#824: What Most Has My Attention Right Now — Credible (vs. Bogus) Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Kevin J. Tracey, MD is president and CEO of the
Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, a
pioneer of vagus nerve research and author of the recent book,
The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and
How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes.


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Timestamps:


00:00 Tim’s intro: why he dismissed vagus-nerve hype


06:34 What the vagus nerve actually is, plus common myths


11:31 Breaking news: FDA approval for SetPoint’s RA implant +
Kelly Owens’s turnaround


21:11 Inflammation 101: when healing turns harmful


31:37 Bioelectronic medicine: from lab insight to real devices


55:26 TNF, IL-1, and IL-6: immune drivers and what VNS modulates


56:06 Exercise & recovery: vagal signals, IL-6, and
adaptation


56:30 Cold exposure & breathwork: sympathetic spike,
parasympathetic payoff


59:04 Chronic inflammation today: prevalence, diagnostics, and
uncertainty


59:53 Autoimmunity: genes, environment, infections


01:01:08 Stress hormones, personality traits, and metabolic
fallout


01:05:41 VNS tech landscape: implants, focused ultrasound, and
what’s just TENS


01:11:14 Ear maps, revisited: the real science behind auricular
stimulation


01:27:52 Ulf Andersson: auricular TENS, famotidine, and a
depression turnaround


01:36:48 Depression & inflammation: where VNS helps (and
where it doesn’t)


01:41:38 Body-brain loop: how inflammation signals ride the vagus
nerve


01:42:56 Why VNS can lift mood: a working theory


01:43:22 Ulf’s setup: electrode placement and twice-daily routine


01:44:37 Acupuncture, fertility, and plausible vagal links


01:47:23 Chronic pain through an inflammation lens


01:48:34 Neural “engrams”: how the brain can store inflammatory
memories


02:02:35 Cervical TENS vs. true VNS: mechanisms and open
questions


02:12:15 On stage with the Dalai Lama: blue energy and two vagus
nerves


02:16:55 Closing thoughts: self-care vs. medical devices, and
what’s next


*


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