Case report: Monitoring consciousness with fNIRS in a patient with prolonged reduced consciousness following hemorrhagic stroke undergoing adjunct taVNS therapy
Why the study?
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation is a promising non-invasive intervention for disorders of consciousness, but the precise mechanisms through which it influences cortical function remain unclear.
Does taVNS improve functional connectivity and behavioral responsiveness in a patient with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome following hemorrhagic stroke?
Population
One 77-year-old female patient with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome following hemorrhagic stroke
Comparison
Bilateral taVNS for 1 h daily over 3 months
Design
Case report
Follow-up
3 months
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
taVNS may modulate cortical networks in DoC; case report leaves open clinical utility pending controlled trials.
Structured PICO
Does taVNS improve functional connectivity and behavioral responsiveness in a patient with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome following hemorrhagic stroke?
P
Population
77-year-old female patient with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) following hemorrhagic stroke (n=1)
I
Intervention
Bilateral transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for 1 hour daily over 3 months
O
Outcome
Functional connectivity (FC) in the frontoparietal network assessed using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and behavioral responsiveness evaluated through the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R)surrogate
taVNS may enhance fronto-parietal network connectivity and behavioral responsiveness in patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome following hemorrhagic stroke.
Limitations
- Single case report
- Further studies are necessary to confirm these effects in a wider patient population
Cite This Study
Gao et al. (2025) studied this question.