Vagal Nerve Stimulation: The Effect on the Brain Oscillatory Field Potential

More than thirty years of medical treatment with the use of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) has shown that this therapeutic procedure works in a number of homeostatic disturbances. Although the clinical usage of VNS has a long history, our knowledge about the central mechanisms underlying this treatment is still limited. In the present paper we review the effects of VNS on brain oscillations as a possible electrophysiological bio-marker of VNS efficacy. The review was prepared mainly on the basis of data delivered from clinical observations and the outcomes of electrophysiological experiments conducted on laboratory animals that are available in PubMed. We consciously did not focus on epileptiform activity understood as a pathologic oscillatory activity, which was widely discussed in the numerous previously published reviews. The main conclusion of the present paper is that further, well-designed experiments on laboratory animals are absolutely necessary to address the electrophysiological issues. These will fill a number of gaps in our present knowledge of the central mechanisms underlying VNS therapy.