Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31648171›Full record

Trial reportNeuroImage. Clinical2019

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation at 1 Hz modulates locus coeruleus activity and resting state functional connectivity in patients with migraine: An fMRI study.

Yue Zhang, Jiao Liu, Hui Li, Zhaoxian Yan, Xian Liu, Jin Cao, Joel Park, Georgia Wilson, Bo Liu, Jian Kong

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
55citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article
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

10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Yue ZhangDepartment of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Jiao LiuDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Rehabilitation Medicine Technology, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China.
Hui LiDepartment of Neurology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Zhaoxian YanDepartment of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Xian LiuDepartment of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Jin CaoDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Joel ParkDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Georgia WilsonDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Bo LiuDepartment of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China. Electronic address: lbgdhtc163.com.
Jian KongDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 120 2nd Ave, Room 101, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Electronic address: kongj@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu.
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine · CNHarvard University · USMassachusetts General Hospital · USFujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMigraine is a common episodic neurological disorder. Literature has shown that transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) at 1 Hz can significantly relieve migraine symptoms. However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the neural pathways associated with taVNS treatment of migraine.

methodsTwenty-nine patients with migraine were recruited from outpatient neurology clinics. Each patient attended two magnetic resonance imaging/functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI/fMRI) scan sessions separated by one week. Each session included a pre-stimulation resting state fMRI scan, fMRI scans during real or sham 1 Hz taVNS (with block design), and a post-stimulation resting state fMRI scan.

resultsTwenty-six patients were included in the final analyses. Real taVNS evoked fMRI signal decreases in brain areas belonging to the default mode network (DMN) and brain stem areas including the locus coeruleus (LC), raphe nuclei, parabrachial nucleus, and solitary nucleus. Sham taVNS evoked fMRI signal decreases in brain areas belonging to the DMN. Compared to sham taVNS, real taVNS produced greater deactivation at the bilateral LC. Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis showed that after taVNS, LC rsFC with the right temporoparietal junction and left secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) significantly increased compared to sham taVNS. The increased rsFC of the left LC-left S2 was significantly negatively associated with the frequency of migraine attacks during the preceding month.

conclusionOur results suggest that taVNS at 1 Hz can significantly modulate activity/connectivity of brain regions associated with the vagus nerve central pathway and pain modulation system, which may shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying taVNS treatment of migraine.

Indexed as

AdultCross-Over StudiesFemaleHumansLocus CoeruleusMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMigraine DisordersNeural PathwaysSingle-Blind MethodTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationVagus Nerve StimulationLocus coeruleusMigraineResting state functional connectivityTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation

Identifiers

PMID31648171
PMCPMC7239932
OpenAlexW2966035448

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.