After examining syncope and sepsis, dangerous and dire medical states, respectively, in our last two installments, let’s keep this one lighter and broadly relatable. Coughing and sneezing are  ordinary phenomena familiar to every human on earth. Could there be specific and identifiable neural circuits for such common symptoms too? According to recent neuroscience, yes! In summer 2024, researchers at University of Michigan reported in Nature Neuroscience a detailed mapping of a “vagal-brainstem pathway” for coughing. 

My inner light bulb switched on in 2023 when I learned about the lower neural pathways for vasovagal syncope. I quickly spread the word in the chronic illness community, but they were mostly nonplussed. And who can blame them: the brain has become largely synonymous with mental health in much of science media.

In early 2023, I became deeply curious about the lower nervous system. This research article appeared later that year, and I quickly realized that “advanced neuroscience” (neuroscience harnessing recent advances from the US BRAIN Initiative and the like around the world) was ready to give us deep insights. Mapping the lower nervous system may not have been the dream of most BRAIN pioneers, but it may prove to be one of their greatest legacies.