Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35148407›Full record

Trial reportPain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2022

The Effects of Combined Respiratory-Gated Auricular Vagal Afferent Nerve Stimulation and Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pilot Study.

Samantha M Meints, Ronald G Garcia, Zev Schuman-Olivier, Michael Datko, Gaelle Desbordes, Marise Cornelius, Robert R Edwards, Vitaly Napadow

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07055373 (The Safety and Feasibility of Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy in Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
2.8field-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.

NCT07055373 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

The Safety and Feasibility of Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy in Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Randomized Pilot Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of CalgaryRan2026 to 2027Enrolled40ConditionsWhiplash Associated Disorder (WAD)ArmsTransauricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
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  8. Review
  9. A narrative review of vagus nerve stimulation in stroke.Journal of central nervous system disease · 2024
    Review
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Samantha M MeintsDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6020-6671
Ronald G GarciaDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Zev Schuman-OlivierCenter for Mindfulness and Compassion, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Michael DatkoCenter for Mindfulness and Compassion, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Gaelle DesbordesAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.
Marise CorneliusDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.
Robert R EdwardsDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.
Vitaly NapadowDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.
Brigham and Women's Hospital · USCambridge Health Alliance · USHarvard University · US

Funding

Sex Differences in Major Depression, Part II: Impact of Prenatal Immune, Autonomic and Neurovascular FunctionU54MH118919 · NIMH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Ronald G. Garcia · 2020 to 2026
$12.7M
Core NIBSP01AT009965 · NCCIH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI LOGGIA, MARCO LUCIANO · 2018 to 2023
$10.9M
Brain Mechanisms Underlying CBT-Related Reductions in FibromyalgiaR01AR064367 · NIAMS · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI EDWARDS, ROBERT R, NAPADOW, VITALY · 2014 to 2018
$4.0M
Mapping the linkage between auricular vagus nerve receptors and cardiovagal modulationOT2OD023867 · OD · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI NAPADOW, VITALY · 2016 to 2021
$3.4M
Optimization of brain-based mechanisms supporting psychosocial aspects of acupuncture therapy - a hyperscanning fMRI studyR33AT009306 · NCCIH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI KAPTCHUK, TED, NAPADOW, VITALY · 2018 to 2021
$2.3M
PREventing Pain after Surgery: A feasibility and acceptability study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the prevention of chronic post surgical pain (PREPS)K23AR077088 · NIAMS · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI MEINTS, SAMANTHA M · 2021 to 2025
$1.0M
Optimization of brain-based mechanisms supporting psychosocial aspects of acupuncture therapy - a hyperscanning fMRI studyR61AT009306 · NCCIH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI KAPTCHUK, TED, NAPADOW, VITALY · 2016 to 2017
$959k
NCCIH NIH HHS P01 AT009965NCCIH NIH HHS R33 AT009306NCCIH NIH HHS R61 AT009306NIAMS NIH HHS K23 AR077088NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR064367NIH HHS OT2 OD023867NIMH NIH HHS U54 MH118919
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveRespiratory-gated Auricular Vagal Afferent Nerve stimulation (RAVANS) is a safe nonpharmacological approach to managing chronic pain. The purpose of the current study was to examine (1) the feasibility and acceptability of RAVANS, combined with mindful meditation (MM) for chronic low back pain (CLBP), (2) the potential synergy of MM+RAVANS on improving pain, and (3) possible moderators of the influence of MM+RAVANS on pain.

designPilot feasibility and acceptability study.

settingPain management center at large academic medical center. SUBJECTS: Nineteen adults with CLBP and previous MM training.

methodsParticipants attended two sessions during which they completed quantitative sensory testing (QST), rated pain severity, and completed a MM+stimulation session. Participants received RAVANS during one visit and sham stimulation during the other, randomized in order. Following intervention, participants repeated QST.

resultsMM+RAVANS was well tolerated, acceptable, and feasible to provide relief for CLBP. Both MM+stimulation sessions resulted in improved back pain severity, punctate pain ratings, and pressure pain threshold. Individuals with greater negative affect showed greater back pain improvement from MM+RAVANS while those with greater mindfulness showed greater back pain improvement from MM+sham.

conclusionsResults suggest that for CLBP patients with prior MM training, the analgesic effects of MM may have overshadowed effects of RAVANS given the brief single session MM+RAVANS intervention. However, those with greater negative affect may benefit from combined MM+RAVANS.

Indexed as

Chronic PainLow Back PainMeditationMindfulnessVagus Nerve StimulationAdultHumansPilot Projects

Identifiers

PMID35148407
PMCPMC9434172
OpenAlexW4210671154

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.