Regaining Consciousness: The Effect of Vagal Nerve Stimulation on a Patient in a Permanent Vegetative State

Autonomic balance determines the severity of COVID-19 courses

COVID-19 has left mankind desperately seeking how to manage dramatically rising infection rates associated with severe disease progressions. COVID-19 courses range from mild symptoms up to multiple organ failure and death, triggered by excessively high serum cytokine levels (IL 1β, IL 6, TNF α, IL 8). The vagally driven cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) stops the action of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), the transcriptional factor of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus, well-balanced cytokine release depends on adequate vagal signaling. Coronaviruses replicate using NF-κB transcriptional factor as well. By degrading the cytoplasmatic inhibitor of NF-κB subunits (IκB), coronaviruses induce unrestricted NF-κB expression accelerating both, virus replication and cytokine transcription.

We hypothesize that CAP detriment due to depressed vagal tone critically determines the severity of COVID-19.

The Homuncular Jigsaw: Investigations of Phantom Limb and Body Awareness Following Brachial Plexus Block or Avulsion

Many neuropsychological theories agree that the brain maintains a relatively persistent representation of one’s own body, as indicated by vivid “phantom” experiences. It remains unclear how the loss of sensory and motor information contributes to the presence of this representation. Here, we focus on new empirical and theoretical evidence of phantom sensations following damage to or an anesthetic block of the brachial plexus. We suggest a crucial role of this structure in understanding the interaction between peripheral and central mechanisms in health and in pathology. Studies of brachial plexus function have shed new light on how neuroplasticity enables “somatotopic interferences”, including pain and body awareness. Understanding the relations among clinical disorders, their neural substrate, and behavioral outcomes may enhance methods of sensory rehabilitation for phantom limbs.