Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves working memory in temporal lobe epilepsy: A randomized double‐blind study

AimsTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is widely used to treat a variety of disorders because it is noninvasive, safe, and well tolerated by awake patients. However, long‐term and repetitive taVNS is difficult to achieve in awake mice. Therefore, developing a new taVNS method that fully mimics the method used in clinical settings and is well‐tolerated by awake mice is greatly important for generalizing research findings related to the effects of taVNS. The study aimed to develop a new taVNS device for use in awake mice and to test its reliability and effectiveness.MethodsWe demonstrated the reliability of this taVNS device through retrograde neurotropic pseudorabies virus (PRV) tracing and evaluated its effectiveness through morphological analysis. After 3 weeks of taVNS application, the open field test (OFT) and elevated plus maze (EPM) were used to evaluate anxiety‐like behaviors, and the Y‐maze test and novel object recognition test (NORT) were used to evaluate recognition memory behaviors, respectively.ResultsWe found that repetitive taVNS was well tolerated by awake mice, had no effect on anxiety‐like behaviors, and significantly improved memory.ConclusionOur findings suggest that this new taVNS device for repetitive stimulation of awake mice is safe, tolerable, and effective.

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Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Enhanced Working Memory in Older Adults with Age-Related Hearing Loss

Shin,

Noh,

Park

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is associated with an increased risk of dementia, necessitating early cognitive interventions to prevent further cognitive decline. Despite promising evidence supporting transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for mitigating cognitive impairment, its impact on working memory (WM) in older adults with ARHL is unexplored. This study is the first attempt to investigate taVNS effects on WM in the older adults with hearing impairment (HI) and with typical hearing (TH). WM capacity was assessed using n-back tasks, varying by WM domains (verbal and visuo-spatial) and complexity levels (1-back and 2-back). Participants underwent a two-session, within-subjects, randomized crossover, single-blind sham-controlled protocol, receiving 20 minutes of continuous stimulation in the active session, whereas only 30 seconds at the start and end in the sham session. The HI group performed significantly worse than the TH group on the 2-back tasks. Within the HI group, taVNS significantly enhanced performance across all WM domains and complexity levels compared to the sham condition. These findings suggest that taVNS enhances WM in hearing-impaired older adults, underscoring its potential as a clinical intervention for addressing WM challenges associated with ARHL.

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Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves working memory in temporal lobe epilepsy: A randomized double‐blind study

Cited by 7 publications

References 68 publications

Clinical application of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation: a scoping review

Clinical application of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation: a scoping review

Feasibility and effectiveness of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) in awake mice

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Enhanced Working Memory in Older Adults with Age-Related Hearing Loss

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