ArticleJournal of affective disorders reports2021
Transcutaneous Cervical Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Pilot Study of Effects on PTSD Symptoms and Interleukin-6 Response to Stress.
Article in Journal of affective disorders reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
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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
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Accelerated Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Inpatient Depression and Anxiety: The iWAVE Open Label Pilot Trial.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2025Trial
- Effect of transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation on declarative and working memory in patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A pilot study.Journal of affective disorders · 2023Trial
- Psychological Scars and Physical Consequences: Linking PTSD to Cardiovascular Health.Journal of cardiovascular translational research · 2026Review
- A pilot study of brain correlates of long-term treatment with transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation in posttraumatic stress disorder.Journal of affective disorders reports · 2026Article
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in breast cancer: a neuroimmune model to improve quality of life.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Diet, gut microbiome, and cognition in neurodegeneration: a review and methodological framework.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- RetrospectiveFrontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Without getting under your skin: non-invasive stimulation activates the vagus nerve.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Interventional Psychiatry and Emerging Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Systematic Review.Psychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation for the treatment of trauma- and stressor-related disorders: systematic review of randomised controlled studies.BJPsych open · 2025Review
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Stroke Management: Brief Review of Evolution and Present Applications Paired with Rehabilitation.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Vagus nerve stimulation for chronic pain management: Mechanisms and clinical advances.Journal of biological methods · 2025Review
- Acute and long-term effects of COVID-19 on brain and mental health: A narrative review.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Review
- Acute and long-term effects of COVID-19 on brain and mental health: A narrative review.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Review
- Accrued reductions in heart rate following transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS): recent advances and future directions.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2024Review
- Non-invasive ventral cervical magnetoneurography as a proxy of in vivo lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Innate and adaptive immune system consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder.Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical · 2024Review
- The gut-brain axis and cognitive control: A role for the vagus nerve.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2024Review
- Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Opioid Use Disorder.Annals of depression and anxiety · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
26 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly disabling condition associated with alterations in multiple neurobiological systems, including increases in inflammatory and sympathetic function, responsible for maintenance of symptoms. Treatment options including medications and psychotherapies have limitations. We previously showed that transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tcVNS) blocks inflammatory (interleukin (IL)-6) responses to stress in PTSD. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of tcVNS on PTSD symptoms and inflammatory responses to stress.
methodsTwenty patients with PTSD were randomized to double blind active tcVNS (N=9) or sham (N=11) stimulation in conjunction with exposure to personalized traumatic scripts immediately followed by active or sham tcVNS and measurement of IL-6 and other biomarkers of inflammation. Patients then self administered active or sham tcVNS twice daily for three months. PTSD symptoms were measured with the PTSD Checklist (PCL) and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), clinical improvement with the Clinical Global Index (CGI) and anxiety with the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (Ham-A) at baseline and one-month intervals followed by a repeat of measurement of biomarkers with traumatic scripts. After three months patients self treated with twice daily open label active tcVNS for another three months followed by assessment with the CGI.
resultsTraumatic scripts increased IL-6 in PTSD patients, an effect that was blocked by tcVNS (p<.05). Active tcVNS treatment for three months resulted in a 31% greater reduction in PTSD symptoms compared to sham treatment as measured by the PCL (p=0.013) as well as hyperarousal symptoms and somatic anxiety measured with the Ham-A p<0.05). IL-6 increased from baseline in sham but not tcVNS. Open label tcVNS resulted in improvements measured with the CGI compared to the sham treatment period p<0.05).
conclusionsThese preliminary results suggest that tcVNS reduces inflammatory responses to stress, which may in part underlie beneficial effects on PTSD symptoms.
Identifiers
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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.