Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40548916›Full record

Trial reportNeuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society2025

Transcutaneous Cervical Vagus Nerve Stimulation Modulates Prefrontal Cortex Activity During Opioid Withdrawal in Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder.

Farhan N Rahman, Afra Nawar, Jonathon A Nye, Jaiyoun Choi, Tamara P Lambert, Madeline Robinson, Asim H Gazi, Vikram Abbaraju, Nikolina Tomic, Anna B Harrison and 11 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04556552 (Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Opioid Use Disorders), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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.

NCT04556552 phase3completednot on this map

Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Opioid Use Disorders

TypeinterventionalSponsorEmory UniversityRan2020 to 2022Enrolled20ConditionsSubstance-Related Disorders, Substance Use Disorders, Substance Abuse, Intravenous, Substance WithdrawalArmsNon invasive VN stimulation (nVNS), Oxygen (15-O) Water, Sham Stimulation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

21 authors.

Farhan N RahmanSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: farhan.rahman@gatech.edu.
Afra NawarSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Jonathon A NyeDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Jaiyoun ChoiDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Tamara P LambertWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Madeline RobinsonSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Asim H GaziSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Vikram AbbarajuSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Nikolina TomicSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Anna B HarrisonSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Nora JaquemetDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Kellen Mermin-BunnellDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Hewitt MesfinDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Trinity A GrayDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Justine W WelshDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Kelly E DunnDepartment of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Marom BiksonDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
Viola VaccarinoDepartment of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiology), Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Amit J ShahDepartment of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiology), Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA, USA.
Omer T InanSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA; Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
James Douglas BremnerDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA, USA; Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Funding

Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Patients with Opioid Use DisordersUH3DA048502 · NIDA · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI BREMNER, JAMES DOUGLAS, INAN, OMER TOLGA · 2023 to 2025
$5.8M
Dopamine function, inflammation and connectivity in PTSDR01MH120262 · NIMH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI BREMNER, JAMES DOUGLAS · 2020 to 2023
$2.9M
Training in Computational Neural EngineeringT32EB025816 · NIBIB · GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI Michael Robert Borich, Christopher John Rozell · 2019 to 2026
$1.9M
Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Patients with Opioid Use Disorders UG3DA048502 · NIDA · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI BREMNER, JAMES DOUGLAS, INAN, OMER TOLGA · 2020 to 2021
$844k
CSRD VA I01 CX002331NIBIB NIH HHS T32 EB025816NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA048502NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA048502NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH120262
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOpioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality with limited treatment approaches. Understanding brain mechanisms in response to treatment could be useful in guiding future developments in treatment approaches.

objectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess the effects of transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS) on brain response to opioid use cues in patients with OUD in opioid withdrawal. MATERIALS AND

methodsPatients with OUD who were in the early stage of recovery and/or on medication underwent brain imaging with positron emission tomography and radiolabeled water in conjunction with stimulation with active tcVNS or sham devices and exposure to opioid-use-related cues.

resultstcVNS caused a relative increase in function in the anterior cingulate, dorsal anterior cingulate, and left inferior frontal gyrus during exposure to opioid cues. There also was a pattern of increased activation in the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex.

conclusiontcVNS modulates brain areas implicated in opioid addiction, suggesting a useful role as an adjunctive therapy for OUD. CLINICAL

trial registrationThe Clinicaltrials.gov registration number for the study is NCT04556552.

Indexed as

Opioid-Related DisordersPrefrontal CortexSubstance Withdrawal SyndromeTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationVagus Nerve StimulationAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPositron-Emission TomographyNoninvasiveopioid use disorderprefrontal cortexvagus nerve stimulation

Identifiers

PMID40548916
PMCPMC12400781

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.