Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40461351›Full record

Trial reportNeurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics2025

Transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation modulates the functional connectivity of the descending pain modulation system and reward network in patients with chronic low back pain.

Tingting Li, Yuefeng Wu, Yuanyuan Li, Sierra Anne Hodges, Sveta Reddy, Lucy Chen, Valeria Sacca, Jian Kong

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves dysautonomia in patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. [Research progress on vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of chronic pain].Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2025
    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

8 authors.

Tingting LiDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Yuefeng WuDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Yuanyuan LiDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Sierra Anne HodgesDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Sveta ReddyDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Lucy ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Valeria SaccaDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Jian KongDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Electronic address: JKONG2@mgh.harvard.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aims to examine the modulatory effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on Chronic low back pain (cLBP). 70 cLBP patients were recruited and randomized into taVNS or transcutaneous greater auricular nerve stimulation (tGANS) group. Both interventions were administered by participants themselves after initial training (five times/week for four weeks). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were collected at baseline and after 4-week interventions. Seed-based static and dynamic functional connectivity (sFC and dFC) were performed to investigate the modulation effects on descending pain modulation system and reward network using the periaqueductal gray (PAG) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) as seeds. 51 patients (taVNS: n ​= ​25; tGANS: n ​= ​26) completed the study. Within-group comparisons showed a significant improvement in pain-related outcomes for both groups. Between-group comparisons revealed no significant differences. FC analysis showed that both taVNS and tGANS can increase the PAG - postcentral gyrus sFC. The taVNS is associated with increased PAG - amygdala and PAG - paracentral gyrus and decreased PAG - medial frontal cortex sFCs compared to tGANS. The present study suggest that both taVNS and tGANS can alleviate cLBP through distinct yet overlapping pathways. Our findings underscore the potential of auricular nerve stimulation as a telehealth solution for cLBP and other chronic pain conditions.

Indexed as

Chronic PainLow Back PainNerve NetRewardTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationVagus Nerve StimulationAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedChronic low back painDescending pain modulation systemFunctional connectivityTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)Transcutaneous greater auricular nerve stimulation (tGANS)

Identifiers

PMID40461351
PMCPMC12491802

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.