# Microelectrode Recordings from the Vagus Nerve in Awake Humans

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2022 · $218,148

## Abstract

ANCILLARY PROJECT 1 Abstract: Microelectrode Recordings from the Vagus Nerve in Awake Humans

The vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve, supplies structures in the neck, thorax, and abdomen with sensory and motor innervation, including parasympathetic innervation to the heart, lungs, airways, and gut. Unlike the sympathetic nervous system, in which it has been possible to make direct microelectrode recordings in humans for >50 years, it has not been possible to record parasympathetic outflow directly – until now. We developed an ultrasound-guided approach that allows us to record directly from the vagus nerve via a microelectrode inserted percutaneously into the neck of awake humans. In this Ancillary Project, we plan to build upon our preliminary data from this approach by undertaking a detailed neurophysiological investigation of the human vagus nerve and identifying the nerve fibers activated during vagal nerve stimulation, both sensory and motor (including parasympathetic) axons. This may provide a specified range of stimulus intensities required to excite myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers in the Clinical Study Protocol as described in the Clinical Core. It will also provide unprecedented detail into the physiology of the human vagus nerve and inform future development of novel intrafascicular neural interfaces.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10610560
- **Project number:** 1U54AT012307-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Vaughan Gary Macefield
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $218,148
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-23 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10610560

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10610560, Microelectrode Recordings from the Vagus Nerve in Awake Humans (1U54AT012307-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10610560. Licensed CC0.

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