Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37674019›Full record

SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2023

Clinical and cognitive effects of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) in neurological and psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Samuel J Westwood, Aldo Alberto Conti, Wanjie Tang, Shuang Xue, Samuele Cortese, Katya Rubia

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Double-blind, sham-controlled, pilot study of trigeminal nerve stimulation for autism spectrum disorder.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026
    Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. The SASOP/PsychMg child and adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder guidelines.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
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

6 authors.

Samuel J Westwood *Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. samuel.westwood@kcl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-0107-6651
Aldo Alberto Conti *Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Wanjie Tang *Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Shuang XueDepartment of Sociology and Psychology, School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Samuele CorteseCentre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Katya RubiaDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1410-7701

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/P012647/1UK Department of Health
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This pre-registered (CRD42022322038) systematic review and meta-analysis investigated clinical and cognitive outcomes of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) in neurological and psychiatric disorders. PubMed, OVID, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and VIP database for Chinese technical periodicals were searched (until 16/03/2022) to identify trials investigating cognitive and clinical outcomes of eTNS in neurological or psychiatric disorders. The Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool assessed randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while the Risk of Bias of Non-Randomized Studies (ROBINS-I) assessed single-arm trials. Fifty-five peer-reviewed articles based on 48 (27 RCTs; 21 single-arm) trials were included, of which 12 trials were meta-analyzed (N participants = 1048; of which ~3% ADHD, ~3% Epilepsy, ~94% Migraine; age range: 10-49 years). The meta-analyses showed that migraine pain intensity (K trials = 4, N = 485; SMD = 1.03, 95% CI[0.84-1.23]) and quality of life (K = 2, N = 304; SMD = 1.88, 95% CI[1.22-2.53]) significantly improved with eTNS combined with anti-migraine medication. Dimensional measures of depression improved with eTNS across 3 different disorders (K = 3, N = 111; SMD = 0.45, 95% CI[0.01-0.88]). eTNS was well-tolerated, with a good adverse event profile across disorders. eTNS is potentially clinically relevant in other disorders, but well-blinded, adequately powered RCTs must replicate findings and support optimal dosage guidance.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyMental DisordersMigraine DisordersAdolescentAdultChildCognitionHumansMiddle AgedTrigeminal NerveYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID37674019
PMCPMC10827664

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.