cervical sympathetic nerves. The idea was to reduce cardiac output and to stimulate cervical sympathetic nerves to constrict cerebral blood vessels. Corning reported dramatic benefits however it was not accepted by his colleagues and ultimately was forgotten. In the 1930s Biley and Bremer demonstrated the direct influence of VNS on the central nervous system. This was in contrary to Corning who had intended to use it to reduce cerebral blood flow. In the 1940s and 1950s vagal nerve stimulation was shown to affect EEG activity. Finally, nearly 100 years since Corning, Zabara proposed that VNS could be used to treat epilepsy. He then demonstrated its efficacy in animal experiments. The first human was implanted with a VNS for the treatment of epilepsy in 1988. Later History In 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration's neurological devices panel met to consider approval of an implanted vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) for epilepsy, requested by Cyberonics (which was subsequently acquired by LivaNova). The FDA approved an implanted VNS for TR-MDD in 2005. In April 2017, the FDA cleared marketing of a handheld noninvasive vagus nerve stimulator, called "gammaCore" and made by ElectroCore LLC, for episodic cluster headaches, under the de novo pathway. In January 2018, the FDA cleared a new use of that device, for the treatment of migraine pain in adults under a 510(k) based on the de novo clearance. In 2020, electroCore's non-invasive VNS was granted an Emergency Use Authorization for treating COVID-19 patients, given Research has shown this pulse train causes airways in the lungs to open its anti-inflammatory effect. Research Because the vagus nerve is associated with many different functions and brain regions, clinical research has been done to determine its usefulness in treating other illnesses, including various anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol addiction, chronic heart failure, prevention of arrhythmias that can cause sudden cardiac death, autoimmune disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, hypertension, and several chronic pain conditions. A recent study showed that chronic VNS showed strong antidepressant and anxiolytic effects, and improved memory performance in an Alzheimer's Disease animal model. tVNS has also been shown to enhance memory in healthy adults. VNS has also been studied in small trials of people with neurodevelopmental disorders, generally who also have had epilepsy, including Landau-Kleffner syndrome, Rett syndrome, and autism spectrum disorders. VNS is being studied as of 2018 as a treatment for migraines and fibromyalgia. Transcutaneous As of