Fig. 1

Experimental design and stimulation pulse waveforms. a Experimental timeline. Electrical stimulation pulse trains were applied to the exposed left cervical vagus nerve for 4 min under anesthesia. Following stimulation, the animals were recovered for 2 h, euthanized, and whole blood was collected through cardiac puncture. b Schematic of the charge-balanced stimulation waveforms used during stimulation, with short pulse width (top) and long pulse width (bottom). The actual waveform shapes used in this study are shown to the right