ReviewBrain sciences2026
Awakening the Vagus: Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation-A Narrative Review.
Review in Brain sciences, 2026. 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
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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
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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Disorders of consciousness (DoC), including unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state (UWS/VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), remain a major challenge in clinical neurology. Therapeutic options are limited, and prognosis is often uncertain. Transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (taVNS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that has gained increasing interest as a potential strategy to promote recovery of consciousness. This narrative review summarizes the anatomical and functional rationale of taVNS, compares invasive and non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation techniques, reviews the biological mechanisms underlying its effects, discusses established clinical applications, technological innovations, and available clinical trial evidence. Current data suggest that taVNS is safe and well-tolerated, with preliminary evidence of applicability in DoC, particularly in patients with MCS. However, heterogeneity in stimulation protocols and the limited number of large-scale randomized controlled trials highlight the need for further standardized research.
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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.