Frequency-Specific Effects of Noninvasive Median Nerve Stimulation on Gastric Slow Wave Activity in Humans.

Objectives: The present study explored the effects of different frequencies of noninvasive median nerve stimulation (nMNS) on two autonomic responses: gastric slow waves under water-loading condition and heart rate variability (HRV). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to document the effects of different frequencies of nMNS on gastric slow waves (GSW) in humans under 5-minute water-loading condition.

Materials And Methods: Twenty healthy adult participants were fitted with a noninvasive body-surface gastric mapping, electrocardiogram (ECG), and a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation device and administered with four different nMNS frequencies (placebo-0 Hz, 40 Hz, 120 Hz, and 200 Hz) on four separate counterbalanced days.

Prediction and detection of virtual reality induced cybersickness: a spiking neural network approach using spatiotemporal EEG brain data and heart rate variability.

Virtual Reality (VR) allows users to interact with 3D immersive environments and has the potential to be a key technology across many domain applications, including access to a future metaverse. Yet, consumer adoption of VR technology is limited by cybersickness (CS)-a debilitating sensation accompanied by a cluster of symptoms, including nausea, oculomotor issues and dizziness. A leading problem is the lack of automated objective tools to predict or detect CS in individuals, which can then be used for resistance training, timely warning systems or clinical intervention.

Non-Contact Assessment of Swallowing Dysfunction Using Smartphone Captured Skin Displacements.

Early and accurate dysphagia diagnosis is essential for reducing the risk of associated co-morbidities and mortalities. Barriers to current evaluation methods may alter the effectiveness of identifying at-risk patients. This preliminary study evaluates the feasibility of using iPhone X-captured videos of swallowing as a non-contact dysphagia screening tool.

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Normalizes Induced Gastric Myoelectrical Dysrhythmias in Controls Assessed by Body-Surface Gastric Mapping.

Objectives: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (TaVNS) is a supplementary treatment for gastric symptoms resulting from dysrhythmias. The main objective of this study was to quantify the effects of 10, 40, and 80 Hz TaVNS and sham in healthy individuals in response to a 5-minute water-load (WL5) test.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen healthy volunteers aged between 21 and 55 years (body mass index: 27.

Non-contact neuromodulation of the human autonomic nervous system function different odors: Sex, menstrual cycle, and odor dose- and duration-specific effects.

Unlabelled: In recent decades, it has been uncovered that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) can be influenced using non-contact neuromodulation odor stimulation. Increasing parasympathetic-vagal activation of the ANS is integral to improving the sympathovagal balance between the sympathetic- and parasympathetic nervous systems, which is often imbalanced in several chronic inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases. Although research into olfactory stimulation has been observed on the ANS, it is still lacking in the exploration of odor concentration and odor-specific effects.

Machine learning methods for the study of cybersickness: a systematic review.

This systematic review offers a world-first critical analysis of machine learning methods and systems, along with future directions for the study of cybersickness induced by virtual reality (VR). VR is becoming increasingly popular and is an important part of current advances in human training, therapies, entertainment, and access to the metaverse. Usage of this technology is limited by cybersickness, a common debilitating condition experienced upon VR immersion.

Hand Pronation-Supination Movement as a Proxy for Remotely Monitoring Gait and Posture Stability in Parkinson's Disease.

The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is a subjective Parkinson's Disease (PD) physician scoring/monitoring system. To date, there is no single upper limb wearable/non-contact system that can be used objectively to assess all UPDRS-III motor system subgroups (i.e.

Investigation of the Optimal Parameters of Median Nerve Stimulation Using a Variety of Stimulation Methods and Its Effects on Heart Rate Variability: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: There is a wealth of literature supporting the use of median nerve stimulation (MNS) for modulating autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction such as in hypoxia, recovery after heart valve replacement, ischemia, and cardiac contractibility. Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered a gold standard for measuring autonomic modulation and dynamic nonlinear ANS processes through the use of an electrocardiogram (ECG). Although the use of MNS on HRV in animals and humans has been documented, optimal stimulation parameters are yet to be outlined.

Directional effects of whole-body spinning and visual flow in virtual reality on vagal neuromodulation.

Background: Neural circuits allow whole-body yaw rotation to modulate vagal parasympathetic activity, which alters beat-to-beat variation in heart rate. The overall output of spinning direction, as well as vestibular-visual interactions on vagal activity still needs to be investigated.

Objective: This study investigated direction-dependent effects of visual and natural vestibular stimulation on two autonomic responses: heart rate variability (HRV) and pupil diameter.

Human and Human-Interfaced AI Interactions: Modulation of Human Male Autonomic Nervous System via Pupil Mimicry.

Pupillary alterations in virtual humans induce neurophysiological responses within an observer. Technological advances have enabled rapid developments in artificial intelligence (AI), from verbal systems, to visual AI interfaces with the ability to express, and respond to emotional states of a user. Visual AI interfaces are able to change their physical parameters, such as pupil diameter.

Optimized Electrode Placements for Non-invasive Electrical Stimulation of the Olfactory Bulb and Olfactory Mucosa.

The olfactory system is known to be dysfunctional in the early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is also shown that intact olfactory function can be a key role player for regaining consciousness after brain injuries. Modulation of the olfactory regions has been attempted successfully with electrical stimulation over the years, either directly (transethmoidally, intraoperatively, internasally, etc.

Neuromodulation of the Pineal Gland via Electrical Stimulation of Its Sympathetic Innervation Pathway.

Stimulation of the pineal gland via its sympathetic innervation pathway results in the production of N-acetylserotonin and melatonin. Melatonin has many therapeutic roles and is heavily implicated in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. In addition, N-acetylserotonin has recently been reported to promote neurogenesis in the brain.

The effects of low-and high-frequency non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) on gastric slow waves evaluated using in vivo high-resolution mapping in porcine.

Backgrounds: Gastric motility is regulated by an electrophysiological activity called slow-wave and neuronal innervations by the vagus nerve. Transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been demonstrated to have therapeutic potential for a wide range of medical conditions, including the management of gastric dysfunctions. The main objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of how non-invasive neuromodulation influences gastric slow wave under in vivo conditions.

A Randomised Control Trial and Comparative Analysis of Multi-Dimensional Learning Tools in Anatomy.

This article presents the results of a study that examined students' ability to retain what they have learned in an anatomy course after thirty days via using various learning tools for twenty minutes. Fifty-two second-year medical students were randomly assigned to three learning tools: text-only, three-dimension visualisation in a two-dimensional screen (3DM), or mixed reality (MR). An anatomy test lasting for twenty minutes measuring spatial and nominal knowledge was taken immediately after the learning intervention and another thirty days later.

Concerning Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation: Occult Neural Networks.

Auricular vagal nerve stimulation (AVNS) is an evolving neuromodulation technology that has a wide range of therapeutic applications across multiple disciplines of medical science. To date, AVNS results had been interpreted in the context of a monolog concept of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (ABVN): that this is the sole network of the mechanism of action and/or structure in the auricular area of the stimulation in the context of activations in the brainstem nuclei, including the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), locus coeruleus (LC), trigeminal brainstem nuclei, and the nucleus cuneatus. This review considers the overlooked aspects of neural networks, connections, hijacking axons from cranial nerves and cervical sympathetic ganglions, the inhomogeneous distribution of perivascular sympathetic nerves, and intrinsic/extrinsic auricular muscles in the auricular zone that can explain the vagal and non-vagal nucleus activations in AVNS.

Afferent projections of the subthalamic nucleus in the rat: emphasis on bilateral and interhemispheric connections.

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is important for normal movement as well as in movement disorders. The STN is a target nuclei in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a standard surgical treatment for PD.

Peri-arterial Autonomic Innervation of the Human Ear.

Auricular vasomotor responses are considered to be signs of clinical conditions including migraine. The mechanisms of auricular vasomotor control are still debatable. This study aimed at investigating perivascular co-transmitters of vasomotor control in the auricle.

Comparison of cerebral ventricular volumes and cortical thicknesses in normal rats and Genetic Absence Epilepsy (GAERS): A developmental study.

Ventricular enlargement and cortical atrophy have been associated with various central nervous system diseases. The aim of the present study was to measure the volumes of the lateral (LV) and third (3V) ventricles and to determine the cortical thickness for the motor (MCx), somatosensory (SSCx), visual (VCx) and auditory (AuCx) cortex and the striatum of Wistar rats, in a developmental series at 10, 20, 30, and 60 days postnatal, and to compare them with similar data from genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS). Serial sections were taken from the brains of Wistar and GAERS animals and were Nissl stained.

Cervical vagus nerve morphometry and vascularity in the context of nerve stimulation - A cadaveric study.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has become a well-established therapy for epilepsy and depression, and is emerging to treat inflammatory disease, with the cervical vagus nerve (CVN) as major stimulation site. CVN morphometries are missing for VNS, considering its variability. Morphometric data were obtained from CVNs in 27 cadavers, including branching patterns and histology.

Neuroprosthetics for Auricular Muscles: Neural Networks and Clinical Aspects.

The mammalian external ear houses extrinsic and intrinsic auricular muscles. There are three extrinsic auricular muscles-the posterior, superior, and anterior auricular muscles-and six intrinsic muscles-the helicis major and minor, tragicus, anti-tragicus, transverse and oblique muscles. These muscles have been considered vestigial in humans.

The modulatory role of pre-SMA in speed-accuracy tradeoff: A bi-directional TMS study.

Many perceptual decisions are inevitably subject to the tradeoff between speed and accuracy of choices (SAT). Sequential sampling models attribute this ubiquitous relation to random noise in the sensory evidence accumulation process, and assume that SAT is adaptively modulated by altering the decision thresholds at which the level of integrated evidence should reach for making a choice. Although, neuroimaging studies have shown a relationship between right presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) activity and threshold setting, only a limited number of brain stimulation studies aimed at establishing the causal link, results of which were inconsistent.

Early Onset of Atherosclerosis of The Carotid Bifurcation in Newborn Cadavers.

Introduction: The anatomy of arterial bifurcations affects blood flow and has a significant role in the development of vascular disease. Therefore, it is important to know the structural characteristics of the Common Carotid Artery (CCA) and its branches for early onset of atherosclerosis in newborns.

Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of CCA in newborn cadavers.

Decreasing the Uterine Blood Flow with Electroacupuncture: Bidermatomal and Monodermatomal Applications.

Background: Previously we demonstrated a uterine fibroma case in which the decrease in the uterine artery blood flow was obtained with bidermatomal electroacupuncture (EA). A prospective study was conducted to validate the efficacy of bidermatomal and monodermatomal EA applications.

Methods: Ten healthy women participated 3 times for 3 steps of the study.