Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Modulating the Parasympathetic Response

On this special episode of Pathways to Well-Being, IFM co-founder Dr. Jeffery Bland talks with the winner of the 2025 Linus and Ave Helen Pauling Award in Functional Medicine, Dr. Deanna Minich.  

On this episode of Pathways to Well-Being, noted psychiatric researcher Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD, discusses the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies to better understand how these agents may be applied therapeutically to support mental health and brain function.        

On this episode of Pathways to Well-Being, Peter Staats, MD, MBA, discusses the role of the vaganerve is modulating the body’s response to chronic and acute stressors, and explores vagus nervestimulation therapies for restoring parasympathetic balance.

On this episode of Pathways to Well-Being, legendary IFM educator Dr. Terry Wahls discusses how low-carbohydrate dietary plans like paleo and keto can provide the necessary nutrients to fuel the brain and help prevent cognitive decline and neurodegeneration, as well as how we can help patients implement and sustain these dietary changes to improve brain health.

On this episode of Pathways to Well-Being, we welcome AIC 2025 presenter Dr. Sachin Patel to discuss the importance of breathing, mindfulness, and achieving balance from within.

On this episode of Pathways to Well-Being, Whole Health pioneer and featured 2025 AIC speaker TracyGaudet, MD, who has years of experience as an agent of change in healthcare systems, will explore whathealthcare transformation means and how practices and hospital systems alike can begin to achieve it.

On today’s episode of Pathways to Well-Being, AIC 2025 speaker Aimie K. Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, explores physiological dysfunction rooted in past trauma, differentiates between the body’s stress response and trauma response, and discusses how trauma affects mental, emotional, and physical markers of health.

On today’s episode of Pathways to Well-Being, 2025 AIC speaker Donald Layman, PhD, FASN,explores why muscle health is so important to overall health, the lifestyle-based approaches thatbenefit muscle quality and preservation, and the important role that protein plays.

On today’s episode of Pathways to Well-Being, Tom Sult, MD, discusses the important clinical connections between chronic infections and common persistent symptoms and how to manage them using functional medicine strategies. Transcript: https://www.ifm.org/podcast/chronic-infections-persistent-symptoms

Pediatric gastroenterologist Rebecca Carey, MD, shares how childhood GI issues and sensitivities influence adult health. Transcript: https://www.ifm.org/podcast/food-allergies-intolerances-pediatric-health