Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Vagus nerve and stress
What role does the vagus nerve play in the stress response?
Overview
edit(Tan et al., 2022)
- Vagus nerve response
- Fight or flight
- Stress
- I need to extend on my bullet points with more research to gain a better understanding of my topic
Case Study: Jenny
Jenny is a student in her third year of university, currently studying full-time and working part-time at an after-school care. Jenny is a high achiever and has a history of chronic stress due to her academics and job demands. Jenny has reported feeling constantly anxious, and overwhelmed, suffering insomnia and has increased digestive issues. Her stress levels have been significantly high for the last two years, impacting her relationships. She has become more irritable and less patient with her family, resulting in conflicts at home. Jenny is withdrawn and avoids social gatherings that she used to enjoy. She feels trapped in an endless cycle of stress, with little to no time to engage in activities that previously brought her joy.
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Focus questions:
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Introduction to Vagus Nerve and Stress
editDefinition and Concepts
edit- Overview of the vagus nerve and stress (Paleo Stress Management, 2023)
- Key theories (Stress related - Cognitive Appraisal Theory and General Adaption Syndrome) and models in psychology
- Importance of understanding the stress response
- Gut-brain axis
Relevance in every day life
edit- Significance
- Application
- Influence
History
editOrigins
edit- Discovery of the vagus nerve
Research
edit- Vagus nerve stimulation
- How the brain and gut respond to stress
(Hou et al., 2020)
Relationship between Vagus Nerve and Stress
edit- How the sympathetic nervous system is activated
- How the parasympathetic nervous system facilitates the response
- How vagus nerve stimulation reduces stress
Causes of Stress
edit![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Human_stress.jpg/139px-Human_stress.jpg)
- Life pressure
- Change
- No control of an outcome or situation
- Emotional stress (see Figure 2)
Consequences of Stress
editPhysical health
edit- Increase in heart rate
- increase in blood pressure
- Increased muscle tension
- Irregular breathing
- Irregular sleep
- Memory
(hatson dot coach, 2020)
Mental health
edit- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
(Blase et al., 2021)
The benefits of the Vagus Nerve and Stress response
edit- Nervous system activation
- Physiology
(Chu et al., 2024)
Conclusion
editA critical role in the body's stress response is largely dependent on the vagus nerve. The fight-or-flight reaction is triggered by stress on the sympathetic nervous system, which raises heart rate and blood pressure.The vagus nerve helps offset these effects by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which encourages and facilitates vegetative and nonemergency responses (“rest and digest”) and relaxation.
Persistent stress can have detrimental effects on one's physical and mental well-being, as Jenny's situation illustrates. Making wise judgements in daily life, controlling stress, and improving well-being all depend on an understanding of the function of the vagus nerve and how to correctly use vagus nerve stimulation to reduce stress.
Another important role reliant on the vagus nerve is the gut-brain axis, a two-way communication channel that connects the brain's emotional and cognitive regions to intestinal processes. The vagus nerve is involved in both modulating inflammation and regulating digestive processes, both of which are important during times of stress. The vagus nerve is crucial for preserving general well-being and lessening the negative impacts of stress since it affects both the central nervous system and gastrointestinal health.
Quiz
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See also
edit- Emotion (Wikipedia)
- Hunger motivation (Book chapter, 2010)
- Stress and health (Book chapter, 2010)
- Vagus nerve stimulation (Wikipedia)
References
editBustamante-Sánchez, Á., Tornero-Aguilera, José Francisco, Fernández-Elías, Valentín E, Hormeño-Holgado, A. J., Dalamitros, Athanasios A, & Clemente-Suárez, V. J. (2020). Effect of stress on autonomic and cardiovascular systems in military population: A systematic review. Cardiology Research and Practice, 2020, 1. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7986249
Chu, B., Marwaha, K., Ayers, D., & Sanvictores, T. (2024). Physiology, Stress reaction. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/
hatson dot coach. (2020). The Vagus Nerve Explained - and how it affects your wellbeing and decision-making. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1F31hGNa_o
Hou, X., Rong, C., Wang, F., Liu, X., Sun, Y., & Zhang, H.-T. (2020). GABAergic system in stress: Implications of GABAergic neuron subpopulations and the gut-vagus-brain pathway. Neural Plasticity, 2020, 1. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8858415
Keller, B. N., Snyder, A. E., Coker, C. R., Aguilar, E. A., O’Brien, M. K., Bingaman, S. S., Arnold, A. C., Hajnal, A., & Silberman, Y. (2021). The vagus nerve is critical for regulation of hypothalamicpituitaryadrenal axis responses to acute stress. BioRxiv, 2021.06.03.446790. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.03.446790
Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt, & Ottaviani, C. (2022). Combining top-down and bottom-up interventions targeting the vagus nerve to increase resilience. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 132, 725–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.018
Mueller, B., Figueroa, A., & Robinson-Papp, J. (2022). Structural and functional connections between the autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, and the immune system: a context and time dependent stress response network. Neurological Sciences, 43(2), 951–960. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-021-05810-1
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Paleo Stress Management. (2023, January 26). The Vagus Nerve Response To Stress. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzkx0pdq0qI
Siciliano, R. E., Anderson, A. S., & Compas, B. E. (2022). Autonomic nervous system correlates of posttraumatic stress symptoms in youth: Meta-analysis and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 92, 102125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102125
Swarna Buddha Nayok, Vanteemar Sathyanaryana Sreeraj, Venkataram Shivakumar, & Ganesan Venkatasubramanian. (2023). The vagus nerve in psychiatry: From theories to therapeutic neurostimulation in neuropsychiatric disorders. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 67, 151–162. https://doi.org/10.25259/ijpp_401_2022
Tan, C., Yan, Q., Ma, Y., Fang, J., & Yang, Y. (2022). Recognizing the role of the vagus nerve in depression from microbiota-gut brain axis. Frontiers in Neurology, 13, 1015175. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.1015175
External links
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