ArticleBioMed research international2017
Innervation of the Human Cavum Conchae and Auditory Canal: Anatomical Basis for Transcutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation.
Article in BioMed research international, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Auricular Vagus Neuromodulation-A Systematic Review on Quality of Evidence and Clinical Effects.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Blue enriched light modulates pupil dilation induced by transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The autonomic response following taVNS predicts changes in level of consciousness in DoC patients.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Visually Induced Motion Sickness: An eLORETA Study.Brain topography · 2024Trial
- Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Cardiovascular Autonomic Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neurology international · 2026Review
- Application of auriculotherapy in cancer-related fatigue symptom cluster: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Research Progress of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Chronic Pain Management: A Narrative Review.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Balancing the autonomic scale: the promise of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in combating cardiovascular diseases.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for disorders of consciousness: a narrative review of neurophysiological mechanisms, clinical evidence, and future directions.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Two paths to the body's superhighway-the auricular branch (taVNS) and the cervical bundle (tcVNS): a narrative review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Modulation of response inhibition with event-related atVNS showed EEG but no behavioral effects.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Review
- Three Hundred Hertz Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) Impacts Pupil Size Non-Linearly as a Function of Intensity.Psychophysiology · 2025Article
- Auricular Acupoint Therapy in Symptom Management of Cancer patients: A Scoping Review.Cancer management and research · 2025Review
- Auricular Therapy for Migraine.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Review
- Networks of Nerve Fibers, and Blood and Lymphatic Vessels in the Mouse Auricle: The Structural Basis of Ear Acupuncture.Medical acupuncture · 2024Article
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation alters cough sensitivity depending on stimulation parameters: potential implications for aspiration risk.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Multi-level exploration of auricular acupuncture: from traditional Chinese medicine theory to modern medical application.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- State- and frequency-dependence in autonomic rebalance mediated by intradermal auricular electroacupuncture stimulation.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The innocuous transcutaneous stimulation of nerves supplying the outer ear has been demonstrated to be as effective as the invasive direct stimulation of the vagus nerve for the treatment of some neurological and nonneurological disturbances. Thus, the precise knowledge of external ear innervation is of maximal interest for the design of transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation devices. We analyzed eleven outer ears, and the innervation was assessed by Masson's trichrome staining, immunohistochemistry, or immunofluorescence (neurofilaments, S100 protein, and myelin-basic protein). In both the cavum conchae and the auditory canal, nerve profiles were identified between the cartilage and the skin and out of the cartilage. The density of nerves and of myelinated nerve fibers was higher out of the cartilage and in the auditory canal with respect to the cavum conchae. Moreover, the nerves were more numerous in the superior and posterior-inferior than in the anterior-inferior segments of the auditory canal. The present study established a precise nerve map of the human cavum conchae and the cartilaginous segment of the auditory canal demonstrating regional differences in the pattern of innervation of the human outer ear. These results may provide additional neuroanatomical basis for the accurate design of auricular transcutaneous nerve stimulation devices.
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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.