Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30485375›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2018

BOLD fMRI effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in patients with chronic tinnitus.

Natalia Yakunina, Sam Soo Kim, Eui-Cheol Nam

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06821893 (Vagus Auricular Stimulation for Tinnitus), which is not on this map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
39citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06821893 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Vagus Auricular Stimulation for Tinnitus

TypeinterventionalSponsorWashington University School of MedicineRan2025 to 2025Enrolled40ConditionsTinnitusArmsVibrational stimulation, Sham
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.

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  10. Critical appraisal of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for tinnitus in normal hearing subjects: methodological challenges and future directions.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025
    Article
  11. Role of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in alleviation of tinnitus in normal hearing subjects.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Natalia YakuninaInstitute of Medical Science, Kangwon National University, School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
Sam Soo KimNeuroscience Research Institute, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
Eui-Cheol NamNeuroscience Research Institute, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-5290-6221
Kangwon National University · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveVagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation method used for treatment of epilepsy and depression. Transcutaneous VNS (tVNS) has been gaining popularity as a noninvasive alternative to VNS. Previous tVNS neuroimaging studies revealed brain (de)activation patterns that involved multiple areas implicated in tinnitus generation and perception. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to explore the effects of tVNS on brain activity in patients with tinnitus.

methodsThirty-six patients with chronic tinnitus received tVNS to the inner tragus, cymba conchae, and earlobe (sham stimulation).

resultsThe locus coeruleus and nucleus of the solitary tract in the brainstem were activated in response to stimulation of both locations compared with the sham stimulation. The cochlear nuclei were also activated, which was not observed in healthy subjects with normal hearing. Multiple auditory and limbic structures, as well as other brain areas associated with generation and perception of tinnitus, were deactivated by tVNS, particularly the parahippocampal gyrus, which was recently speculated to cause tinnitus in hearing-impaired patients.

conclusionstVNS via the inner tragus or cymba conchae suppressed neural activity in the auditory, limbic, and other tinnitus-related non-auditory areas through auditory and vagal ascending pathways in tinnitus patients. The results from this study are discussed in the context of several existing models of tinnitus. They indicate that the mechanism of action of tVNS might be involved in multiple brain areas responsible for the generation of tinnitus, tinnitus-related emotional annoyance, and their mutual reinforcement.

Indexed as

Brain StemMagnetic Resonance ImagingNeuroimagingTinnitusVagus Nerve StimulationAdultChronic DiseaseFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Aged

Identifiers

PMID30485375
PMCPMC6261575
OpenAlexW2902166958

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.