Neurorehabilitation with vagus nerve stimulation: a systematic review

This review examines the use of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) combined with rehabilitation therapy to improve motor recovery after stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and spinal cord injury (SCI). VNS involves stimulating the vagus nerve, which can be done non-invasively or invasively. The review included studies on animals and humans. Animal studies showed consistent improvements in motor outcomes when VNS was paired with rehabilitation. Human studies also showed a trend toward improvement, but invasive VNS was associated with more severe adverse events. The authors conclude that VNS paired with rehabilitation may improve motor outcomes after stroke in humans, but more studies are needed, especially for TBI and SCI. Further research should focus on comparing different methods of VNS delivery and quantifying the risks and benefits.

• 1
  In animal studies, pairing VNS with rehabilitation therapy consistently improved motor outcomes compared to controls across stroke, TBI, and SCI models.
• 2
  Human studies, both invasive and non-invasive, generally showed a trend toward improvement in motor outcomes with VNS compared to sham controls after stroke.
• 3
  Invasive VNS studies reported more severe adverse events, such as vocal cord palsy and surgical site infection, compared to non-invasive VNS methods.