title: The strange case of the ear and the heart: The auricular vagus nerve and its influence on cardiac control.
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.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aaron R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom; Faculty of Pharmacy, National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohd K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mahadi
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Deuchars
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: J.Deuchars@leeds.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deuchars
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004423:Ear / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055536:Vagus Nerve Stimulation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods
keywords: Auricular; Autonomic; Heart; Sympathetic; Vagus; Vagus nerve stimulation