors note that using vagus nerve stimulation to enhance hearing has potential applications far beyond maximizing musical ability. Perceptual learning is a key component of both understanding a new language and adjusting to cochlear implants, neuroprosthetic tools used to restore hearing loss. Notably, patients often take months to adjust to these devices and many continue to struggle with conversations even after years of use.

“These results highlight the potential of vagus nerve stimulation to speed up hearing improvements from cochlear implants,” said study senior author Robert Froemke, PhD. “By boosting perceptual learning, this method might make it easier for implant recipients to communicate with others, hear cars approaching, and engage more effectively with the world around them.”

Froemke, the Skirball Professor of Genetics in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says that the electrical stimulator devices currently used to activate the vagus nerve are only a few centimeters across and can be implanted in an out-patient surgical procedure. Some devices, such as those used to ease migraines, are even less invasive and are simply held against the skin of the neck.

Based on their findings, the researchers next plan to test vagus nerve stimulation in rodents with cochlear implants to see if it improves their function, says Froemke, also a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Also a member of NYU Langone’s Neuroscience Institute, Froemke cautions that since the vagus nerve is much larger and more complex in humans than in mice, the effects of stimulating it may differ and therefore warrant further testing in human patients.

Funding for the study was provided by National Institutes of Health grant DC012557. Further study funding was provided by the United States Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation.

In addition to Martin and Froemke, other NYU Langone researchers involved in the study are Eleni Papadoyannis, MA; Jennifer Schiavo, PhD; Saba Shokat Fadaei, MS; Habon Issa, BS; Soomin Song, PhD; and Sofia Orrey Valencia, BS. Other study co-investigators include Nesibe Temiz, PhD, at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland; Matthew McGinley, PhD, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Tex.; and David McCormick, PhD, at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Media Inquiries:
Shira Polan
Phone: 212-404-4279
shira.polan@nyulangone.org

 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

ACS president comments on award of 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2024-10-09
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2024 — On behalf of the American Chemical Society (ACS), President Mary K. Carroll congratulates today’s winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: David Baker, of the University of Washington; Demis Hassabis, of Google DeepMind; and John M. Jumper, of Google DeepMind. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize with one half to Baker “for computational protein design” and the other half jointly to Hassabis and Jumper “for protein structure prediction.” “This incredibly complex problem of predicting the 3D structures of proteins from the sequence of amino acids has been one of the biggest challenges ...

Effect of tele-ICU on clinical outcomes of critically ill patients

2024-10-09
About The Study: Daily multidisciplinary rounds conducted by a board-certified intensivist through telemedicine did not reduce intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay in critically ill adult patients. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Adriano J. Pereira, M.D., Ph.D., email adrianojop@einstein.br. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.20651) Editor’s Note: Please ...

Restrictive vs liberal transfusion strategy in patients with acute brain injury

2024-10-09
About The Study: Patients with acute brain injury and anemia randomized to a liberal transfusion strategy were less likely to have an unfavorable neurological outcome than those randomized to a restrictive strategy. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Fabio Silvio Taccone, MD, PhD, email fabio.taccone@ulb.be. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.20424) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict ...

Extracorporeal blood purification and acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery

2024-10-09
About The Study: The use of a nonselective extracorporeal blood purification device connected to the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit in a nonemergent population of patients undergoing cardiac surgery was associated with a significant reduction of cardiac surgery–associated acute kidney injury in the first 7 days after surgery. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Xose L. Perez-Fernandez, PhD, MD, email xose74@gmail.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

Frequency of screening and spontaneous breathing trial techniques

2024-10-09
About The Study: Among critically ill adults who received invasive mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours, screening frequency (once-daily vs more frequent screening) and spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) technique (pressure-supported vs T-piece SBT) did not change the time to successful extubation. However, an unexpected and statistically significant interaction was identified; protocolized more frequent screening combined with pressure-supported SBTs increased the time to first successful ...

International collaboration addresses rising cancer rates in South America

International collaboration addresses rising cancer rates in South America
2024-10-09
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [October 9, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—an alliance of leading cancer centers in the United States—announces a renewed collaboration with the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG) to improve cancer outcomes in South America. The international oncology organizations worked together to publish new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Prostate Cancer: Brazil Edition. The NCCN Guidelines® for Prostate Cancer: Brazil Edition are now available free-of-charge at NCCN.org/global. Additional Brazilian adaptations of NCCN Guidelines ...

The secret to slimming? Special ‘skinny genes’ double weight loss

2024-10-09
The secret to losing weight could all be down to a combination of 14 ‘skinny genes’, a new study has found.   University of Essex researchers discovered they helped people drop twice as much weight when they ran for half an hour three times a week.   The team - led by Dr Henry Chung, from the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences - found those with more of the genes slimmed the most across eight weeks.   People with the most markers lost up to 5kg during the study and people without ...

Study finds persistent infection could explain long COVID in some people

2024-10-09
EMBARGOED UNTIL OCTOBER 9, 2024 AT 6:30 AM ET Brigham researchers found people with wide-ranging long COVID symptoms were twice as likely to have SARS-CoV-2 proteins in their blood, compared to those without long COVID symptoms A persistent infection could explain why some people experience long COVID symptoms, according to a new study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. The team found evidence of persistent infection in 43 percent of participants with cardiopulmonary, ...

COVID-19 infection appeared to increase risk of heart attack & stroke up to 3 years later

2024-10-09
Research Highlights: An analysis of UK Biobank health data that included adults who had mild to severe COVID-19 before vaccines were available found an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and death among those adults during the nearly three-year follow-up period after COVID infection. The elevated risk of heart attack, stroke and death linked to COVID-19 infection was found to be comparable to cardiovascular risk factors such as Type 2 diabetes, peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular disease. The study found that having a non-O blood type (A, B, AB) was associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke among ...

History of COVID-19 doubles long-term risk of heart attack, stroke and death

2024-10-09
Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Cleveland:  A history of COVID-19 can double the risk of heart attack, stroke or death according to new research led by Cleveland Clinic and the University of Southern California. The study found that people with any type of COVID-19 infection were twice as likely to have a major cardiac event, such as heart attack, stroke or even death, for up to three years after diagnosis. The risk was significantly higher for patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and more of a determinant than a previous history of heart disease. Further genetic analysis ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

A step toward plant-based gelatin

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

[Press-News.org] Adding vagus nerve stimulation to training sessions may boost how well sounds are perceived