Nerve activity News and Research

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Study uncovers a novel role for the vagus nerve

The vagus nerve, known for its role in 'resting and digesting', has now been found to have an important role in exercise, helping the heart pump blood, which delivers oxygen around the body.

26 Sep 2023

Exploring developmental pathways and disease interactions in nervous and stomatognathic systems

Scientists discuss the intricate relationship between the nervous and stomatognathic systems.

21 Aug 2023

Research opens up the possibility of using muscle sympathetic nerve activity to quantify pain

Measuring stress activity directed to the blood vessels of muscles could allow researchers to measure pain objectively, according to a new study.

21 Apr 2023

Study demonstrates effectiveness of a procedure done under the skin to treat uncontrolled hypertension

Hypertension remains poorly controlled worldwide and is becoming more common. Lifestyle changes and blood pressure-reducing drugs are the mainstays of therapy for hypertension, but despite widespread availability of these approaches, many patients with hypertension are not adequately treated.

17 Mar 2023

Researchers develop new device to non-invasively measure cervical nerve activity

A team of engineers and physicians at University of California San Diego has developed a device to non-invasively measure cervical nerve activity in humans, a new tool that they say could potentially inform and improve treatments for patients with sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, and mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

20 Nov 2022

The brain and fat communicate directly

Researchers examine the sensory innervation of fat cells within subcutaneous fat deposits.

4 Sep 2022

High-frequency spinal cord stimulation proves to be more effective at improving perceived pain reduction

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for chronic pain involves delivering low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord using an implanted device, which modifies or blocks nerve activity to minimize the sensation of pain reaching the brain.

28 Apr 2022

GE-led team uses ultrasound to prevent or reverse Type-2 diabetes in preclinical models

Are we moving closer to the day when diabetes is no longer monitored and managed with blood sugar tests, insulin injections and drug treatments? A GE Research-led team, which includes The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, Yale School of Medicine, and Albany Medical College, has demonstrated the ability to prevent or reverse the onset of diabetes in studies of three different preclinical model systems.

31 Mar 2022

A cluster of cells in the brainstem found to control the body's response to severe blood loss

University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have discovered a cluster of cells in the brainstem that controls the body's response to severe blood loss, a finding which could benefit efforts to develop new treatments for traumatic injuries.

28 Mar 2022

NIH launches first phase of the Neuromod Prize to develop new neuromodulation therapies

The National Institutes of Health has launched the first phase of the Neuromod Prize, a $9.8 million competition to accelerate the development of neuromodulation therapies — targeted treatments that adjust nerve activity to improve organ function.

18 Jan 2022

Research finds disruption of flight-or-fight response in healthy young people diagnosed with COVID-19

New research published in The Journal of Physiology found that otherwise healthy young people diagnosed with COVID-19, regardless of their symptom severity, have problems with their nervous system when compared with healthy control subjects.

9 Aug 2021

Scientists outline new target for treating type 2 diabetes

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a scientific breakthrough that transformed Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, from a terminal disease into a manageable condition.

30 Jun 2021

Optic nerve activity may trigger the formation of vision-harming tumors in children

In a study of mice, researchers showed how the act of seeing light may trigger the formation of vision-harming tumors in young children who are born with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome.

2 Jun 2021

Brief pulses of ultrasound delivered to nerves in renal arteries reduce drug-resistant blood pressure

Brief pulses of ultrasound delivered to nerves near the kidney produced a clinically meaningful drop in blood pressure in people whose hypertension did not respond to a triple cocktail of medications, reports a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian.

17 May 2021

Early exposure to air pollutants linked to high blood pressure in children, adolescents

A meta-analysis of 14 air pollution studies from around the world found that exposure to high levels of air pollutants during childhood increases the likelihood of high blood pressure in children and adolescents, and their risk for high blood pressure as adults.

4 May 2021

New discovery may prove vital to future research on medical cannabis

Medical cannabis is a subject of much debate. There is still a lot we do not know about cannabis, but researchers from the Department of Neuroscience at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences have made a new discovery that may prove vital to future research into and treatment with medical cannabis.

19 Mar 2021

Hearing test could help identify newborns with autism

For years, researchers have known through numerous studies that hearing and other sensory systems of adults and children who have autism differ from children or adults without autism.

12 Nov 2020

Computer model sheds light on how brain circuits might be altered in psychiatric diseases

Scientists have built a computer 'brain circuit', or artificial neural network, that mirrors human decision-making processes and sheds light on how circuits might be altered in psychiatric diseases, a new study published today in eLife reports.

29 Sep 2020

Painless magnetic stimulation dramatically reduces episodes of fecal incontinence

Painless magnetic stimulation of nerves that regulate muscles in the anus and rectum appears to improve their function and dramatically reduce episodes of fecal incontinence, a debilitating problem affecting about 10% of the population, investigators report.

25 Aug 2020

Harvard scientists uncover the real reason behind goosebumps

If you've ever wondered why we get goosebumps, you're in good company -- so did Charles Darwin, who mused about them in his writings on evolution.

20 Jul 2020