Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36504670›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2022

Estimated EEG functional connectivity and aperiodic component induced by vagal nerve stimulation in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Roberta Coa, Simone Maurizio La Cava, Giulia Baldazzi, Lorenzo Polizzi, Giovanni Pinna, Carlo Conti, Giovanni Defazio, Danilo Pani, Monica Puligheddu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% 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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Thalamocortical network dynamics in focal epilepsy: SEEG investigation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Aperiodic Activity Reflects Pathologic Waveform Shapes in Focal Epilepsy.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
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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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Roberta CoaNeuroscience Ph.D. Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Simone Maurizio La CavaDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Giulia BaldazziDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Lorenzo PolizziRegional Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult Epilepsy, Neurology Unit, AOU Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Giovanni PinnaSC Neurosurgery, Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Department, San Michele Hospital, ARNAS G. Brotzu, Cagliari, Italy.
Carlo ContiSC Neurosurgery, Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Department, San Michele Hospital, ARNAS G. Brotzu, Cagliari, Italy.
Giovanni DefazioRegional Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult Epilepsy, Neurology Unit, AOU Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Danilo PaniDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Monica PulighedduRegional Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult Epilepsy, Neurology Unit, AOU Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
University of Cagliari · ITUniversity of Genoa · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) improves seizure frequency and quality of life in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), although the exact mechanism is not fully understood. Previous studies have evaluated the effect of VNS on functional connectivity using the phase lag index (PLI), but none has analyzed its effect on EEG aperiodic parameters (offset and exponent), which are highly conserved and related to physiological functions. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of VNS on PLI and aperiodic parameters and infer whether these changes correlate with clinical responses in subjects with DRE. Materials and methods: PLI, exponent, and offset were derived for each epoch (and each frequency band for PLI), on scalp-derived 64-channel EEG traces of 10 subjects with DRE, recorded before and 1 year after VNS. PLI, exponent, and offset were compared before and after VNS for each patient on a global basis, individual scalp regions, and channels and separately in responders and non-responders. A correlation analysis was performed between global changes in PLI and aperiodic parameters and clinical response. Results: PLI (global and regional) decreased after VNS for gamma and delta bands and increased for an alpha band in responders, but it was not modified in non-responders. Aperiodic parameters after VNS showed an opposite trend in responders vs. non-responders: both were reduced in responders after VNS, but they were increased in non-responders. Changes in aperiodic parameters correlated with the clinical response. Conclusion: This study explored the action of VNS therapy from a new perspective and identified EEG aperiodic parameters as a new and promising method to analyze the efficacy of neuromodulation.

Indexed as

aperiodic componentdrug-resistant epilepsy (DRE)EEGfunctional connectivity (Fc)vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)

Identifiers

PMID36504670
PMCPMC9728998
OpenAlexW4309722938

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.