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(05/2025) Nature Communications: Control of spatiotemporal activation of organ-specific vagal fibers by interferential stimulation
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Summer 2025
Paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Effect of focused ultrasound neuromodulation of the superior mesenteric plexus on insulin sensitivity and post-operative hyperglycemia in a swine model of surgical stress
Effect of focused ultrasound neuromodulation of the superior mesenteric plexus on insulin sensitivity and post-operative hyperglycemia in a swine model of surgical stress
Weiguo Song and colleagues report that focused ultrasound targeting the superior mesenteric plexus of swine undergoing surgical stress modulate insulin sensitivity (over minutes to hours) and fasting blood glucose (over hours to days).
Summer 2025
TNP Lab presentations at the NANS Neural Interfaces 2025
TNP Lab presentations at the NANS Neural Interfaces 2025
Several TNP lab members discussed their work at the 2025 Neural Interfaces meeting in Arlington, VA:
Stavros Zanos: Function-selective vagus nerve stimulation (talk)
Weiguo Song: A slanted, multi-electrode array for selective recording and stimulation of the swine vagus nerve (poster)
Naveen Jayaprakash: Fiber composition of the vagal trunk at levels of branch emergence (poster)
Spring 2025
Invited talk at SPARC Seminar Series Bridging the Body & the Brain
Invited talk at SPARC Seminar Series Bridging the Body & the Brain
Fascicular organization and fiber composition of the human vagus nerve
Fascicular organization and fiber composition of the human vagus nerve
Naveen Jayaprakash, research scientist at the TNP lab, presented a seminar with latest insights into the microscopic anatomy on the human vagus nerve and its implications for bioelectronic medicine.
Spring 2025
Paper published in Nature Communications
Paper published in Nature Communications
Control of spatiotemporal activation of organ-specific fibers in the swine vagus nerve by intermittent interferential current stimulation
Control of spatiotemporal activation of organ-specific fibers in the swine vagus nerve by intermittent interferential current stimulation
Nicolo Rossetti, Philip Schnepel (from IMEC, Netherlands) and Weiguo Song (from the TNP lab) and colleagues discovered that interferential current stimulation achieves precise and tunable control of the spatio-temporal activation of organ-specific vagal fibers.
Spring 2025
Invited talk at the Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium
Invited talk at the Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium
Therapeutic neuromodulation of brain-body neural pathways
Therapeutic neuromodulation of brain-body neural pathways
Stavros Zanos discussed invasive and noninvasive approaches to modulate autonomic reflexes in diseases with autonomic dysfunction and systemic inflammation.
Spring 2025
Paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Low intensity trans-spinal focused ultrasound reduces mechanical sensitivity and suppresses spinal microglia activation in rats with chronic constriction injury
Low intensity trans-spinal focused ultrasound reduces mechanical sensitivity and suppresses spinal microglia activation in rats with chronic constriction injury
Weiguo Song used focused ultrasound neuromodulation (FUS) to target the spinal cord of rats with chronic nerve injury, a common model of chronic neuropathic pain, and found that it sustainably reduces mechanical sensitity, for weeks after discontinuation of treatment. At a cellular level, FUS reduces the counts of microglia and the microglia acitvation state, in the injured side of the respective spinal segment.
Spring 2024-25
TNP Lab presentations at the 6th Bioelectronic Medicine Summit
TNP Lab presentations at the 6th Bioelectronic Medicine Summit
TNP lab members presented several talks and posters at the meeting that took place in Garden City, NY.
Stavros Zanos: Neuromodulation for inflammatory and peripheral organ disorders (lecture)
Alexandra Bekiaridou: The effect of Baroreflex Activation Therapy on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (poster)
Naveen Jayaprakash: Level-dependent separation of sensory and motor fascicles in the human cervical vagus nerve (poster)
Weiguo Song: Trans-spinal focused ultrasound reduces mechanical sensitivity and suppresses spinal microglia activation in rats with chronic constriction injury (poster)
Alice Giannotti: A high-density, multi-contact slanted electrode array allows selective, intraneural recording and stimulation of the swine vagus nerve (poster)
Siyar Bahadir: A pipeline for building scalable 3D cytoarchitecture models from cleared intact fixed whole human ganglia and peripheral nerve samples (poster)
Siyar Bahadir: Investigation of Minimally Invasive Access Routes to the Human Nodose Ganglion for Low Post-Mortem Interval Tissue Harvesting and Electrode Placement: A Proof-of-Concept Cadaveric Photogrammetry Study (poster)
Winter 2024-25
TNP Lab presentations at the 6th International Brain Stimulation Conference
TNP Lab presentations at the 6th International Brain Stimulation Conference
TNP lab members and collaborators presented several talks and posters at the even that took place in Kobe, Japan:
Stavros Zanos: Precision vagal neuromodulation driven by functional nerve anatomy, physiologic and immunologic biomarkers and therapy personalization (lecture)
Naveen Jayaprakash: Fascicular Organization and Fiber Composition of the Human Vagus Nerve at Levels of Branch Emergence (poster)
Weiguo Song: Focused ultrasound neuromodulation of peripheral neural circuits to treat inflammation in cardiopulmonary disorders and pain (poster)
Nicolo Rossetti: Starting phase of kHz stimulation bursts impacts spatio-temporal pattern of fiber activation in porcine vagus nerve (poster)
Winter 2024-25
TNP Lab work on immunomodulation for pulmonary hypertension one of the "Five Notable Northwell Advances of 2024"
TNP Lab work on immunomodulation for pulmonary hypertension one of the "Five Notable Northwell Advances of 2024"
Winter 2024-25
TNP Lab work on vagus nerve discussed in NPR
TNP Lab work on vagus nerve discussed in NPR
Stimulation of the vagus nerve may treat chronic inflammatory diseases
Stimulation of the vagus nerve may treat chronic inflammatory diseases
Jon Hamilton from NPR's Science Desk interviewed Kevin Tracey, Andrew Ko and Stavros Zanos on how stimulation of the vagus nerve may treat chronic inflammatory diseases.
Winter 2024-25
Newly Awarded NIH-NINDS R01 Grant
Newly Awarded NIH-NINDS R01 Grant
Selective Epineural Stimulation of Peripheral Nerves Using Interferential Electrical Fields
Selective Epineural Stimulation of Peripheral Nerves Using Interferential Electrical Fields
A team led by Stavros Zanos was awarded a $3M R01 grant from NINDS to develop novel methods to selectively stimulate specific functions in peripheral nerves, in particular the vagus nerve.
These methods rely on temporal interference, which arises when two waves with high but slightly different frequencies (e.g., 20 and 22 kHz) propagate inside the same biological medium and create a lower frequency "amplitude modulation" (in this case, 22-20=2 kHz) at the site where they meet. In the case of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), the two electrical fields are generated by high-frequency electrical stimuli delivered through a pair of contacts of a multi-contact cuff, placed around the vagus nerve. This method may allow tunable and precise control of the spatial and temporal activation of vagal fibers mediating different functions. Methods for selective VNS may reduce side-effects from non-targeted organs and increase therapeutic efficacy in a variety of diseases associated with inflammation, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, heart failure, and others.
The research will be performed by several investigators at Feinstein (Weiguo Song, Larry Miller, Timir Datta, Todd Levy, Jason Wang), in collaboration with IMEC (Netherlands) and Mary Barbe (Temple University).
Winter 2024-25
TNP Lab work on vagus nerve stimulation discussed in Practical Neurology
TNP Lab work on vagus nerve stimulation discussed in Practical Neurology
Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Effects Beyond the Nervous System
Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Effects Beyond the Nervous System
Joe Rusko from Practical Neurology Neurofrontiers podcast interviewed Stavros Zanos on the uses of vagus nerve stimulation to treat diseases, with a focus on non-neurological conditions like arthritis, inflammatory bowel and cardiovascular disease.
Fall 2024
Michael Gerber Defends PhD Thesis
Michael Gerber Defends PhD Thesis
Chronic Activation of the Vagus Nerve Alters Adaptive Immunity
Chronic Activation of the Vagus Nerve Alters Adaptive Immunity
Michael Gerber successfully defended his PhD thesis titled "Chronic activation of the vagus nerve modulates adaptive immunity". Parts of his work were published in 2 papers: one in Science Advances, and one in Journal of Neuroinflammation. During his PhD work, Michael was mentored by Ibrahim Mughrabi and Stavros Zanos.
Michael is an MD/PhD student at the Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
Fall 2024
Alexandra Bekiaridou Receives Research Award from Katz Institute for Women's Health
Alexandra Bekiaridou Receives Research Award from Katz Institute for Women's Health
Alexandra Bekiaridou received a prestigious award from the Katz Institute for Women's Health at Northwell Health that will support her research on novel approaches to treat Pulmonary Hypertension in female subjects with the disease.
Summer 2024
Lab presentations at 2024 NYC Neuromodulation Conference
Lab presentations at 2024 NYC Neuromodulation Conference
TNP lab members presented several talks and scientific posters:
Naveen Jayaprakash et al: Fascicular organization and fiber composition of the human vagus nerve at levels of branch emergence
Weiguo Song et al: Trans-spinal focused ultrasound reduces pain sensitivity in chronic constriction injury by suppressing pro-inflammatory spinal microglia
Alexandra Bekiaridou et al: Focused ultrasound neuromodulation of the spleen ameliorates experimental pulmonary hypertension by specific alterations of immune cell populations in the spleen, blood and lung
Michael Gerber et al: VNS reduces baroreflex sensitivity through an NMDA receptor-dependent mechanism
Alice Giannotti, Weiguo Song et al: A high-density, multi-contact slanted electrode array allows selective, intraneural recording and stimulation of the swine vagus nerve
Stavros Zanos: Precision neuromodulation of autonomic circuits
Stavros Zanos: Focused ultrasound neuromodulation in the treatment of inflammation and pain
Summer 2024
Presentation on PVRI's Community Call
Presentation on PVRI's Community Call
Neuroimmune Modulation to Treat Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
Neuroimmune Modulation to Treat Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
In the second half of Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute's Community Call for June 2024, Stavros Zanos discusses the recent Circulation Research publication on neuroimmune modulation in animal models of pulmonary hypertension.
Spring 2024
Paper published in Circulation Research
Paper published in Circulation Research
Ultrasound Neuromodulation of an Anti-Inflammatory Circuit at the Spleen Improves Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
Ultrasound Neuromodulation of an Anti-Inflammatory Circuit at the Spleen Improves Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos and colleagues discovered that focused ultrasound neuromodulation delivered to the spleen, ameliorates multiple manifestations of experimental pulmonary hypertension in rats, by suppressing inflammation and normalizing immune cell populations in the spleen and lungs.
Editorial (by Olga Rafikova, Joel James and Tatiana Kudryashova)
Spring 2024
Interview on Curing with Sound Podcast
Interview on Curing with Sound Podcast
The Promising Future of Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation
The Promising Future of Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation
Stavros Zanos discusses focused ultrasound (FUS) neuromodulation with the podcast hosts from the FUS Foundation. Topics include how ultrasound activates neurons through mechanosensitive channels, and recent studies using neuromodulation to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, reduce inflammatory markers, and potentially manage type 2 diabetes.
Spring 2024
Paper published in Science Advances
Paper published in Science Advances
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Modulates Distinct Acetylcholine Receptors on B Cells and Limits the Germinal Center Response
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Modulates Distinct Acetylcholine Receptors on B Cells and Limits the Germinal Center Response
Izumi Sato, from Betty Diamond's lab, and Ibrahim Mughrabi discovered that chronic VNS in mice suppresses the antibody response of antigen-specific, splenic germinal center B-cells. These findings suggest new therapeutic opportunities for bioelectronic medicine in the treatement of autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and sepsis.
Spring 2024
Presentations at 11th Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium
Presentations at 11th Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium
TNP lab members presented several scientific posters:
Todd Levy, Siyar Bahadir: Human vagus nerve fascicle segmentation using micro-CT and 3D U-nets.
Siyar Bahadir, Todd Levy: Single fiber tracking and 3D reconstruction of nerve fibers from microscopy images of the vagus nerve.
Naveen Jayaprakash: Fascicular organization and fiber composition of the human vagus nerve at levels of branch emergence.
Winter 2023-24
US Patent issued
US Patent issued
Systems and Methods for Selective, Personalized Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Systems and Methods for Selective, Personalized Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Stavros Zanos and Yao-Chuan Chang invented a selection and calibration procedure for determining VNS parameters that, in individual subjects, optimize activation specific vagal fiber types, while minimizing the activation of other fiber types present in the vagus nerve.
Fall 2023
Paper published in Journal of Neuroinflammation
Paper published in Journal of Neuroinflammation
Voltammetry in the Spleen Assesses Real-Time Immunomodulatory Norepinephrine Release Elicited by Autonomic Neurostimulation
Voltammetry in the Spleen Assesses Real-Time Immunomodulatory Norepinephrine Release Elicited by Autonomic Neurostimulation
Ibrahim Mughrabi and Michael Gerber used an electrochemical method called cyclic voltammetry to measure the release of norepinephrine (NE) in the spleen in real time, in response to splenic, splanchnic and vagus nerve stimulation. Using that method, they discovered that smaller voltammetry signals, and therefore smaller amounts of NE, are associated with a stronger suppression of inflammation in an LPS challenge.
Fall 2023
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos Defends PhD Thesis
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos Defends PhD Thesis
Focused Ultrasound of the Spleen Improves Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
Focused Ultrasound of the Spleen Improves Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos, an Elmezzi Scholar since Fall 2020, successfully defended his PhD Thesis titled "Focused Ultrasound of the Spleen Improves Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension". Stefanos will continue his post-graduate medical training in Cardiology, at the University Hospital Zurich, in Switzerland.
Summer 2023
Paper published in Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine
Paper published in Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine
Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Cardiovascular Diseases: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Cardiovascular Diseases: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos provides an overview of the rationale behind using VNS to treat cardiovascular diseases, a critical appraisal of preclinical and clinical evidence of efficacy, and a discussion of strategies to overcome challenges for clinical implementation.
Editorial (by Richard Verrier)
Summer 2023
TNP Lab work on vagus nerve discussed in New Scientist article
TNP Lab work on vagus nerve discussed in New Scientist article
Unravelling the Secrets of the Vagus Nerve will Revolutionize Medicine
Unravelling the Secrets of the Vagus Nerve will Revolutionize Medicine
Grace Wade, after having visited the TNP lab and spent time with lab members in person, provides an insightful article on the methods we use to map the vagus nerve in humans, and the implications of this work for future therapeutics.
Summer 2023
Paper published in Neuromodulation
Paper published in Neuromodulation
Trans-spinal Focused Ultrasound Suppresses Spinal Reflexes in Healthy Rats
Trans-spinal Focused Ultrasound Suppresses Spinal Reflexes in Healthy Rats
Weiguo Song used focused ultrasound neuromodulation to target the spinal cord of healthy rats and found that it robustly and reversibly suppresses several spinal reflexes, including the H-reflex, windup activity of C-afferents and the withdrawal reflex. These results suggest that trans-spinal FUS may be useful in diseases of the spinal cord associated with hyper-reflexia, like spinal cord injury and painful syndromes.
Spring 2023
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Focused ultrasound neuromodulation of the spleen activates an anti-inflammatory response in humans
Focused ultrasound neuromodulation of the spleen activates an anti-inflammatory response in humans
Stavros Zanos and a team from several groups at Feinstein Institutes, Northwell Health and GE Research found that focused ultrasound of the spleen (sFUS) suppresses an inflammatory response in healthy humans, in a double-blind, randomized, controlled study.
Winter 2022-23
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Organ- and Function-Specific Anatomical Organization of Vagal Fibers Supports Fascicular Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Organ- and Function-Specific Anatomical Organization of Vagal Fibers Supports Fascicular Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Co-first authors Naveen Jayaprakash, Weiguo Song and Viktor Toth (from Theo Zanos's lab) used advanced quatitative anatomy methods to describe how different types of fibers are organized inside the vagus nerve before they project to the larynx, lungs and heart; then, they used that information to deliver fascicular vagus nerve stimulation to engage different organs and functions from a single electrode device implanted in the neck.
Fall 2022
Newly awarded NIH-SPARC grant
Newly awarded NIH-SPARC grant
Reconstructing Human Vagal Anatomy
Reconstructing Human Vagal Anatomy
Stavros Zanos and the TNP lab, together with Theo Zanos and collaborators from Northwell Health, Zucker School of Medicine and Temple University, will lead a large-scale, quantitative anatomy program that will attempt to reconstruct at a single fiber resolution the connectivity between the vagus nerve and peripheral organs. The program is funded through a $7.1M grant, part of the NIH SPARC Phase 2.
Fall 2022
TNP Lab, one of 8 winning teams in NIH Neuromod Prize Phase 1
TNP Lab, one of 8 winning teams in NIH Neuromod Prize Phase 1
Focused Ultrasound in Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Obesity
Focused Ultrasound in Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Obesity
The winning team is led by GE Research and also includes investigators from Yale University. The project will develop a single, image-guided ultrasound treatment induces a response in the gut-brain sensory pathway to provide sustained remission in Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Fall 2022
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
kHz-Frequency Electrical Stimulation Selectively Activates Small, Unmyelinated Vagus Afferents
kHz-Frequency Electrical Stimulation Selectively Activates Small, Unmyelinated Vagus Afferents
Yao-Chuan Chang, post-doc at the TNP lab discovered that kHz-frequency electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve of rats and mice activates small unmyelinated C-type afferent fibers. C-afferents of the vagus nerve are involved in many autonomic reflexes and their selective bioelectronic modulation could create opportunities for new therapies targeting the autonomic nervous system.
Fall 2022
Presentations at the 5th Bioelectronic Medicine Summit
Presentations at the 5th Bioelectronic Medicine Summit
Bioelectronic Medicine: Today's Tools, Tomorrow's Therapies
Bioelectronic Medicine: Today's Tools, Tomorrow's Therapies
The TNP lab's presence at the Summit included:
"Fascicular vagus nerve stimulation", poster by Weiguo Song et al.
"Chronic VNS alters T- and B-cell function in a stimulation schedule-dependent manner", poster by Ibrahim Mughrabi, Izumi Kato et al.
"Focused ultrasound stimulation of the spleen does not produce acute hemodynamic effects and does not elicit antidromic action potentials on the splenic nerve", poster by Stefanos Zafeiropoulos et al.
"Neurotechnologies in the treatment of brain diseases", session hosted by Stavros Zanos
"Bioelectronic approaches to treating peripheral organ disorders", session hosted by Stavros Zanos
Summer 2022
Paper published in Frontiers in Immunology
Paper published in Frontiers in Immunology
Ultrasound Neuromodulation of the Spleen Has Time-Dependent Anti-Inflammatory Effect in a Pneumonia Model
Ultrasound Neuromodulation of the Spleen Has Time-Dependent Anti-Inflammatory Effect in a Pneumonia Model
Umair Ahmed and colleagues demonstrate that activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with spleen focused ultrasound (FUS) has time-dependent effect on serum cytokines in a model of pneumonia: cytokine suppression is absent at intermediate times post-infection (16 hours following inoculation), but present during the early (4 hours) and later phases (48 hours), as well as in healthy animals. The time-dependent effect could be used as a diagnostic test, even in the absence of clinical manifestations of pneumonia.
Spring 2022
Review paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Review paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Strategies for Precision Vagus Neuromodulation
Strategies for Precision Vagus Neuromodulation
Umair Ahmed, Yao-Chuan Chang and colleagues provide a detailed overview of strategies for precision neuromodulation of the vagus, including its anatomical basis, relevant technologies and translational applications in neurologic, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.
Spring 2022
Invited talks at Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium & Design of Medical Devices Conference
Invited talks at Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium & Design of Medical Devices Conference
Stavros Zanos gave 2 talks related to vagus nerve stimulation:
Anatomical basis for selective cervical vagus nerve stimulation
Design of Medical Devices Conference 2022, April 13, 2022
Session: Neurorobotics & Neuromodulation
Precision Vagus Neuromodulation
MN Neuromodulation Symposium 2022, Thursday April 14, 2022
Session: Closing the Loop
Spring 2022
Paper published in Nature Biomedical Engineering
Paper published in Nature Biomedical Engineering
Stimulation of the Hepatoportal Nerve Plexus with Focused Ultrasound Restores Glucose Homoeostasis
Stimulation of the Hepatoportal Nerve Plexus with Focused Ultrasound Restores Glucose Homoeostasis
Several members of the TNP lab, including Weiguo Song, Khaled Qanud, Jackie Tomaio and Stavros Zanos, were part of a team of investigators led by Chris Puleo (General Electric Research) that showed that noninvasive ultrasound neuromodulation of the sensory innervation of the liver results in improvement of the glycemic control in animal models of diabetes.
Winter 2021-2022
Paper published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Paper published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Autonomic Neuromodulation for Atrial Fibrillation Following Cardiac Surgery
Autonomic Neuromodulation for Atrial Fibrillation Following Cardiac Surgery
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos, graduate student at the lab, provides a summary and critical appraisal of the clinical evidence behind the use of autonomic neuromodulation for preventing post-operative atrial fibrillation, a common arrhythmia after cardiac surgery.
Podcast discussion (by Valentin Fuster, JACC Senior Editor)
Summer 2021
Lab presentations at Neural Interfaces 2021 NANS-NIC Joint Meeting
Lab presentations at Neural Interfaces 2021 NANS-NIC Joint Meeting
Members of the TNP lab presented 3 posters and moderate 1 concurrent session:
Yao-Chuan Chang et al: KHz-frequency stimuli for selective activation of vagal C-fibers in rats and mice
Ibrahim Mughrabi et al: Real-time voltammetric detection of VNS-elicited norepinephrine release in the mouse spleen
Umair Ahmed et al: Threshold intensities for VNS depend on implant- and anesthesia-related factors
Bioelectronic medicine: New frontiers in vagus nerve stimulation and ultrasound therapy; concurrent session moderated by Chris Puleo & Stavros Zanos, with presentations by Cristin Welle, Nikki Pelot, Sangeeta Chavan, Hubert Lim
Summer 2021
Paper published in Cerebral Cortex
Paper published in Cerebral Cortex
Cortical Responses to Vagus Nerve Stimulation are Modulated by Brain State in Nonhuman Primates
Cortical Responses to Vagus Nerve Stimulation are Modulated by Brain State in Nonhuman Primates
Irene Rembado, post-doc at University of Washington (currently scientist at the Allen Brain Institute), and Weiguo Song, senior scientist at the TNP lab, documented how the state of the brain during different wakefulness and sleep stages shapes the cortical responses to vagus nerve stimulation in nonhuman primates.
Summer 2021
Paper published in Journal of Neural Engineering
Paper published in Journal of Neural Engineering
Implant- and Anesthesia-Related Factors Affecting Cardiopulmonary Threshold Intensities for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Implant- and Anesthesia-Related Factors Affecting Cardiopulmonary Threshold Intensities for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Umair Ahmed, post-doc at the TNP lab, examined how implant age and wakefulness/anesthesia affect neurological and cardiopulmonary threshold intensities of vagus nerve stimulation in a rodent model.
Spring 2021
Lab poster at ACC Scientific Sessions
Lab poster at ACC Scientific Sessions
Umair Ahmed, post-doc at the TNP lab, discussed how focused ultrasound (FUS) neuromodulation of the inflammatory reflex at the spleen reduces the severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension in the Sugen-hypoxia rat model.
Spring 2021
Electricity in Physiology & Medicine
Electricity in Physiology & Medicine
A brief account by David M. Warmflash on how the physics of electromagnetism started merging with physiology and medicine through a scientific and philosophical rivalry between two Italian giants: Galvani and Volta.
Spring 2021
OpEd: On the Cusp of Bioelectronic Medicine Breakthroughs
OpEd: On the Cusp of Bioelectronic Medicine Breakthroughs
Stavros Zanos provides a short overview of preclinical and clinical research from the past year on the use of bioelectronic medicine to treat chronic diseases.
Spring 2021
TNP Lab presentations at IEEE EMBC Neural Engineering Conference
TNP Lab presentations at IEEE EMBC Neural Engineering Conference
The TNP lab presented 1 full paper and 1 plenary talk at IEEE-EMBC NER 2021.
Laryngeal Electromyography to Estimate A-Fiber Engagement by Vagal Stimuli in Mice
Full paper, part of "Bioelectronic Medicine" session
Ibrahim Mughrabi and Adam Abbas present a method for recording laryngeal EMG in mice and its use in estimating A-fiber engagement by VNS.
Targeting of fiber subpopulations in cervical #VNS based therapies
Plenary talk, part of "Microelectodes for Small Nerves and Plexi" minisymposium
Yao-Chuan Chang and Stavros Zanos discuss ways to target selectively subpopulations of vagal fibers in the context of cervical VNS.
Spring 2021
Paper Published in eLife
Paper Published in eLife
Development and Characterization of a Chronic Implant Mouse Model for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Development and Characterization of a Chronic Implant Mouse Model for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Ibrahim Mughrabi, post-doc at the TNP lab, and Jordan Hickman, research associate at Cristin Welle's lab at the University of Colorado, co-authored a paper in which they describe the surgical method for and the physiological, functional and histological characterization of a chronic mouse implant for stimulating the vagus nerve.
Fall 2020
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Paper published in Brain Stimulation
Quantitative estimation of nerve fiber engagement by vagus nerve stimulation using physiological markers
Quantitative estimation of nerve fiber engagement by vagus nerve stimulation using physiological markers
Yao-Chuan Chang, post-doc at the TNP lab, and Marina Cracchiolo, student at Silvestro Micera's lab in Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and rotation student with Theo Zanos, co-authored a paper in which they estimated vagal fiber engagement by vagus nerve stimulation trains by looking at acute physiological responses that can be registered noninvasively.
Fall 2020
Lab presentations at 4th Bioelectronic Medicine Summit
Lab presentations at 4th Bioelectronic Medicine Summit
The TNP lab presented 3 posters and 1 plenary talk at the BEM Summit.
Factors affecting stimulation threshold in cervical VNS in rodents, poster by Umair Ahmed et al.
Real-time detection of VNS-elicited NE release in the mouse spleen, poster by Naveen Jayaprakash, Ibrahim Mughrabi et al.
Ultrasound neuromodulation of the porta hepatis affects insulin sensitivity in swine, poster by Khaled Qanud et al.
Targeting populations of fibers in clinically-relevant VNS, talk by Stavros Zanos
Summer 2020
Invited talk at Neuroprosthetics Summer School 2020
Invited talk at Neuroprosthetics Summer School 2020
Methods and translational applications of selective vagus nerve stimulation
Methods and translational applications of selective vagus nerve stimulation
Stavros Zanos discussed methods and applications of stimulating the vagus nerve to engage specific functions (afferent vs. efferent), fiber types (A, B or C), fascicles and physiological states (closed-loop stimulation).
Spring 2020
Paper published in Scientific Reports
Paper published in Scientific Reports
Anodal block permits directional vagus nerve stimulation
Anodal block permits directional vagus nerve stimulation
Umair Ahmed and Yao-Chuan Chang, post-docs at the TNP lab, co-authored a paper in which, using afferent and efferent physiological effects of VNS and stimulus-evoked compound action potentials, they demonstrated that the mechanism of anodal block permits directional VNS using rectangular waveforms.
Coverage by Technology Networks (by Ruairi Mackenzie)
Winter 2019-20
Lab presentation at NANS 23rd Annual Meeting
Lab presentation at NANS 23rd Annual Meeting
An implant for chronic cervical VNS in mice
An implant for chronic cervical VNS in mice
Ibrahim Mughrabi, post-doc at the TNP lab, discussed the surgical technique for a novel chronic vagus nerve implant in mice, and the methodology for and results of its longitudinal in vivo physiological testing, up to 90 days post-implant.
Winter 2019-20
Review paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Review paper published in Bioelectronic Medicine
Pulmonary arterial hypertension: the case for a bioelectronic treatment
Pulmonary arterial hypertension: the case for a bioelectronic treatment
Despoina Ntiloudi discusses how bioelectronic medicine, and VNS in particular, can find an application in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a lethal disease of the pulmonary vessels and the right ventricle.
Fall 2019
Lab posters at Society for Neuroscience 2019 Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
Lab posters at Society for Neuroscience 2019 Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
The TNP lab was represented by 3 posters at this year's Neuroscience conference, that took place in Chicago, IL:
Directional biasing of vagal fiber activation using anodal block waveforms, poster by Umair Ahmed et al; Abstract
Vagus nerve stimulation and induced cortical plasticity in non-human primates, poster by Irene Rembado et al; Abstract
In-vitro mechanical and electrical validation of a flexible microelectrode, poster by Romil Modi et al; Abstract
Fall 2019
Invited talk at Neuromodulation: The Science
Invited talk at Neuromodulation: The Science
Physiologic closed-loop control using neurostimulation
Physiologic closed-loop control using neurostimulation
On October 5, Stavros Zanos spoke in Napa, CA, on using closed-loop neurostimulation to modulate dynamic physiological processes in a responsive and adaptive manner. Two applications will be discussed in more detail: induction of neuroplasticity in the central nervous system using cortical stimulation, and control of cardiac function within a desired range of parameters using vagus nerve stimulation.
Fall 2019
Invited talk at Data, Learning, Inference (DALI)
Invited talk at Data, Learning, Inference (DALI)
Real-time bidirectional interfacing with the nervous system: lessons from biology and engineering
Real-time bidirectional interfacing with the nervous system: lessons from biology and engineering
In the conference that took place in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain (September 5, 2019), Stavros Zanos spoke on the biology and engineering challenges, and ways to address them, that arise from 2 of the main requirements for a real-time bidirectional interface with the central and peripheral nervous system: the semi-real-time operation of a closed-loop system that records, analyzes and stimulates, and the maintenance of a reliable chronic interface with the nervous tissue.
Summer 2019
Oral presentation at the 2019 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference
Oral presentation at the 2019 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference
Extraction of evoked compound nerve action potentials from vagus nerve recordings
Extraction of evoked compound nerve action potentials from vagus nerve recordings
In the conference that took place in Berlin, Germany, on July 27, Yao-Chuan Chang, post-doc at the TNP lab, discussed a methodology to stimulate and record evoked potentials from the vagus nerve in rats, and to suppress non-neural components of these recordings (ECG, muscle activity, stimulus artifacts). Such evoked potentials can quantify the recruitment of different types of nerve fibers by VNS and therefore used to optimize VNS therapies.
Spring 2019
Talk at Lenox Hill Hospital Endocrinology/ Cardiology Grand Rounds
Talk at Lenox Hill Hospital Endocrinology/ Cardiology Grand Rounds
Fiber-specific Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Bioelectronic Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
Fiber-specific Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Bioelectronic Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
On May 7, Stavros Zanos discussed the principles of and new techniques for fiber-specific VNS and its application in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Spring 2019
Joint GE-Feinstein paper published in Nature Communications
Joint GE-Feinstein paper published in Nature Communications
Noninvasive sub-organ ultrasound stimulation for targeted neuromodulation
Noninvasive sub-organ ultrasound stimulation for targeted neuromodulation
Spring 2019
Posters at DARPA ElectRx/TNT PI Meeting (Boulder, CO)
Posters at DARPA ElectRx/TNT PI Meeting (Boulder, CO)
Vagal-evoked cortical potentials in monkeys are modulated by brain state (Rembado I, Su D, Levari A, Shupe L, Fetz EE, Zanos S)
Auricular vagus nerve stimulation for cortical plasticity and behavioral augmentation in monkeys (Rembado I, Su D, Boyd H, Amoeni B, Kemp I, Morse A, Birch C, Shupe L, Perlmutter S, Fetz EE, Zanos S)
Winter 2018-2019
Review paper published in Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
Review paper published in Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
Closed-loop neuromodulation in physiological and translational research
Closed-loop neuromodulation in physiological and translational research
In this review, the rationale and the methods for closed-loop neuromodulation are discussed, the basic components of a closed-loop system are described, and examples of systems used in physiological and translational research are presented.
Fall 2018
Invited talk at Neuromodulation: The Science
Invited talk at Neuromodulation: The Science
Afferent and efferent effects of vagus nerve stimulation in different animal models
Afferent and efferent effects of vagus nerve stimulation in different animal models
In the conference that took place in Cleveland, OH, Stavros Zanos discussed some of the afferent and efferent neural and physiological effects of VNS in rodents, swine and nonhuman primates, their dependence on stimulation parameters, and ways to optimize them in the context of therapeutic bioelectronic medicine applications.
Fall 2018
Poster presentation at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Poster presentation at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Zanos et al: Vagal-evoked cortical potentials in monkeys follow a circadian pattern
Summer 2018
Paper published in Current Biology
Paper published in Current Biology
Phase-locked stimulation during cortical beta oscillations produces bidirectional synaptic plasticity in awake monkeys
Phase-locked stimulation during cortical beta oscillations produces bidirectional synaptic plasticity in awake monkeys
Our paper on cortical oscillations, closed-loop brain stimulation and activity-dependent neural plasticity in monkeys was published on Current Biology. We find that when cortical stimulation coincides with cortical beta oscillations, short-term synaptic plasticity effects occur, whose direction (potentiation or depression) depends on the oscillatory phase at which stimulation was delivered: depolarizing phases produce potentiation, hyperpolarizing phases produce depression.
Editorial (by Thilo Womelsdorf and Kari Hoffman)
Spring 2018
Newly-awarded $4M research grant to Stavros Zanos
Newly-awarded $4M research grant to Stavros Zanos
Bioelectronic therapy of pulmonary arterial hypertension
Bioelectronic therapy of pulmonary arterial hypertension
Over the next few years, the Translational Neurophysiology (TNP) lab will conduct preclinical research on a bioelectronic therapy of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is characterized by increased resistance in the pulmonary vessels, which may progress to heart failure and death. We will test whether vagus nerve stimulation with the appropriate device, electrode, electrode placement and stimulation parameters can selectively produce vasodilation in the pulmonary circulation, relieve symptoms and delay the progression of the disease.
This program is supported by a generous research grant from United Therapeutics.
Spring 2018
Invited talk at Experimental Biology
Invited talk at Experimental Biology
Closed-loop neuromodulation in physiological and translational research
Closed-loop neuromodulation in physiological and translational research
In the conference that took place in San Diego, CA, Stavros Zanos discussed the principles, uses and limitations of closed-loop neuromodulation systems in basic and translational research, and applications in clinical therapeutics.
Spring 2017
Paper published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Paper published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Cycle-triggered cortical stimulation during slow wave sleep facilitates learning a BMI task
Cycle-triggered cortical stimulation during slow wave sleep facilitates learning a BMI task
Delta wave-triggered cortical stimulation leads to faster learning of a brain-machine interface task that depends on oscillatory activity from the stimulated cortical site.
Spring 2017
Stavros Zanos joins Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Stavros Zanos joins Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Stavros Zanos recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, in Manhasset, New York. In his new position, Stavros will continue and expand his current research in neurophysiology and neuromodulation, develop new translational animal models to study bioelectronic medicine-based therapies and test these therapies in a variety of human diseases.
Winter 2016-2017
Newly-awarded $1.3M DARPA-sponsored grant to Stavros Zanos and Eb Fetz
Newly-awarded $1.3M DARPA-sponsored grant to Stavros Zanos and Eb Fetz
VNS and neuroplasticity
VNS and neuroplasticity
Stavros Zanos and Eb Fetz were awarded $1.3M to study the use of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to control brain plasticity. The 3-year award comes from DARPA's Targeted Neuroplasticity Training program (program officer: Doug Weber). A team also comprising Steve Perlmutter, PhD, Irene Rembado, PhD, David Su, MD and a number of University of Washington scientists and students will study the mechanisms through which VNS alters brain function and leverage VNS to control targeted cortical plasticity and augment cognitive performace in nonhuman primates. The research will take place at the WA National Primate Center at the University of Washington. [More...]
Fall 2016
Presentations at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Presentations at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
In the conference that took place in San Diego, CA, Stavros Zanos and colleagues presented latest research findings on the effects of vagus nerve stimulation on brain function in monkeys, on inducing cortical plasticity using invasive neurostimation in humans and on a new wireless bidirectional BCI system. Also, Stavros Zanos presented the latest version of our closed-loop neurostimulation system (Neurochip3) at the CSNE booth.
Zanos S, Moorjani S, Sabesan S, Fetz EE: Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on cortical activity and excitability in the nonhuman primate [Abstract]
Ozturk Y, Su Y, Moon KS, Perlmutter S, Zanos S, Fetz EE: A wireless bidirectional brain machine interface [Abstract]
Caldwell DJ, Olson JD, Wander JD, Zanos S, Sarma D, Fetz EE, Rao R, Ojemann JG: Exploration of the phase and dose dependence of cortico-cortical evoked potentials during beta-oscillation triggered direct electrical stimulation in humans [Abstract]
Spring 2016
Presentations at NANS Neural Interfaces Conference
Presentations at NANS Neural Interfaces Conference
Two posters presaent recent work on cortical plasticity, in monkeys and humans.
Zanos S, Rembado I, Fetz E: Closed-loop ECoG Stimulation Induces Hebbian Plasticity in Sensorimotor Cortex of Awake Monkeys
Caldwell D, Olson J, Wander J, Zanos S, Sarma D, Su D, Cronin J, Collins J, Wu J, Johnson L, Weaver K, Fetz E, Rao R, Ojemann J: Enhancement of Cortico-Cortical Evoked Potentials by Beta-Oscillation Triggered Direct Electrical Stimulation in Humans
Winter 2015-2016
Presentations at CSNE site visit in Seattle
Presentations at CSNE site visit in Seattle
Annual NSF site visit to UW's CSNE featured 2 presentations:
Moorjani S, Zanos S, Fetz E: Electrochemical neural interfaces for inducing motor plasticity
Bogaard A, Zanos S, Fetz E: Transcranial direct current stimulation for targeted cortical plasticity
Fall 2015
Presentations at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Presentations at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Two posters were presented in the conference that took place in Chicago, IL:
Rembado I, Zanos S, Fetz E: Effect of sleep-related cortical stimulation on learning a BCI task [Abstract]
Bogaard A, Zanos S, Richardson A, Robinson O, Fetz E: Electrical cortical stimulation paired with volitional movement produces subsequent intra- and inter-hemispheric effects in the nonhuman primate [Abstract]
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