PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Vanessa Teckentrup
AU  - Sandra Neubert
AU  - João C. P. Santiago
AU  - Manfred Hallschmid
AU  - Martin Walter
AU  - Nils B. Kroemer
TI  - Non-invasive stimulation of vagal afferents reduces gastric frequency
AID  - 10.1101/773259
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 773259
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/25/773259.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/25/773259.full
AB  - Metabolic feedback between the gut and the brain relayed via the vagus nerve contributes to energy homeostasis. We investigated in healthy adults whether non-invasive stimulation of vagal afferents impacts energy homeostasis via efferent effects on metabolism or digestion. In a randomized crossover design, we applied transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) while recording efferent metabolic effects using simultaneous electrogastrography (EGG) and indirect calorimetry. We found that taVNS reduced gastric myoelectric frequency (p =.008), but did not alter resting energy expenditure. We conclude that stimulating vagal afferents induces gastric slowing via vagal efferents without acutely affecting net energy expenditure at rest. Collectively, this highlights the potential of taVNS to modulate digestion by activating the dorsal vagal complex. Thus, taVNS-induced changes in gastric frequency are an important peripheral marker of brain stimulation effects.