Fiber-type specific manipulation of the vagus nerve by optogenetics in rodents

Abstract

The vagus nerve is a part of the autonomic nervous system, serving as a central pathway to communicate between the central and peripheral organs. Recently, optogenetic tools have been widely used to monitor and manipulate specific classes of cell populations. These tools are now applicable to the study of the vagus nerve, which can selectively examine the physiological significance of individual vagus nerve subclasses such as afferent/efferent vagal neurons and specific organ-innervating vagal neurons. Here, I summarize recent optogenetic approaches and electrophysiological recording methods to study vagus nerve physiology in the cardiac system, respiratory system, and gastrointestinal system. Further studies with these optogenetic tools will facilitate our understanding of the fundamental characteristics of vagus nerve signals.