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Abstract Vagus nerve stimulation has shown many benefits for disease therapies but current approaches involve imprecise electrical stimulation that gives rise to off-target effects, while the functionally relevant pathways remain poorly understood. One method to overcome these limitations is the use of optogenetic techniques, which facilitate targeted neural communication with light-sensitive actuators (opsins) and can be targeted to organs of interest based on the location of viral delivery. Here, we tested whether retrograde adeno-associated virus (rAAV2-retro) injected in the heart can be used to selectively express opsins in vagus nerve fibers controlling cardiac function. Furthermore, we investigated whether perturbations in cardiac function could be achieved with photostimulation at the cervical vagus nerve. Viral injection in the heart resulted in robust, primarily afferent, opsin reporter expression in the vagus nerve, nodose ganglion, and brainstem. Photostimulation using both one-photon stimulation and two-photon holography with a GRIN-lens incorporated nerve cuff, was tested on the pilot-cohort of injected mice. Changes in heart rate, surface electrocardiogram, and respiratory responses were observed in response to both one- and two-photon photostimulation. The results demonstrate feasibility of retrograde labeling for organ targeted optical neuromodulation.
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Opportunities for growth in the growing field of psychobiotics
There is growing interest in the field of psychobiotics, which are probiotics that confer a mental health benefit when ingested. As this field grows, it should pay particular attention to three areas within psychobiotics research that are currently under-studied – sex (and gender) representation, fungi and the mycobiome, and vagus nerve activity. Giving these three domains more attention is currently feasible without significant increased investment of time or money. We discuss these three domains briefly, why they are of particular relevance for psychobiotics research, and how psychobiotics research can easily integrate their perspectives. Our recommendations are summarised in the conclusion, but include equal sex representation at all phases of research (human and animal studies), investigating the relationship between psychobiotics and commensal fungi, and measuring the activity of the vagus nerve in psychobiotics studies.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2217242
- PAR ID:
- 10512413
- Publisher / Repository:
- Beneficial Microbes
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Beneficial Microbes
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1876-2883
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 445 to 452
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3920/BM2022.0051
