Key result
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation increases microstate A duration and delta EEG activity in healthy men.
Why the study?
The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on cerebral cortex activity in healthy volunteers using resting-state microstates and EEG power spectrum analysis.
Does transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulate cerebral cortex activity in healthy male subjects?
RCT (n=8)
Double-blind
Cross-over
Does transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulate cerebral cortex activity in healthy male subjects?
p-value: p=0.039
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation effectively modulates cerebral cortex activity, increasing microstate A mean duration and delta frequency band activity in healthy subjects.
tVNS modulates cortical activity in healthy males; confirms noninvasive neuromodulation and supports trials in clinical populations.
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is an alternative non-invasive method for the electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve with the goal of treating several neuropsychiatric disorders. The objective of this study is to assess the effects of tVNS on cerebral cortex activity in healthy volunteers using resting-state microstates and power spectrum electroencephalography (EEG) analysis. Eight male subjects aged 25–45 years were recruited in this randomized sham-controlled double-blind study with cross-over design. Real tVNS was administered at the left external acoustic meatus, while sham stimulation was performed at the left ear lobe, both of them for 60 min. The EEG recording lasted 5 min and was performed before and 60 min following the tVNS experimental session. We observed that real tVNS induced an increase in the metrics of microstate A mean duration (p = 0.039) and an increase in EEG power spectrum activity in the delta frequency band (p < 0.01). This study confirms that tVNS is an effective way to stimulate the vagus nerve, and the mechanisms of action of this activation can be successfully studied using scalp EEG quantitative metrics. Future studies are warranted to explore the clinical implications of these findings and to focus the research of the prognostic biomarkers of tVNS therapy for neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Ricci et al. (2020) conducted an RCT in Healthy subjects (n=8). Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) vs. Sham stimulation was evaluated on Microstate A mean duration and EEG power spectrum activity in the delta frequency band (p=0.039). Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation increased microstate A mean duration (p=0.039) and EEG power spectrum activity in the delta frequency band (p<0.01) in healthy male subjects.
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