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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Understanding the Effects of Non-Invasive Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on EEG and HRV
Published on: January 19, 2024
[Difference of autonomic responses to transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation between high-altitude and
Han Zhou1, Yifei Wang2, Chen Xin1
1Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Objective:
To compare the difference of autonomic responses to transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) between high-altitude and low-altitude populations, explore the characteristics of neural response under the background of high altitude hypoxia.
Methods:
A total of 30 border guards stationed in high altitude areas for an extended period were included as the high altitude group. At the same time, 30 healthy subjects were recruited in Beijing as the low altitude group. In both groups, taVNS was applied bilaterally to the auricular branches of the vagus nerve distribution areas (auricular points corresponding to shen[CO10] and xin[CO15]). Using a multimodal wristband, photoplethysmography (PPG) signals were collected during the baseline period, stimulation period, and recovery period. Heart rate (HR) and time-domain and frequency-domain indexes of heart rate variability (HRV) were compared between the two groups. The time-domain indexes included the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN), the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), and the percentage of adjacent normal RR intervals differing by more than 50 ms (pNN50). The frequency-domain indexes included low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), and low-frequency/high- frequency (LF/HF).
Results:
In the high altitude group, HR during the stimulation period was lower than that during the baseline period (P<0.05), and RMSSD was lower than that during the recovery period (P<0.05). In the low altitude group, all indexes showed no statistically significant differences among the baseline, stimulation, and recovery periods (P>0.05). The high altitude group exhibited higher HR, SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, LF, and HF across all three periods compared to the low altitude group (P<0.05), and lower LF/HF compared to the low altitude group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
Under taVNS intervention, the vagal responses in high-altitude populations exhibit a characteristic pattern of delayed activation. This finding suggests that taVNS interventions for high-altitude populations should appropriately extend post-stimulation observation time and optimize stimulation patterns.
