Microelectrode Recordings From the Vagus Nerve in Awake Humans
Who can join
Ages 18 to 40 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * The participant is greater than or equal to (≥)18 years and is less than or equal to (≤) 40 years of age * English speaking * Medicare covered or equivalent health insurance from a partner country Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant * Smokes and is unwilling to abstain from smoking on the day of the experiment. * Inability or unwillingness to provide written informed consent. * Individuals with difficulty standing unassisted for 5 minutes during the tilt-table testing * Individuals found to have a significant carotid artery plaque or intima-media thickness \> 1 mm as assessed by ultrasonography during the ultrasound-screening steps of the study visit * Vagus nerve not visible on ultrasound * VNS electrodes are not in a suitable location to allow for microelectrode insertion * Any other clinical reasons deemed by the investigators
About the study
This Anchillary project uses a refined technique of ultrasound-guided microneurography of the human cervical vagus nerve, an approach developed by Professor Vaughan Macefield and used safely to-date in 44 prior study participants.
The overall goal of this project is to build upon prior data obtained using this approach by undertaking a detailed neurophysiological investigation of the human vagus nerve and to identify the nerve fibers activated during vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in participants with implanted VNS devices in response to different stimulation parameters. In addition to providing data in unprecedented detail into the physiology of the human vagus nerve, this project will investigate different stimulus intensities, durations and frequencies that differentially excite myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers. These results will inform the CSP and guide future development of novel neural interfaces for VNS for various clinical applications.
What is being tested
- VNS stimulation and intraneural recordings (other)
- Record multi-unit activity from intraneural sites (other)
Sponsor: University of Minnesota · Participants: 60 · Started: Apr 1, 2024
Contact the study team
- Kathryn Vera, PhD · Phone: 612-625-5018
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06016686
Locations in the U.S.
| Minnesota | University of Minnesota, Minneapolis |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.