Clinical Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paradigms Induce Pronounced Brain and Body Hypothermia in Rats.
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a widely used neuromodulation technique that is currently used or being investigated as therapy for a wide array of human diseases such as epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer's disease, tinnitus, inflammatory diseases, pain, heart failure and many others. Here, we report a pronounced decrease in brain and core temperature during VNS in freely moving rats. Two hours of rapid cycle VNS (7s on/18s off) decreased brain temperature by around [Formula: see text]C, while standard cycle VNS (30[Formula: see text]s on/300[Formula: see text]s off) was associated with a decrease of around [Formula: see text]C. Rectal temperature similarly decreased by more than [Formula: see text]C during rapid cycle VNS. The hypothermic effect triggered by VNS was further associated with a vasodilation response in the tail, which reflects an active heat release mechanism. Despite previous evidence indicating an important role of the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system in therapeutic effects of VNS, lesioning this system with the noradrenergic neurotoxin DSP-4 did not attenuate the hypothermic effect. Since body and brain temperature affect most physiological processes, this finding is of substantial importance for interpretation of several previously published VNS studies and for the future direction of research in the field.
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Lars Emil
LE
Larsen
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Wouter Van
WV
Lysebettens
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Charlotte
C
Germonpré
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Sofie
S
Carrette
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Sofie
S
Daelemans
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Mathieu
M
Sprengers
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Lisa
L
Thyrion
2 Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, 1090GE, The Netherlands.
Wytse Jan
WJ
Wadman
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Evelien
E
Carrette
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Jean
J
Delbeke
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Paul
P
Boon
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Kristl
K
Vonck
1 Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Neuropsychology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Robrecht
R
Raedt
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001596:Benzylamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D014179:Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055536:Vagus Nerve Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014851:Wakefulness
D001596:Benzylamines; D014179:Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors; C012102:DSP 4
EEG; Vagus nerve stimulation; electrophysiology; rat; temperature