Vagus nerve stimulation in neuropsychiatry: Targeting anatomy-based stimulation sites

The vagus nerve (VN) is the longest cranial nerve, extending from the brain to the abdominal cavity. The VN consists of both afferent and efferent fibers (respectively 80% and 20%). Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation strategy first developed in the 1980s for epilepsy. More recently, growing efforts in clinical research have been underscoring possible clinical benefits of VNS for different medical conditions such as epilepsy, major depression, anxiety disorders, and Tourette syndrome. Following the rational of VN anatomy and cranial innervation presented above, we hereby hypothesize that transcutaneously placing electrodes over the mastoid process could be a useful study protocol for future tVNS trials.