ArticleNeurorehabilitation and neural repair2014
Vagus nerve stimulation delivered during motor rehabilitation improves recovery in a rat model of stroke.
Article in Neurorehabilitation and neural repair, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 103 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Pivotal Randomized Study Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) During Rehabilitation for Improved Upper Limb Motor Function After Stroke (VNS-REHAB)
Evaluating the Use of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) and Robotic Training to Improve Upper Limb Motor Recovery After Stroke
Mechanisms of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation Underlying Enhanced Motor Control in Humans
Mechanisms of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation Underlying Enhanced Motor Control in Humans
Wireless Nerve Stimulation Device To Enhance Recovery After Stroke
Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurorehabilitation with vagus nerve stimulation: a systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation during short-term motor practice drives cortical plasticity without behavioural improvement.The Journal of physiology · 2026Trial
- At-Home Delivery of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Task-Specific Training Improves Performance of High-Priority Activities in Persons With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury or Stroke.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Vagus Nerve Promotes Poststroke Dysphagia Recovery: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Safety and feasibility of paired vagus nerve stimulation with rehabilitation for improving upper extremity function in people with cervical spinal cord injury: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Motor Activated Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation as a Potential Neuromodulation Approach for Post-Stroke Motor Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study.Neurorehabilitation and neural repair · 2023Trial
- Preliminary Study of Vagus Nerve Magnetic Modulation in Patients with Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2022Trial
- Deep Breathing Practice Facilitates Retention of Newly Learned Motor Skills.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Motor Recovery After a Hemispherectomy: Review of Mechanisms and the Potential of Neuromodulation to Enhance Motor Outcomes.Journal of child neurology · 2026Review
- Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Combined with Physical Therapy for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial.Neurology international · 2026Article
- Dynamic cholinergic signaling differentially desynchronizes cortical microcircuits dependent on modulation rate and network connectivity.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Breathing-driven modulation of reticulospinal tract activity.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Review
- Study protocol for the Vivistim GRASP registry: capturing real-world outcomes of paired vagus nerve stimulation in the chronic stroke population.Frontiers in stroke · 2026Article
- Paired vagus nerve stimulation for post-stroke shoulder motor recovery: corticospinal-C5 motor network plasticity and rehabilitation applications.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation reduces error amplitude during force field learning in healthy adults.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Mapping the role of vagus nerve stimulation in post-stroke arm motor recovery.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Review
- Enhancing Neuroplasticity via vagus nerve stimulation to improve urinary dysfunction after spinal cord injury: a perspective.Bioelectronic medicine · 2025Review
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Neural plasticity is widely believed to support functional recovery following brain damage. Vagus nerve stimulation paired with different forelimb movements causes long-lasting map plasticity in rat primary motor cortex that is specific to the paired movement. We tested the hypothesis that repeatedly pairing vagus nerve stimulation with upper forelimb movements would improve recovery of motor function in a rat model of stroke. Rats were separated into 3 groups: vagus nerve stimulation during rehabilitation (rehab), vagus nerve stimulation after rehab, and rehab alone. Animals underwent 4 training stages: shaping (motor skill learning), prelesion training, postlesion training, and therapeutic training. Rats were given a unilateral ischemic lesion within motor cortex and implanted with a left vagus nerve cuff. Animals were allowed 1 week of recovery before postlesion baseline training. During the therapeutic training stage, rats received vagus nerve stimulation paired with each successful trial. All 17 trained rats demonstrated significant contralateral forelimb impairment when performing a bradykinesia assessment task. Forelimb function was recovered completely to prelesion levels when vagus nerve stimulation was delivered during rehab training. Alternatively, intensive rehab training alone (without stimulation) failed to restore function to prelesion levels. Delivering the same amount of stimulation after rehab training did not yield improvements compared with rehab alone. These results demonstrate that vagus nerve stimulation repeatedly paired with successful forelimb movements can improve recovery after motor cortex ischemia and may be a viable option for stroke rehabilitation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.