Keeping mind and body in sync: Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation as a tool to modulate stomach-brain coupling in depression

01/01/2024 to 31/12/2026

Based on emerging evidence showing the crucial role of vagal afferents in motivational and affective control, we propose non-invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve as a novel tool to improve key symptoms of MDD, including somatic symptoms and anhedonia that are difficult to treat with conventional methods today. The proposed study will investigate the following questions: a) Are inter-individual differences in stomach-brain coupling (i.e., a novel marker of interoceptive signaling) associated with symptom severity in depression? b) Could transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) provide an effective brain stimulation technique to alter stomach-brain coupling and improve aberrant interoceptive signaling in depression, leading to reduced (somatic) symptoms of depression? By elucidating the role of stomach-brain coupling in MDD and providing an innovative method to mechanistically treat aberrant interoceptive signaling, the proposed project may pave the way towards clinically relevant improvements for many patients who do not benefit sufficiently from the current first line of treatments.