Table 3.
Preclinical usage of TNS in pathological conditions
| Model | Stimulation Method and Target | Species | Stimulation Parameters | Effect | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epilepsy | Infraorbital unilateral or bilateral electrostimulation | Adult female Long-Evans hooded rats |
C1 – 333 Hz 3 – 11 mA 0.5 ms PW |
↓Seizure frequency and severity Bilateral stimulation is more effective than unilateral at the same intensity |
Fanselow et al. 2000 |
| Bilateral percutaneous electrical on ophthalmic nerves | Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats |
140 Hz 10 mA 0.5 ms PW 1 min on, 4 min off |
↓ Hippocampal apoptosis ↓ Neuroinflammation |
Wang et al. 2016 | |
| Unilateral electrical left infraorbital nerve | Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats |
30 Hz 2 mA 0.5 ms PW 30 s on, 5 min off |
↑ Mild seizure duration ↓ Severe seizure duration Activation in Sol, LCC, DR, amygdala, endopiriform nucleus, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, somatosensory cortex |
Marcante et al., Mercante et al. 2017 | |
| Subarachnoid Hemorrhage with CBF reduction | Invasive Electrical | Pittmann-Moore pigs |
45 Hz 0.2 ms PW 3 h continuous |
↑ CBF; ↓ CVR | Salar et al. 1992 |
| Subarachnoid Hemorrhage | Non- Invasive, Transcorneal, Nasociliary Nerve | Male albino Wistar rats |
30 Hz 3 mA 1 ms PW 30 s continuous |
↑ CBF at the MCA; ↓ CVR; ↑ ABP | Atalay et al. 2002 |
| Subarachnoid Hemorrhage – Endovascular Puncture | Percutaneous Electrical, Infraorbital Nerve | Male Sprague–Dawley rats |
50 Hz 0.5 – 2.5 V 20 s every 5 min for 60 min |
↑ CBF; ↑ CSF CGRP ↓ Macro-and micro-vascular vasospasm ↓ Parenchymal microthrombi ↓ Apoptosis ↓ Neurobehavioral deficits |
Shah et al., 2022 |
| Ischemic Stroke—Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion | Subcutaneous Electrical/Cold Temp Forehead Stimulation | Male Sprague–Dawley rats |
25 Hz 0.06 mA 0.5 ms PW |
Both: ↓ Focal ischemic infarctions Cold Temp: ↑ MAP; ↑ HR |
Shiflett et al. 2015 |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | Invasive and Subcutaneous Electrical | Male Sprague–Dawley rats | 1 min on per 11 min |
TBI: ↑ CBF; ↑ MAP; ↑ PP; ↑ HR; ↑ PbrO2; ↓ RR w/out TBI: ↑ CBF, ↓CVR |
Chiluwal et al. 2017 |
| Electrical acupuncture on infraorbital nerve | B6 mice |
10 Hz 0.1 mA 200 ms PW 30 s on 30 s off for 60 min |
↓ Edema; ↑ BOLD ↓ Sensorimotor dysfunction ↑ WGMT scores ↓ Inflammation |
Yang et al. 2022 | |
| Infraorbital nerve | Mice |
40 Hz 0.2 mA 200 ms PW 30 s on 30 s off for 60 min |
↓ APP and Iba1 in HPC ↑ Dopaminergic activation |
Xu et al. 2023 | |
| Traumatic Brain Injury-induced Loss of Consciousness | Bilateral electrical anterior ethmoidal nerve | Male Sprague–Dawley rats |
140 Hz 1 mA 10 s on, 5 s off for 30 min |
↑ Consciousness levels ↑ EEG voltage ↑ Hypocretin expression ↑ LH neuron activation Sp5 glutamatergic neuron activation |
Zheng et al. 2021 |
| Traumatic Brain Injury Complicated by Hemorrhagic Shock | Percutaneous electrical, infraorbital and anterior ethmoid branches of trigeminal nerve | Male Sprague–Dawley rats |
50 Hz 5 s PW 20 ms between pulses 5 s on, 5 s off for 1 min every 10 min, for total of 60 min |
CBF oscillation ↑ Survival rate ↓ Lesion volume ↑ eNOS; ↓ iNOS ↓ Neuroinflammation |
Li et al. 2021a, b |
| Hemorrhagic Shock | Percutaneous Electrical, Infraorbital Nerve | Male Sprague–Dawley rats |
25 Hz 7 V 0.5 ms PW |
↑CBF ↑MAP ↑PbO2 ↑Survival time ↑Norepinephrine ↓Systemic inflammatory markers |
Li et al. 2019 |