摘要
To the Editor:Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD),a severe psychiatric disorder post-trauma,is closely linked to fear memory.[1]Current treatments like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have limited effectiveness and side effects,necessitating new non-invasive approaches.PTSD often co-occurs with depression,and both are connected to inflammatory system disruptions,with increased proinflammatory cytokines in patients.[2,3]Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation(taVNS)shows promise for treating depression by reducing neuroinflammation.[4]taVNS combines auricular acupuncture(a technique in Traditional Chinese Medicine)and neuroanatomy,targeting the auricular branch of the vagus nerve to influence brain regions like the thalamus and hippocampus.This study hypothesizes that taVNS may reduce fear memory among fear-conditioned mice through the modulation of inflammatory responses.We utilized a fear-conditioning mouse model to evaluate the impact on freezing behavior and quantify inflammatory markers,including corticosterone,interleukin-10(IL-10)and interleukin-1β(IL-1β),within both serum and brain regions.
基金
supported by grants from the priming scientific research foundation for the junior researcher in Beijing Tongren Hospital,Capital Medical University(No.2023-YJJ-ZZL-018)
the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82270411)
the Beijing Hospitals Authority’s Ascent Plan(No.DFL20220203)
the Capital’s Funds for Health Improvement and Research(No.CFH2024-2-2058).
