Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Vagus nerve and stress

Vagus Nerve and Stress:
What role does the vagus nerve play in the stress response?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Figure 1. A dog and a cat exhibiting the fight-or-flight response. You’re sitting in a crowded lecture hall, about to take an important final exam. The pressure is mounting—weeks of studying come down to this moment. Your heart pounds, your palms are sweaty, and your mind is racing through everything you’ve crammed. You feel the familiar grip of anxiety tightening. As you start to read over the questions, you take a slow, deep breath. Your heart rate begins to steady, your muscles relax, and your overthinking stops. This is your vagus nerve taking effect, activating your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Signalling to your body that the immediate threat is over, helping your body ease out of the fight or flight response from panic to focus. Allowing you to concentrate and take the exam. When our bodies are in stress mode, our thoughts focus on getting away from things that we don’t like. For example, studying for an exam or even avoiding people. These are stress responses and can trigger our fight or flight response (see Figure 1). This is not beneficial when making important life and career decisions. Research has shown that our IQ is reduced, there is an increased heart rate and an increase in blood glucose concentrations when in this stress state. It is not a healthy state to be in for more than a few minutes. This book chapter should provide an understanding of the role the vagus nerve plays in stress response and bring awareness of the physical and mental risks when the body undergoes stress.

• 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 Jenny is withdrawn and avoids social gatherings that she used to enjoy.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.

Focus questions: What is the relationship between the vagus nerve and stress? Which nervous system activates the vagus nerve? What happens to the body during a fight or flight response? What neurotransmitter does the vagus nerve release?

Introduction to Vagus Nerve and Stress

Definition and Concepts

• 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

(Tan et al., 2022)

Relevance in every day life

• Significance
• Application
• Influence

History

Origins

• Discovery of the vagus nerve

Research

• Vagus nerve stimulation
• How the brain and gut respond to stress

(Hou et al., 2020)

Relationship between Vagus Nerve and Stress

• How the sympathetic nervous system is activated
• How the parasympathetic nervous system facilitates the response
• How vagus nerve stimulation reduces stress

Causes of Stress

Figure 2. Human stress

• Life pressure
• Change
• No control of an outcome or situation
• Emotional stress (see Figure 2)

Consequences of Stress

Physical health

• Increase in heart rate
• increase in blood pressure
• Increased muscle tension
• Irregular breathing
• Irregular sleep
• Memory

(hatson dot coach, 2020)

Mental health

• Stress
• Depression
• Anxiety

(Blase et al., 2021)

The benefits of the Vagus Nerve and Stress response

• Nervous system activation
• Physiology

(Chu et al., 2024)

Conclusion

A 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

1 What neurotransmitter does the vagus nerve release?

	Acetylcholine
	Dopamine

2 What triggers the vagus nerve?

	Calmness
	Stress

See also

• Emotion (Wikipedia)
• Hunger motivation (Book chapter, 2010)
• Stress and health (Book chapter, 2010)
• Vagus nerve stimulation (Wikipedia)

References

Blase, K., Vermetten, E., Lehrer, P., & Gevirtz, R. (2021). Neurophysiological approach by self-control of your stress-related autonomic nervous system with depression, stress and anxiety patients. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073329

Bustamante-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

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