ReviewNeuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society2018
High-Resolution Multi-Scale Computational Model for Non-Invasive Cervical Vagus Nerve Stimulation.
Review in Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04368156 (A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation in CoViD-19 Respiratory Symptoms), which is not on this map. Cited by 49 papers.
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 Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation in CoViD-19 Respiratory Symptoms (SAVIOR)
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transcutaneous Cervical Vagus Nerve Stimulation Improves Speech Comprehension in Noise: A Crossover, Placebo-Controlled Study.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2025Trial
- Transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation improves sensory performance in humans: a randomized controlled crossover pilot study.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Digital Cardiovascular Biomarker Responses to Transcutaneous Cervical Vagus Nerve Stimulation: State-Space Modeling, Prediction, and Simulation.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Trial
- Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation alters neural response and physiological autonomic tone to noxious thermal challenge.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Timing Considerations for Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Clinical Studies.AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium · 2019Trial
- Non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation decreases brain activity during trauma scripts.Brain stimulationTrial
- Quantifying acute physiological biomarkers of transcutaneous cervical vagal nerve stimulation in the context of psychological stress.Brain stimulationTrial
- A Review of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Disease: Comprehensive Theory and Evidence for Mechanisms of Action.Comprehensive physiology · 2026Review
- Without getting under your skin: non-invasive stimulation activates the vagus nerve.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Article
- Transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation improves speech comprehension in noise: A crossover, placebo-controlled study.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Vagus nerve stimulation for chronic pain management: Mechanisms and clinical advances.Journal of biological methods · 2025Review
- Multiscale Computational and Artificial Intelligence Models of Linear and Nonlinear Composites: A Review.Small science · 2024Article
- Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation in anti-inflammatory therapy: mechanistic insights and future perspectives.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- Optimizing Noninvasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2023Article
- Non-invasive neuromodulation of the cervical vagus nerve in rare primary headaches.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Opioid Use Disorder.Annals of depression and anxiety · 2023Article
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of disorders of consciousness: mechanisms and applications.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Effects of Noninvasive Cervical Vagal Nerve Stimulation on Cognitive Performance But Not Brain Activation in Healthy Adults.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2022Article
- Control of inflammation using non-invasive neuromodulation: past, present and promise.International immunology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo develop the first high-resolution, multi-scale model of cervical non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) and to predict vagus fiber type activation, given clinically relevant rheobase thresholds.
methodsAn MRI-derived Finite Element Method (FEM) model was developed to accurately simulate key macroscopic (e.g., skin, soft tissue, muscle) and mesoscopic (cervical enlargement, vertebral arch and foramen, cerebral spinal fluid [CSF], nerve sheath) tissue components to predict extracellular potential, electric field (E-Field), and activating function along the vagus nerve. Microscopic scale biophysical models of axons were developed to compare axons of varying size (Aα-, Aβ- and Aδ-, B-, and C-fibers). Rheobase threshold estimates were based on a step function waveform.
resultsMacro-scale accuracy was found to determine E-Field magnitudes around the vagus nerve, while meso-scale precision determined E-field changes (activating function). Mesoscopic anatomical details that capture vagus nerve passage through a changing tissue environment (e.g., bone to soft tissue) profoundly enhanced predicted axon sensitivity while encapsulation in homogenous tissue (e.g., nerve sheath) dulled axon sensitivity to nVNS.
conclusionsThese findings indicate that realistic and precise modeling at both macroscopic and mesoscopic scales are needed for quantitative predictions of vagus nerve activation. Based on this approach, we predict conventional cervical nVNS protocols can activate A- and B- but not C-fibers. Our state-of-the-art implementation across scales is equally valuable for models of spinal cord stimulation, cortex/deep brain stimulation, and other peripheral/cranial nerve models.
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.