ArticleBrain sciences2026
Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Selectively Improves Executive Control and Cognitive Flexibility Following Sustained High Cognitive Load: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study.
Article 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.
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Abstract
objectivesAcute exposure to sustained high cognitive load rapidly depletes executive functions, yet rapid, field-compatible countermeasures remain scarce. This study examined whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) improves cognitive functions across multiple domains-including the attention networks, cognitive flexibility, and working memory-following sustained high cognitive load.
methodsHealthy young men completed a 1 h dual task combining spatial 1-back and color-word Stroop judgments (the BS task) to induce a high-cognitive-load state; 65 participants were randomized to receive 30 min of active taVNS (left cymba conchae; 25 Hz; 500-μs pulse width; 30 s on/30 s off) or sham stimulation under a single-blind design, and 62 provided complete data and were analyzed. Cognitive performance was assessed with the Attention Network Test, Cued Switching Task, and spatial 2-back task immediately after the intervention and after 1, 2, 4, and 8 h; baseline-corrected change scores were analyzed with linear mixed-effects models.
resultsThe induction task reliably increased subjective workload and degraded task accuracy. Immediately after the intervention, taVNS significantly reduced the conflict effect relative to sham (
conclusionsThese findings indicate that taVNS selectively and immediately improves executive control and cognitive flexibility following sustained high cognitive load, supporting its potential as a portable, rapid-acting cognitive countermeasure for high-demand operational settings.
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