Vagus nerve stimulation-induced cognitive enhancement: Hippocampal neuroplasticity in healthy male rats.

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) improves cognition in humans and rodents, but the effects of a single session of VNS on performance and plasticity are not well understood.

Objective: Behavioral performance and hippocampal (HC) electrophysiology/neurotrophin expression were measured in healthy adult rats after VNS paired training to investigate changes in cognition and synaptic plasticity.

Methods: Platinum/iridium electrodes were surgically implanted around the left cervical branch of the VN of anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 47).