Modulating salience network connectivity through olfactory nerve stimulation

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • Carina Heller - , Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, University of Minnesota System, University of California at Santa Barbara, Deutsches Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit (DZPG) - Standort Jena, Halle, Mageburg, C-I-R-C Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (Autor:in)
  • Maria Geisler - , Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Autor:in)
  • Nicolas L. Mayer - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Autor:in)
  • Annabelle Thierfelder - , Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Autor:in)
  • Martin Walter - , Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Deutsches Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit (DZPG) - Standort Jena, Halle, Mageburg, C-I-R-C Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (Autor:in)
  • Thomas Hummel - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Autor:in)
  • Ilona Croy - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik, Deutsches Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit (DZPG) - Standort Jena, Halle, Mageburg, C-I-R-C Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Autor:in)

Abstract

Depression is associated with reduced functional connectivity within the brain’s salience network and its strengthened interactions with the default mode network (DMN). Modification of this clinical pattern is challenging. Leveraging the direct neural pathways from olfactory processing regions to the salience network, we explored the effects of electrical stimulation of the olfactory mucosa on brain connectivity. In a randomized, blinded within-subject design, 45 healthy individuals received olfactory or trigeminal nerve stimulation followed by resting-state fMRI. Olfactory stimulation resulted in a significant increase in functional connectivity between the salience network and the piriform cortex – a primary olfactory structure. Importantly, this stimulation increased functional connectivity within the salience network and weakened connectivity between the salience network and the DMN. These findings suggest that olfactory stimulation may modulate connectivity patterns implicated in depression, offering a novel potential minimal invasive therapeutic strategy. However, as these results were obtained from a healthy cohort, further studies are required to evaluate the efficacy in individuals with depression.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer303
FachzeitschriftTranslational psychiatry
Jahrgang15
Ausgabenummer1
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - Dez. 2025
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/191533964