RECONSTRUCTING VAGAL ANATOMY

迷走神经具有大量的传入（感觉）和传出（运动）纤维，是大脑和内脏器官双向交流的主要通道，参与调节心肺、胃肠和神经免疫功能的自主反射。在人的迷走神经中，神经纤维以束状排列。沿着迷走神经，传入和传出纤维离开神经束，从神经干出来形成分支，这些分支反过来为颈部、胸部和腹部的几乎所有内脏器官提供感觉和运动神经支配。尽管我们对迷走神经的宏观和微观解剖已经了解很多，但神经束和纤维的空间组织，因为它与神经支配器官和迷走神经的感觉和运动功能有关，在很大程度上是未知的。人类迷走神经纤维的空间组织对迷走神经调节治疗具有重要意义。本提案的总体目标是创建并与科学界分享人类迷走神经从脑干到腹部区域的束状和微观结构以及器官连通性的量化地图，并在器官分支，束状和单纤维水平上具有几个交叉注册的解剖信息层。

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.