Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: The vagus nerve (VN) connects the brainstem to the viscera to regulate many physiological functions. Mapping the VN with state-of-the-art high-resolution imaging modalities has tremendous potential to improve the safety and efficacy of existing autonomic neuromodulation therapies and to inform design of new therapies. We developed the most comprehensive mapping pipeline of the VN to date, from the perspectives of sample size, lengths of nerve, and range of imaging modalities. Our pipeline maps cadaveric human vagal anatomy with complementary imaging modalities applied serially to the same tissue: pre-dissection MRI, pre-dissection CT, 3D tracing of the dissected nerve in situ, CT of the excised nerve, microCT, histology, and a novel serial block-face imaging technique, “3D-MUSE”. The resulting co-registered data enable quantification of gross anatomy, fascicular morphology, and fiber organization in three dimensions. We demonstrated the utility of the data by implementing anatomically realistic computational models of vagus nerve stimulation. These approaches and resulting anatomical data will seed and accelerate the development of novel neuromodulation therapies to treat diseases.
Source: Research Square
Authors: Nicole Pelot, Ian Baumgart, Ari Blitz, Brandon Brunsman, Eleana Cintron, Jennifer Coleman, Andrew Crofton, Jennifer D'Silva, Chris Flask, Aniya Hartzler, Daniel Herzka, Proapa Islam, Michael Jenkins, Talya Jeter, Naomi Joseph, Beverly Koepf, Chaitanya Kolluru, Shruti Kumari, Valerie Lam, Leina Lunasco, Michael Markley, Noa Nuzov, Ashley Onabiyi, Tatiana Pascol, Rebecca Prince, Zeyna Samba, James Seckler, Anandakumar Shunmugavel, Mallika Singh, Sunah Song, Aniruddha Upadhye, David Wilson, Katharine Workman, Jichu Zhang, Andrew Shoffstall
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, Case School of Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, University of South Florida, Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration, National Institutes of Health, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
OpenAlex ID: W4415344926