Synergistic Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Inhibitory Control Training on Electrophysiological Performance in Healthy Adults

Overview

Journal Front Neurosci

Date 2023 Mar 27

PMID 36968500

Authors

Chunchen Wang

Lingwei Zeng

Xinsheng Cao

Jing Dai

Yang Liu

Zhijun Gao

Yilong Qin

Lin Yang

Hang Wang

Zhihong Wen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a non-invasive nerve stimulation technique that exerts a positive "exogenous" online neuromodulatory effect on inhibitory control (IC). Additionally, IC training (ICT) is an effective approach for enhancing IC the "endogenous" activation of brain regions implicated in this process. The aim of the present study was to examine the synergistic effects of tVNS and ICT on IC enhancement. For this, we measured the changes in neural activity in frontal, fronto-central, and central regions in the time domain of the N2 component and the frequency domain of alpha power during the stop signal task. A total of 58 participants were randomly divided into four groups that received five sessions of either ICT or sham ICT with either online tVNS or sham tVNS. No differences in N2 amplitude were detected after any of the interventions. However, N2 latency shortened after tVNS + ICT in frontal, fronto-central, and central regions. N2 latency shortened after the intervention of sham tVNS + ICT in frontal region. Moreover, alpha power after tVNS + ICT intervention was larger than those of the other interventions in frontal, fronto-central, and central regions. The obtained electrophysiological data suggested that combining tVNS with ICT has synergistic ameliorative effects on IC, and provide evidence supporting the IC-enhancing potential of tVNS combined with ICT.

Citing Articles

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Enhances Emotional Processing and Long-Term Recognition Memory: Electrophysiological Evidence Across Two Studies.

Ventura-Bort C, Giraudier M, Weymar M Psychophysiology. 2025; 62(3):e70034.

PMID: 40066789 PMC: 11894791. DOI: 10.1111/psyp.70034.

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