Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2025
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Laboratory Administration of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation taVNS: Technique, Targeting, and Considerations
Published on: January 7, 2019
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Transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation improves sensory performance in humans: a randomized controlled
Michael Jigo1, Jason B Carmel2,3, Qi Wang2,4
1Sharper Sense, Inc., New York, NY, USA. michael@sharpersense.com.
Scientific Reports
|February 17, 2024
Summary
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS) significantly enhances human auditory and visual sensory processing. This non-invasive method offers a promising new treatment for central sensory processing dysfunctions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Systems
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Accurate sensory perception relies on both receptor function and central neural processing.
- While sensory receptor repair is advancing, effective treatments for impaired central sensory processing are limited.
- Previous rodent studies showed invasive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) improves sensory processing via the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of non-invasive transcutaneous VNS in improving human sensory performance.
- To determine if transcutaneous VNS (tcVNS) and transauricular VNS (taVNS) impact auditory and visual processing.
- To assess the effect of tcVNS on heart rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of vagal engagement.
Main Methods:
- Three randomized, sham-controlled experiments were conducted with 12 neurotypical adults each.
- Participants underwent continuous tcVNS or taVNS while performing auditory/visual psychophysics tasks or passively viewing stimuli.
- Auditory and visual performance metrics, along with HRV, were measured to assess stimulation effects.
Main Results:
- tcVNS significantly improved auditory performance by 37% (p=0.00052) and visual performance by 23% (p=0.038) compared to sham.
- Individuals with poorer baseline performance showed greater improvements with tcVNS (p=0.0040).
- tcVNS increased HRV during passive viewing, confirming vagal nerve activation; taVNS showed no significant effects.
Conclusions:
- Transcutaneous VNS is an effective non-invasive method for enhancing human sensory processing.
- tcVNS demonstrates potential as an on-demand intervention for conditions involving central sensory processing dysfunction.
- The findings support tcVNS as a viable therapeutic strategy, unlike taVNS in this study.
