ArticleBrain sciences2023
Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Insomnia in People Living in Places or Cities with High Altitudes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in Brain sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
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.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation may improve cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric diseases-a systematic review.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Predicting treatment response to transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in patients with insomnia: resting-state functional connectivity based multivoxel pattern analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Bilateral transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of insomnia in breast cancer.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Sleep and circadian rhythms in cardiovascular resilience: mechanisms, implications, and a Roadmap for research and interventions.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2026Review
- Hypoxia-Induced Gut-Brain Axis Remodeling and Insomnia: Mechanisms and Microbiota Adaptive Regulation from a Translational Perspective.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in sleep disorders: current evidence and future directions.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Sleep Disorders: Emerging Evidence and Future Directions.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Review
- The Sleep Quality of Han Chinese and Tibetan Firefighters at High Altitude: A Field Study.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Article
- The Latest Advances in Non-Invasive Neurostimulation for Insomnia: A Review.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) for Insomnia Disorder: A Narrative Review of Effectiveness, Mechanisms and Recommendations for Clinical Practice.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Synergistic acupuncture and neuromodulation for chronic insomnia: a structured narrative review with systematic search and future directions.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) to improve insomnia in the special environment of a plateau.
methodsThis study was a single-center, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. A total of 100 patients with insomnia at high altitude were randomized into three groups receiving either transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation intervention in the left ear tragus (treatment group), pseudo-stimulation intervention (sham group), or cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI group). The primary measure was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score. In addition, we assessed the patients' objective sleep status with polysomnography and evaluated changes in the Insomnia Severity Index Scale (ISI) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scores. We used one-way ANOVA and repeated-measures ANOVA for analysis.
resultsPatients' PSQI, ISI, and GAD-7 scale scores significantly decreased after 4 weeks of tVNS treatment and were greater than those of the control group. Polysomnographic data also demonstrated shortened sleep latency and longer deep sleep in the patients.
conclusiontVNS is effective in improving sleep quality and reducing anxiety levels in high-altitude insomnia patients but should be confirmed in future adequate and prolonged trials to guide clinical promotion.
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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.