Why the study?
Does transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation of the auricular branch (tVNSab) improve autonomic activity?
Does transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation of the auricular branch (tVNSab) improve autonomic activity?
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation of the auricular branch acutely modulates autonomic activity by improving vagal tone and reducing sympathetic activity.
May support autonomic modulation by tVNSab; leaves open clinical translation pending higher-level trials.
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation of the auricular branch (tVNSab) is a non-invasive modality used to ameliorate symptoms of depression and migraine [1]. Clancy and colleagues found that tVNSab also improves heart rate variability (HRV) and reduces muscle sympathetic nerve activity [2]. Antonino et al. reported that compared to baseline, LF/HF is reduced and spontaneous cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (scBRS) is improved during tVNSab [3]. Both studies implemented 15 min of continuous bilateral tVNSab (200 μs pulse width, 30 Hz stimulation frequency, 10 – 50 mA intensity) [2,3].
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Ryan et al. (2026) studied this question.
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