Autism Therapy: vagus nerve

definition of vagus nerve: Nerve that connects the brain to the internal organs of the abdominal region (gut area). The vagus nerve is important for sending messages from the organs to the brain, and from the brain to the organs.

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Vagal Activity, Early Growth, and Emotional Development
Infant Behavior & Development, by Field, T., and Diego M., published in 2008, summarized Sep 17, 2008

Massage therapy may help young children with autism to have better social behavior, use more facial expressions, and make more sounds.

The vagus nerve is important for the nervous system and social function. The vagus nerve goes from the brain to the gut, heart, ears, mouth, and voice. Children with autism have low activity of the vagus nerve. People with lower vagal activity also tend to have higher stress hormone (cortisol) levels and lower levels of the brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin. This review article describes vagal activity and how infant massage can be used to increase vagal activity.


Lack of Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Drug-Resistant Epilepsy in Eight Pediatric Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Prospective 2-year Follow-up Study
Epilepsy & Behavior, by Danielsson, S., Viggedal G., Gillberg C., and Olsson I., published in 2008, summarized Mar 13, 2008

Vagus nerve stimulation does not seem to help with autism or epilepsy in children who have both autism and epilepsy.

Between 7 and 42% of people with autism also have epilepsy. Vagus nerve stimulation is sometimes used for people with severe epilepsy who do not respond to drug therapy and who cannot receive epilepsy surgery. Many children with this type of severe epilepsy also have other problems such as autism. This study was designed to see if vagus nerve stimulation is able to help the symptoms of autism in children with autism and epilepsy. The study had only eight children and none of the children had a decreased number of seizures after two years of vagus nerve stimulation.


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Epilepsy

Feb 23, 2007 by Anonymous

Epilepsy has been described as "an excessive and disorderly discharge of cerebral nervous tissue on muscles." Between 30 and 40% of individuals with autism have epilepsy. It can be very stressful for the individual as well as the family. Treatments include: antiepileptic drugs, surgery, vagal nerve stimulation, and a ketogenic diet.


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    • Synonyms for vagus nerve include: vagal nerve
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