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Groundbreaking Study Shows Vagus Nerve Stimulation Can Eliminate PTSD Symptoms for Up to Six Months

A historic clinical trial conducted by researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and Baylor University Medical Center has demonstrated that patients with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can experience significant long-term benefits when paired with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). The results, published in Brain Stimulation, show that all nine participants remained symptom-free for up to six months after completing traditional therapy along with VNS.

Dr. Michael Kilgard, the Margaret Fonde Jonsson Professor of neuroscience at UTD’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, expressed his excitement about the outcome, stating, “In a trial like this, some subjects usually do get better, but rarely do they lose their PTSD diagnosis. Typically, the majority will have this diagnosis for the rest of their lives.” Kilgard emphasized that the 100% loss of diagnosis among participants is “very promising.”

The study employed prolonged exposure therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, in conjunction with short bursts of VNS delivered via an implantable device. Assessments were conducted four times during the six months following the completion of the standard 12-session therapy course. The benefits persisted throughout this period for all nine participants.

This research represents the largest clinical trial to date utilizing an implanted device for PTSD treatment, according to Kilgard. Pioneering work by UTD researchers has previously demonstrated that VNS paired with physical rehabilitation can accelerate neuroplasticity – the rewiring of areas in the brain. Their 13-year effort to treat a wide variety of conditions using VNS has resulted in FDA approval for treating impaired upper-limb movement in stroke patients.

The National Center for PTSD estimates that 5% of adults in the U.S. have post-traumatic stress disorder in any given year, with women being twice as likely to develop PTSD at some point in their life. Many PTSD patients fail to respond to therapy or experience intolerable side effects or relapse, leaving them with no viable prospect for remission.

Kilgard emphasized that PTSD patients are not limited to military veterans but can also be found among average citizens who have faced traumatic events. “When you hear PTSD, you may picture a combat zone, but it’s much more prevalent than that,” he said. “It can stem from any event that inspires fear of death or bodily injury, or death of a loved one.”

The next step in the PTSD research – a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 pilot study – is ongoing in Dallas and Austin. Researchers hope that it will represent another step toward FDA approval of a treatment that doesn’t exist now, and it would be invented, tested, and delivered by UTD, as was the case for upper-limb recovery after stroke.

Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Mark Powers, a research center director of the Trauma Research Center at Baylor University Medical Center, is the lead author of the study. He expressed his enthusiasm about VNS, stating that it has “changed the game” by improving both treatment efficacy and its tolerability.

Powers added that his collaboration with UTD has a multidisciplinary synergy that he regards as rare. “With this alliance, we have people doing the preclinical and the clinical work at the same time, giving each other feedback and ideas,” he said. “Neither one of our groups could do this alone.”

The research was funded by a grant from the Biological Technologies Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The brain’s communication with bodily organs is a crucial aspect of emotion regulation and overall mental health. The nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), located in the brainstem, plays a vital role as a hub structure mediating this interaction through the vagus nerve. Despite its importance, the NTS’s deep location has historically presented challenges for observation in living animals.

A recent study published in Cell Reports Methods (April 4, 2025) has made significant strides in overcoming these challenges by developing a novel live imaging technique called D-PSCAN. This minimally invasive method enables high-resolution visualization of the NTS neural activity in living mice, offering unprecedented insights into its function.

The D-PSCAN technique involves implanting a double microprism assembly between the cerebellum and brainstem, preserving cerebellar function while providing a detailed view of the NTS. This approach overcomes the major limitation of previous methods, which often involved removing the cerebellum to access the NTS, thus compromising its role in emotional regulation.

The research team evaluated the D-PSCAN method by investigating the NTS’s response to electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve, which conveys signals from internal organs to the NTS. They observed specific thresholds of vagus nerve stimulation intensity required to elicit neural responses in the NTS and noted distinct patterns of neural activation upon varying stimulation parameters.

These results have significant implications for therapeutic applications, particularly for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which has been used clinically for drug-resistant epilepsy and is currently under investigation as a treatment for depression and other psychiatric and neurological disorders. The D-PSCAN method offers valuable insights into optimizing VNS parameters for maximum effectiveness.

To further explore NTS function under more physiological conditions than electrical stimulation, the research team applied the D-PSCAN method to examine its response to the gut hormone cholecystokinin, which is naturally released after feeding. They successfully detected NTS neural activity evoked by cholecystokinin, providing new insights into the complex interactions between the brain and body.

The implications of this research extend beyond the study of emotion regulation, as the NTS receives input from various organs, including the heart and gut, and is involved in diverse functions such as appetite regulation, energy metabolism, and gut microbiota. The D-PSCAN technique is expected to be widely applied across these research areas, offering a new approach to elucidate brain-body-mind interactions and contributing both to the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders and to the advancement of mental health and well-being.

The world of psychology has long been dominated by the idea that mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder are solely the result of imbalances in brain chemistry. However, new research suggests that there is more to it than meets the eye – or rather, more to the body. A groundbreaking study led by researchers at the University of Bristol has made a startling discovery: the immune system plays a significant role in these conditions.

The study, which was published in a recent scientific paper, used a computational approach called Mendelian randomization to examine the relationship between immunological proteins and seven neuropsychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and ADHD. The researchers found that 29 immune response-related proteins were potentially involved in these conditions.

One of the most significant findings was that overactivity of the immune system could contribute to the cause of mental health conditions. This challenges the traditional view that depression and schizophrenia are solely caused by imbalances in brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. In fact, the study suggests that a new paradigm is needed – one where mental health conditions are viewed as affecting the whole person, not just the mind.

The implications of this research are profound. It could lead to the development of novel therapeutics for mental health conditions by targeting immune response-related proteins. Furthermore, it challenges the centuries-old dichotomy between body and mind, suggesting that we should consider depression and schizophrenia as conditions affecting the whole person.

As Professor Golam Khandaker, one of the researchers involved in the study, noted: “Our study demonstrates that inflammation in the brain and the body might influence the risk of mental health conditions.” The next step is to further evaluate causality, understand precise mechanisms from inflammation to symptoms, and therapeutic potential – does modulating immune pathways improve symptoms of these conditions?

This research has far-reaching implications for our understanding of mental health conditions and their treatment. It highlights the importance of considering the immune system as a vital component in understanding and addressing these disorders.