What Happens in Vagus - Does Not Stay There (Part 1 of 4)

In a previous post, I wrote about the vagus nerve and my personal experience of it.  As it turns out, time deepens our knowledge; and so this is a rewrite of that original post with some newer science and some new-to-me information about this very interesting cranial nerve.

Twenty years ago, I participated in a blood drive. I had done so many times and as before, the process itself was uneventful. Yet as I was led to where I'd get my juice and cookie this time, I began to feel “off,” and things quickly got intense. I don't remember exactly what happened, but the clearest sensation I had was that immediately after chugging that juice, my airway locked in an open position. (Sensory awareness in the throat is definitely a cheap singer trick!) The best way to describe what happened next was not so much “light-headedness” as it was a sensation of detachment, and then… nothing. I came out of it surrounded by staff furiously moving around me taking my vitals. At the time, I was shaking uncontrollably; the staff had placed something in my mouth, but they let me shake. Later, I came to understand that I had been unconscious and had likely had a seizure. I had been advised that fainting was possible, but seizing? Nope. But many days and medical evaluations later, I learned that it wasn't actually a seizure at all. I had a vasovagal episode, specifically a reflex syncope; or in simpler terms, my brain hit the freeze button. And all that shaking was so much more interesting than a seizure, as I’ll explain below. This experience began my fascination with the vagus nerve, and my curiosity about it has never waned in all this time.  

What follows is some good information about the vagus nerve, a breakdown of what likely happened during my experience, and why we voice-users should care. ***Please Note, this is a very uncommon response to blood donation so keep doing that.***

The Science

In its simplest definition, the vagus nerve (Cranial Nerve 10) is just one of the twelve cranial nerves that connect the brain to the body.  In practice, the vagus nerve is unusual in the variety of its functions and how it connects to the tissues it is innervating.

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Innervate: To stimulate to movement or action; to supply with energy

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The vagus nerve has both somatic (conscious/physical) functions and autonomic (unconscious/psychological) functions . The autonomic vagus further subdivides into the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches. (Stick with me, I told you there’d be a lot of variety!)

The somatic vagus controls some of the muscles of the larynx, pharynx, and palate. It also has some control over the diaphragm. The autonomic vagus wanders lower into the torso.  The autonomic vagus’ sympathetic branch has sensory functions that innervate the tongue (taste), swallow function, vocal folds, heart, lungs, throat, most of the viscera, and arousal. The vagus gets around! The autonomic vagus’ sympathetic branch also allows us to focus and is tasked with the survival functions fight and flight.

The parasympathetic or “rest & digest” branch is responsible for breathing, digestion, and heart rate. It is in the parasympathetic vagus that we find the shutdown response, also known as “freeze or faint.” The shutdown response works closely with the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic system to ensure our safety.    

Which brings me back to my bad blood-donation day: I was dehydrated that day, so after donating 1/10 of my blood supply, my vagus determined I was not okay and hit the freeze button. I will note it waited until I had consumed my juice to do it (smart brain!). Having determined that I was actually okay, the vagus engaged a restart sequence (the shaking).  Thankfully, the staff did not attempt to control my movements as that shaking was essential to my recovery. I resumed my day alarmed but absolutely fine (if still incredibly thirsty).

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What exactly does this have to do with the voice, Gina? So glad you asked!

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Experiencing an actual freeze gave me an incredible insight into other vagal sensations involved in my voice use. The open-but-locked sensation in my throat wasn't new. It felt a lot like the sensation when catching myself holding my breath, and very like some anxious reactions such as when surprised while speaking or singing. In fact, with a little attention, the effects of sympathetic acceleration and parasympathetic braking were evident in most high stakes speaking and singing situations.  Moreover this isn’t a problem but a tool to help you manage these responses in your voicing.

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Vagus (**latin**):  Wandering

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The broad strokes are that cranial nerves 7-12, with CN10 (the vagus) as the lead artist, are involved in some vocalizations and related musculature.  The vagus itself innervates all of the moving parts in some way, all while it regulates sympathetic arousal and focus, and also parasympathetic breathing, heart rate, and digestion.  

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When we discuss the interplay of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, we often discuss sympathetic accelerators and parasympathetic brakes.

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In order to use our voices most effectively, we need both sub-branches of the autonomic vagus to work together.  And, in many cases, what we need is for our sympathetic arousal (anger, fear, stress, focus) to remain in balance with parasympathetic regulation (Breath, heart rate, calm).

Again, we cannot affect the vagus nerve by just thinking about it or speaking language to it.  Instead, we must learn to engage in behaviors that bring the vagus to an equilibrium.  High arousal should be matched with high regulation, low with low – you get the idea. Always keeping the engagement and regulation in balance so we can speak with intensity and focus but also with authority and calm.

This topic has a part two and so we will continue tomorrow with methods and strategies we can deploy to bring the branches of the autonomic vagus into equilibrium. As always, feel to email me with any additional questions on this topic of what you are curious about in voice and speech.

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About Gina:

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Gina Razón is a recovering opera singer, functional voice coach, keynote speaker, and founder of GROW Voice, a Boston-based voice and speaking presentation practice. She is recognized for being the calm voice of clarity as she helps others connect the intention behind their ideas with their desired goals. She speaks on the power of speaking and leading from a center of neurophysiological embodiment. Gina holds a BM from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an MM from the University of Denver both in Voice Performance.  She is an Appreciative Inquiry facilitator, an associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and trained in Somatic Voicework. She has served as the voice coach for  TEDxNewEngland (formerly TEDxCambridge) and speaks at national and local events on the power of embodied voice. Gina is a member of the The Voice Foundation, the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, the National Speakers Association, and the Center for Appreciative Inquiry. For more information about GROW Voice or just want to check out our resources head over to the website growvoice.com. For Gina’s TEDxCambridge talk click here: https://youtu.be/x5rN_qOv10c

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