Curie Brief
Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
News
Your body might be doing more for your brain than you think. Researchers at Tohoku University found that stimulating the vagus nerve in mice after training — not during — led to stronger long-term motor learning. The effect was tied to rhythmic changes in brain blood flow, suggesting the body-brain connection plays a bigger role in locking in new skills than previously recognized.
Your body might be doing more for your brain than you think
Researchers at Tohoku University have found that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) — delivered after training sessions, not during — significantly improved long-term motor learning in mice. Using a cerebellum-dependent eye movement task, mice that received post-training VNS showed stronger skill retention in the days that followed, pointing to a previously overlooked "window of opportunity" for the brain to consolidate new learning. The findings were published in iScience on August 25, 2026.
The mechanism appears to involve more than just neurotransmitter changes. Using fiber photometry, the team observed that VNS triggered rhythmic oscillations in blood volume near the cerebellar flocculus — a brain region tied to motor learning. Mice with larger vascular oscillations tended to show better learning outcomes, suggesting the brain's metabolic environment plays a key role in making skills stick.
Key Takeaways
Why it matters: If these findings translate to humans, VNS could one day be used to enhance rehabilitation after stroke, injury, or neurological disease — helping patients lock in newly relearned skills more effectively.
