title: Effects of short and prolonged transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate variability in healthy subjects.
abstract: The vagus nerve is strategically located in the body, and has multiple homeostatic and health-promoting effects. Low vagal activity predicts onset and progression of diseases. These are the reasons to activate this nerve. This study examined the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS) on a main index of vagal activity, namely heart rate variability (HRV). In Study 1, we compared short (10min) left versus right ear t-VNS versus sham (no stimulation) in a within-subjects experimental design. Results revealed significant increases in only one HRV parameter (standard deviation of the RR intervals (SDNN)) following right-ear t-VNS. Study 2 examined the prolonged effects of t-VNS (1h) in the right ear. Compared to baseline, right-t-VNS significantly increased the LF and LF/HF components of HRV, and SDNN in women, but not in men. These results show limited effects of t-VNS on HRV, and are discussed in light of neuroanatomical and statistical considerations and future directions are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Group, Brussels, Belgium; Odisee University College, Department of Health, Aalst, Belgium. Electronic address: marijke.de.couck@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Couck
authors.affiliation: Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Psychology, Department of Affective Psychology.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cserjesi
authors.affiliation: KULeuven, Work and Organisation Studies, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caers
authors.affiliation: Department Methodology and Statistics, Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Zijlstra
authors.affiliation: KULeuven, Department of Electrical Engineering, ESAT-STADIUS Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, KU Leuven, Medical IT, iMinds, Belgium.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Widjaja
authors.affiliation: Cerbomed GmbH, Medical Valley Center, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve and National Fund for Scientific, Research (FNRS-FRS), Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Luminet
authors.affiliation: Aalborg University, Medical Faculty, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg, Denmark; University of Erlangen-Nurenberg, Medical Faculty, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellrich
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Group, Brussels, Belgium; SCaLab, University Lille 3, Lille, France; Centre Oscar Lambret, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gidron
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004423:Ear; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055536:Vagus Nerve Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acute effect; Heart rate variability; Prolonged effects; Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation; Vagus nerve