The Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is the tenth of the twelve brain nerves. The vagus nerve contributes to the feelings associated with infections such as appetite, fatigue and induction of disease behavior. It extends from the brainstem to the abdomen, with branches in the neck, thorax and abdomen 68. The vagus nerve is part of the autonomic nervous system, has efferent fibers, ascending signals from the brain to the peripheral organs, as well as afferent sensory fibers, and transmits information from the peripheral tissue to the brain. The ANS consists of three components: the sympathetic, noradrenergic and parasympathetic, cholinergic systems that occur in the CNS, with the cell body in the brainstem and spinal cord and ENS 68.
The vagus nerve is a part
of the parasympathetic system, but is affected by the sympathetic nervous system, which has the opposite effect, as a "fight or flight" reaction 7.
Functionally, parasympathetic signals in the vagal efferent nerve influence the heart rate, narrow the bronchi, while peristaltic movements and secretions in the stomach and intestines as well as in the pancreas increase 68. In the abdomen, the vagus sends efficient fibers to the stomach, the small intestine and the first half of the intestine, visceral afferent fibers are more likely to feel hunger, saturation and general sensation of the physiological condition of the body, as is the disease 7.
Cytokines can communicate with the brain by stimulating the afferent terminals of the peripheral nerves, including the vagus nerve 34. This neural-immune interaction can directly modulate the systemic response to pathogen invasion, thus the activation of the vagus and parasympathetic efferents during the systemic response to stress C is a protective benefit to the host by retaining the magnitude of an immune response Peripheral disease. In gut-associated lymphoid tissue, 70-80% of the body's immune cells are contained, reflecting the unique challenge for this part of the immune system to maintain a homeostatic balance between tolerance, inflammation and immunity in the intestine 7. Subsets of the vagal afferent nerve endings are very close to the immune cells of the mucus and contain receptors for the signaling of molecules released from these cells.
The vagus nerve is a part
of the parasympathetic system, but is affected by the sympathetic nervous system, which has the opposite effect, as a "fight or flight" reaction 7.
Functionally, parasympathetic signals in the vagal efferent nerve influence the heart rate, narrow the bronchi, while peristaltic movements and secretions in the stomach and intestines as well as in the pancreas increase 68. In the abdomen, the vagus sends efficient fibers to the stomach, the small intestine and the first half of the intestine, visceral afferent fibers are more likely to feel hunger, saturation and general sensation of the physiological condition of the body, as is the disease 7.
Cytokines can communicate with the brain by stimulating the afferent terminals of the peripheral nerves, including the vagus nerve 34. This neural-immune interaction can directly modulate the systemic response to pathogen invasion, thus the activation of the vagus and parasympathetic efferents during the systemic response to stress C is a protective benefit to the host by retaining the magnitude of an immune response Peripheral disease. In gut-associated lymphoid tissue, 70-80% of the body's immune cells are contained, reflecting the unique challenge for this part of the immune system to maintain a homeostatic balance between tolerance, inflammation and immunity in the intestine 7. Subsets of the vagal afferent nerve endings are very close to the immune cells of the mucus and contain receptors for the signaling of molecules released from these cells.