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The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection
Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to marshal bodily functions, including aspects of mind such as mood, pleasure and fear.
The most vigorous current research involves stimulating this nerve with electricity to enhance cognition and memory, and for a smorgasbord of therapies for neurological and psychological disorders, including migraine, tinnitus, obesity, pain, drug addiction and more. All complex body systems require the equivalent of brakes and a gas pedal to maintain control, and the vagus nerve serves these roles for many of our innate responses, nearly all of which occur involuntarily. Signals between the brainstem and the body travel up and down the nerve to twist your gut for digestion, marshal your immune system to keep microbial threats at bay, pace your heart, and dial your blood pressure up and down.
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