ArticleBrain and behavior2025
Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Effects on Flavor-Evoked Electroencephalogram and Eye-Blink Rate.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionChemosensory food signals are carried by the vagus nerve (VN) from the gut to the brain and these signals contribute to communicating fullness and caloric value of the consumed food in regulatory and reward-related contexts. Here, we aimed to explore whether neural responses to flavor can be modulated through noninvasive VN stimulation, which can be done transcutaneously (transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation [tVNS]) on the outer ear via the auricular branch of VN. The ideal stimulation location on the outer ear for tVNS is not agreed on but two candidate locations are cymba conchae and tragus.
methodsIn this study, we explore the optimal stimulation location for tVNS (cymba conchae, tragus, and cymba conchae and tragus) and timing of tVNS relative to chocolate milk presentation (during, after) in a within-participants design (15 participants). We examined various measures of efficacy; event-related potential from electroencephalogram, eye-blink rate, perceptual and hedonic aspects of flavor, swallowing behavior, and consumption behavior.
resultsWe observed no effect of stimulation location on any of the dependent variables. Unexpectedly, we observed a large effect of food consumption on spontaneous eye-blink rate.
conclusionIn conclusion, overall we did not observe a clear optimal ear location for tVNS-induced modulation of neurophysiological, perceptual, and behavioral variables. Future studies may confirm whether spontaneous eye-blink rate can be a sensitive proxy for food reward-related phasic dopamine shifts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.