The polyvagal collection of hypotheses is based upon five essential premises, as stated by
its author (Porges, 2011). Polyvagal conjectures rest on a primary assumption that brainstem …

Although there is a consistent literature documenting that vagal cardioinhibitory pathways
support homeostatic functions, another less frequently cited literature implicates vagal …

This paper reviews the many functions of the vagus nerve, to understand how they interact in
daily life and what might be accomplished by therapeutical electrical stimulation. A short …

Key points The vagus nerve is the largest cranial nerve and innervates many structures in
the neck, thorax and abdomen. Although single‐unit recordings from the vagus nerve have …

Aims Although the nature of the humoral factor which mediates cardioprotection established
by remote ischaemic conditioning (RIc) remains unknown, parasympathetic (vagal) …

Key points Cardiac vagal tone is a strong predictor of health, although its central origins are
unknown. Respiratory‐linked fluctuations in cardiac vagal tone give rise to respiratory sinus …

Lower resting heart rate and high autonomic vagal activity are strongly associated with
superior exercise capacity, maintenance of which is essential for general well-being and …

Large clinical trials designed to test the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in patients
with heart failure did not demonstrate benefits with respect to the primary endpoints. The …

The autonomic nervous system exerts a fine beat-to-beat regulation of cardiovascular
functions and is consequently involved in the onset and progression of many cardiovascular …

Indirect measures of cardiac vagal activity are strongly associated with exercise capacity, yet
a causal relationship has not been established. Here we show that in rats, genetic silencing …