Oct 2, 2015 05:01 PM
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/does-a-...eady-exist
EXCERPT: [Tinnitus is a condition that causes incessant ear ringing] ... a study published this month [...] found tinnitus is caused by a defective “gatekeeping” system in the brain. [...] that system can also be successfully rebalanced by targeting the vagus nerve.
“The study confirms our treatment practice,” [Nathan] Dundovic said. “One of the things stimulating the vagus nerve does is it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which interrupts this feedback loop and promotes neuroplasticity in the brain––it helps the brain rewire itself.”
However, Josef Rauschecker [...] said there is not a lot of reliable data to back up the vagus nerve theory.
“There are no good theories of how the vagus nerve has an influence on higher brain structures,” he said. [...] Rauschecker added that isn’t to say it cannot be effective, just that more research needs to be done. “Often in the medical community you find something that works and later you find out how it works,” he said.
[...] Meanwhile, the [...treatment's...] device has gained regulatory approval in the European Union and is pending FDA approval in the United States. With further testing, the treatment could have a variety of applications beyond tinnitus, including relief for chronic pain sufferers....
EXCERPT: [Tinnitus is a condition that causes incessant ear ringing] ... a study published this month [...] found tinnitus is caused by a defective “gatekeeping” system in the brain. [...] that system can also be successfully rebalanced by targeting the vagus nerve.
“The study confirms our treatment practice,” [Nathan] Dundovic said. “One of the things stimulating the vagus nerve does is it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which interrupts this feedback loop and promotes neuroplasticity in the brain––it helps the brain rewire itself.”
However, Josef Rauschecker [...] said there is not a lot of reliable data to back up the vagus nerve theory.
“There are no good theories of how the vagus nerve has an influence on higher brain structures,” he said. [...] Rauschecker added that isn’t to say it cannot be effective, just that more research needs to be done. “Often in the medical community you find something that works and later you find out how it works,” he said.
[...] Meanwhile, the [...treatment's...] device has gained regulatory approval in the European Union and is pending FDA approval in the United States. With further testing, the treatment could have a variety of applications beyond tinnitus, including relief for chronic pain sufferers....