Good news! This seems to be a preliminary release.
"... Scientists have created the first comprehensive map of the human vagus nerve, tracing thousands of individual nerve fibers stretching from the lower brainstem to all major organs. The map—announced last week and detailed in a dataset released earlier this year—might help scientists and doctors more precisely stimulate the nerve as a potential treatment for conditions such as epilepsy, stroke, and inflammatory diseases.
The team analyzed 30 sets of left and right vagus nerves dissected from 30 human cadavers. The dissected nerves then underwent ultrasound to capture basic anatomy, micro-CT (a form of x-ray imaging) to trace the paths of nerve fibers, and finally, thousands of thin cross-sectional slices stained with antibodies bound to specific proteins. A machine learning model then analyzed the images and characterized individual fibers to functional classes—for example, distinguishing between sensory fibers that send signals from the organs to the brain and the motor fibers that orchestrate involuntary muscle contractions.
The new baseline map can help researchers get a better handle on variability, helping to explain “why there are people who are responsive to treatments and others that are not,” ..."
From the abstract:
"Study Purpose:
With its large numbers of afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) fibers, the vagus is the main conduit for bidirectional communication between the brain and visceral organs and participates in autonomic reflexes regulating cardiorespiratory, gastrointestinal, and neuroimmune functions.
In the human vagus, nerve fibers are arranged in fascicles. Along the vagus, afferent and efferent fibers leave the fascicles and emerge from the nerve trunk to form branches, which in turn provide sensory and motor innervation to essentially all visceral organs in the neck, chest, and abdomen.
Even though much is known about the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the vagus, the spatial organization of fascicles and fibers within the nerve, as it relates to the innervated organs and the sensory and motor functions of the vagus, is largely unknown.
The spatial organization of fibers in the human vagus has implications for vagus neuromodulation therapies. The overall objective of this proposal is to create and share with the scientific community a quantified map of the fascicular and microscopic structure and the organ connectivity of the human vagus nerve, from the brainstem to the abdominal region, with several cross-registered layers of anatomical information at the organ branch, fascicle, and single fiber level.
Data Collection:
The dataset includes anatomical images and videos, ultrasound images and videos of the vagus nerve, microCT scans across the length of the nerve, and IHC images across multiple levels. The techniques include: anatomy (dissection), histology (immunohistochemistry), bioimaging (ultrasound), and microscopy (microCT).
Primary Conclusion:
The human vagus nerve exhibits an intricate anatomical organization. This is an ongoing study, and we will publish our initial conclusions once we have sufficient data."
Feinstein Institutes makes publicly available world’s first comprehensive human vagus nerve maps solidifying decades of leadership in bioelectronic medicine (original news release) "This pioneering dataset was funded through a $6.7 million NIH multi-year grant and offers unprecedented insights into the vagus nerve’s intricate anatomy"
Human vagus nerve anatomical reconstruction using microCT immunohistochemistry and ultrasound - f011 (open access?)
The human vagus nerve contains about 100,000 individual nerve fibers, some as small as 0.5 micrometers.
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