Pairing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with rehabilitation has emerged as a potential strategy to improve recovery after neurological injury, an effect ascribed to VNS-dependent enhancement of synaptic plasticity. Previous studies demonstrate that pairing VNS with forelimb training increases forelimb movement representations in motor cortex. However, it is not known whether VNS-dependent enhancement of plasticity is restricted to forelimb training or whether VNS paired with other movements could induce plasticity of other motor representations. We tested the hypothesis that VNS paired with orofacial movements associated with chewing during an unskilled task would drive a specific increase in jaw representation in motor cortex compared to equivalent behavioral experience without VNS. Rats performed a behavioral task in which VNS at a specified intensity between 0 and 1.2 mA was paired with chewing 200 times per day for five days. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) was then used to document movement representations in motor cortex. VNS paired with chewing at 0.8 mA significantly increased motor cortex jaw representation compared to equivalent behavioral training without stimulation (Bonferroni-corrected unpaired t-test, p < 0.01). Higher and lower intensities failed to alter cortical plasticity. No changes in other movement representations or total motor cortex area were observed between groups. These results demonstrate that 0.8 mA VNS paired with training drives robust plasticity specific to the paired movement, is not restricted to forelimb representations, and occurs with training on an unskilled task. This suggests that moderate intensity VNS may be a useful adjuvant to enhance plasticity and support benefits of rehabilitative therapies targeting functions beyond upper limb movement.

将迷走神经刺激 (VNS) 与康复配对已成为改善神经损伤后恢复的潜在策略，这种效果归因于 VNS 依赖性突触可塑性增强。先前的研究表明，将 VNS 与前肢训练配对会增加运动皮层中前肢运动的表现。然而，尚不清楚 VNS 依赖的可塑性增强是否仅限于前肢训练，或者 VNS 与其他运动配对是否可以诱导其他运动表现的可塑性。我们测试了这样一个假设，即与没有 VNS 的等效行为体验相比，VNS 与在非熟练任务中与咀嚼相关的口面部运动配对将驱动运动皮层中下巴表现的特定增加。大鼠执行一项行为任务，其中 VNS 在 0 到 1.2 mA 之间的指定强度与每天咀嚼 200 次配对，持续五天。然后使用皮层内微刺激 (ICMS) 来记录运动皮层中的运动表现。与无刺激的等效行为训练相比，VNS 搭配 0.8 mA 咀嚼可显着增加运动皮层下颌的表现（Bonferroni 校正的未配对 t 检验，p < 0.01）。更高和更低的强度未能改变皮质的可塑性。组间没有观察到其他运动表现或总运动皮层面积的变化。这些结果表明，0.8 mA VNS 与训练配对驱动特定于配对运动的强大可塑性，不限于前肢表示，并且发生在非熟练任务的训练中。