The vagus nerve is a major component of the autonomic nervous system and a key conduit between the peripheral organs and the brain. From a neuroscience perspective, vagal afferent and efferent signaling shapes central network activity and influences neuroimmune, neuroendocrine, and autonomic regulation. These pathways link vagus nerve function to cognition, emotion, stress physiology, and brain–body homeostasis, and they are increasingly implicated across a wide range of neurological, psychiatric, and systemic disorders.
Over the past decade, neuroscience research has accelerated in methods to map vagal circuits and to measure and modulate vagus nerve function. Approaches include invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation, pharmacological strategies, behavioral interventions, and indirect modulation via gut–brain and sensory pathways. Despite progress, key challenges remain: establishing mechanistic clarity, validating reliable biomarkers and target engagement metrics, and determining which interventions are effective for specific conditions and patient subgroups.
This Research Topic aims to bring together basic, translational, and clinical neuroscience studies that clarify vagal pathways, mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic potential across health and disease. We welcome work spanning neural circuits and physiology through to clinical applications of vagus nerve modulation. We will consider Review and Systematic Review articles, as well as Original Research reporting clinical or preclinical studies.
Submissions may address mental health, neurological diseases, inflammation and neuroimmune interactions, metabolism, autonomic regulation, and related brain–body fields. We welcome submissions covering, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Vagus nerve pathways and physiology in brain–body communication (afferent/efferent signaling; central and peripheral integration) - Biomarkers and methods to quantify vagal function and target engagement (e.g., HRV, electrophysiology, imaging, molecular/immune readouts) - Mechanisms of vagal regulation in autonomic control, neuroendocrine function, neuroimmune signaling, and inflammation - Neuromodulation approaches involving the vagus nerve, including invasive VNS and non-invasive (transcutaneous/auricular) VNS, stimulation parameters, and mechanisms of action - Pharmacological, behavioral, and lifestyle approaches that modulate vagal pathways with relevance to health outcomes - Preclinical, translational, and clinical studies of vagus-related interventions across neurological, psychiatric, metabolic, and inflammatory conditions - Clinical studies and trials assessing feasibility, safety, efficacy, dosing, stratification, and predictors of response in healthy participants and patient populations, including prevention- and resilience-focused outcomes
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Classification
Clinical Trial
Community Case Study
Conceptual Analysis
Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
Data Report
Editorial
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
