Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36303861›Full record

ArticleJournal of psychiatry and brain science2022

Vagus Nerve Stimulation as a Treatment for Fear and Anxiety in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Tanushree Shivaswamy, Rimenez R Souza, Crystal T Engineer, Christa K McIntyre

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of psychiatry and brain science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Neural bridging achieves transcutaneous regulation of vagus nerve function and treatment of depressive disorders.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. 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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tanushree ShivaswamyTexas Biomedical Device Center and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
Rimenez R SouzaTexas Biomedical Device Center and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
Crystal T EngineerTexas Biomedical Device Center and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
Christa K McIntyreTexas Biomedical Device Center and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
The University of Texas at Dallas · US

Funding

Vagus nerve stimulation targets fear pathways to enhance extinction of conditioned fearR01MH126516 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS · PI MCINTYRE, CHRISTA, THORN, CATHERINE A · 2022 to 2025
$2.2M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH126516
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Anxiety disorders affect a large percentage of individuals who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In children with ASD, excessive anxiety is also linked to gastrointestinal problems, self-injurious behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapies are effective treatments for anxiety disorders in children with ASD, but high relapse rates indicate the need for additional treatment strategies. This perspective discusses evidence from preclinical research, which indicates that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with exposure to fear-provoking stimuli and situations could offer benefits as an adjuvant treatment for anxiety disorders that coexist with ASD. Vagus nerve stimulation is approved for use in the treatment of epilepsy, depression, and more recently as an adjuvant in rehabilitative training following stroke. In preclinical models, VNS shows promise in simultaneously enhancing consolidation of extinction memories and reducing anxiety. In this review, we will present potential mechanisms by which VNS could treat fear and anxiety in ASD. We also discuss potential uses of VNS to treat depression and epilepsy in the context of ASD, and noninvasive methods to stimulate the vagus nerve.

Indexed as

behavioral therapyexposure therapyneurodevelopmental disordersneuromodulationrehabilitation

Identifiers

PMID36303861
PMCPMC9600938
OpenAlexW4297154651

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.