Parasym Ltd. articles

From the ear to the brain
Tinnitus is a condition where one hears or perceives a sound without any external sound stimulus, it is commonly experienced as a high pitched ringing or buzzing. As tinnitus is experienced as a phantom sound it was initially thought to arise from the ear, however, recent research has shown that perception and generation are often linked to specific brain regions.

A recent publication in the journal Ear and Hearing suggested that the num

Predicting Treatment Success
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) has recently emerged as a promising treatment for depression and an effective mood enhancer, showing benefits over similar treatments including traditional vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) which is invasive and costly.

tVNS targets the auricular branch of the vagus nerve and works by applying a small electrical stimulation to the outer ear. The new non-invasive method has been shown to be

Key points

• The vagus nerve controls many unconscious processes in the body
• The vagus neural network interfaces with inflammatory, mood and pain regulation.  
• This can be utilised for its neuromodulatory effect in activating restorative pathways.

The vagus nerve has been called the ‘great wandering protector’ of the body, it’s made up of an intricate neural network that maintains homeostasis and equilibr

Highlights of Research

• A clinical study investigated transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS).
• Results indicate tVNS stimulates afferent fibers of the vagus nerve;
• and, that tVNS enhances creativity performance in divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking is a thought process or methodology that is used to generate creative ideas by exploring a number of possible solutions to a problem. This research is significant as creat

Depression and the vagus nerve
Depression affects millions of people worldwide and constitutes a leading cause of disability. Although pharmacological interventions are available, many of them produce suboptimal outcomes due to high non-responsive rates or intolerable side effects.

It has been estimated that between 20 to 40 per cent of patients either failed to respond to conventional antidepressant therapies, or were forced to withdraw from treatment due to int