The Vagus Nerve - Could this be the key to reducing your inflammation?

Feeling tempted by social media tips to “reset” your vagus nerve, fix your anxiety and banish inflammation? In this episode, Health Journalists Cat de Lange and Helen Thomson dig into the science behind vagus nerve stimulation.

With neurosurgeon and researcher Kevin Tracey, they explore how this a modern wellness obsession came about, what FDA‑approved implants can really do for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, and why most DIY hacks may be running ahead of the evidence.

Produced by Emily Bird

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Find out more about The Vagus Nerve at New Scientist: newscientist.com/article/2388223-unravelling-t…

Sources:

The Great Nerve book by Kevin Tracey

penguin.co.uk/books/470370/the-great-nerve-by-…

Linda Watkins paper:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7746479

Kevin’s original paper triggering the discovery of inflammation and vagus nerve: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9361344

Testing the inflammation-vagus nerve theory:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10839541

Earlobe experiment:

jasontsukahara.com/publications/2021-ijp-vagus…

Small human study recording non invasive vagus stimulation and brain response

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28648089

POTS: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37999672