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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Vagus Nerve Stimulation as a Tool to Induce Plasticity in Pathways Relevant for Extinction Learning
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Published on: August 21, 2015

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulates adaptive empathic learning under uncertainty.

Vassilis Kotsaris1, Dimitris Bolis2, Ozan Cem Ozturk1

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Kent, UK.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
|May 29, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) improved adaptability to changing social cues under uncertainty. This non-invasive brain stimulation enhanced learning flexibility, suggesting potential for conditions involving social cognition deficits.

Keywords:
EmpathyHierarchical Gaussian filterLearningSocial cognitionVagus nerve stimulation

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Laboratory Administration of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS): Technique, Targeting, and Considerations
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Laboratory Administration of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS): Technique, Targeting, and Considerations

Published on: January 7, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) shows potential for modulating interoception and social cognition.
  • Its impact on adaptive social learning, particularly under uncertainty, is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of taVNS on social reinforcement learning under uncertainty.
  • To examine how taVNS influences learning rates and belief updates in an adaptive empathy task.

Main Methods:

  • Sixty-eight participants received either active or sham taVNS.
  • An adaptive empathy task assessed learning of a virtual character's emotion regulation preferences under stable and volatile conditions.
  • Behavioral data were analyzed using the Hierarchical Gaussian Filter (HGF).

Main Results:

  • taVNS did not affect overall accuracy or average learning rates.
  • taVNS enhanced adaptability to volatile conditions, shown by increased learning rate modulation.
  • Individual differences in empathy and interoceptive sensibility interacted with taVNS effects.

Conclusions:

  • taVNS modulates adaptive social learning by increasing sensitivity to environmental volatility.
  • These findings suggest taVNS has therapeutic potential for social cognition and adaptability in psychiatric conditions.
  • The study highlights taVNS's role in navigating social uncertainty.