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Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Pain and Brain Activity in Healthy Adults

14 september 2026 uppdaterad av: David A. Purger

The Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) on Acute Pain Perception and Brain Activity in Healthy Adults

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether stimulating a nerve in the neck changes how much pain people feel. It also looks at whether this stimulation changes brain activity. The study is being done in healthy adults ages 18 to 70.

The nerve being studied is called the vagus nerve. It runs through the neck and connects to parts of the brain that handle pain. In this study, the nerve is stimulated from outside the body using a small device placed on the skin. There is no surgery, and nothing is implanted.

The main questions it aims to answer are: (1) Does stimulating the vagus nerve lower the pain people feel during a cold water test? (2) Does stimulating the vagus nerve change the electrical activity in the brain?

Researchers will compare pain ratings and brain activity under three conditions in the same person: no stimulation, real stimulation over the vagus nerve, and sham stimulation placed nearby on the neck. Sham stimulation feels similar but is not aimed at the nerve.

Participants will: (1) Come to one visit that lasts about 90 minutes, with no follow-up visits, (2) Wear a cap that records the brain's natural electrical signals for the whole visit, (3) Place both hands in cold water, about 39 degrees Fahrenheit, up to three times for up to 2 minutes each time, (4) Rate their pain after each cold water test, (5) Wear a stimulation device on the neck during two of the three cold water tests, (6) Not be told which of those two is the real stimulation until the visit is over.

Studieöversikt

Status

Har inte rekryterat ännu

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Studietyp

Interventionell

Inskrivning (Beräknad)

20

Fas

  • Inte tillämpbar

Kontakter och platser

Det här avsnittet innehåller kontaktuppgifter för dem som genomför studien och information om var denna studie genomförs.

Studiekontakt

Studera Kontakt Backup

Studieorter

  • Förenta staterna
    • Indiana
      • Indianapolis, Indiana, Förenta staterna, 46202
        • IU Health Neuroscience Center
        • Kontakt:
          • Department of Neurological Surgery
          • Telefonnummer: 317-963-1300
          • E-post: dpurger@iu.edu

Deltagandekriterier

Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.

Urvalskriterier

Åldrar som är berättigade till studier

  • Vuxen
  • Äldre vuxen

Tar emot friska volontärer

Ja

Beskrivning

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 18 to 70 years
  • Healthy, defined as having no history of chronic medical, neurological, or psychiatric conditions
  • Not currently experiencing acute illness or chronic pain
  • Not currently taking medications that influence the nervous system or pain sensitivity
  • Willing and able to provide written informed consent in English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of vagal or vasovagal symptoms
  • Respiratory distress
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Sleep apnea
  • Pregnancy
  • Substance abuse
  • Primary psychiatric disorder
  • Prior vagus nerve stimulation or any implanted medical device
  • Significant acute or chronic neurologic illness that, in the judgment of the Principal Investigator, could compromise participant safety, limit the ability to complete the study, or compromise the objectives of the study

Studieplan

Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.

Hur är studien utformad?

Designdetaljer

  • Primärt syfte: Grundläggande vetenskap
  • Tilldelning: Randomiserad
  • Interventionsmodell: Crossover tilldelning
  • Maskning: Enda

Vapen och interventioner

Deltagargrupp / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Experimentell: Active Stimulation First, Then Sham
Participants complete a cold pressor test with no stimulation, then a second cold pressor test during active transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation, then a third during sham stimulation.
Enhet: Active transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation
Stimulation applied over the cervical branch of the vagus nerve, anterior to the sternocleidomastoid along the carotid sheath. Pulse width 200 microseconds, frequency 30 Hz, rectangular monophasic waveform, intensity titrated between 17.8 and 39.5 volts to a mild tingling sensation below the threshold of discomfort. Stimulation is maintained for 20 minutes before the cold pressor test and continues throughout it.
Enhet: Sham transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation
Identical device, parameters, and duration as the active condition, differing only in placement. The device is positioned slightly posterior on the neck, away from the cervical branch of the vagus nerve.
Övrig: Cold pressor test
Immersion of both hands up to the wrist in water maintained at 4 degrees Celsius with ice for up to two minutes or as long as tolerated. Performed three times per participant: once with no stimulation, once during active stimulation, and once during sham stimulation.
Experimentell: Sham Stimulation First, Then Active
Participants complete a cold pressor test with no stimulation, then a second cold pressor test during sham stimulation, then a third during active transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.
Enhet: Active transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation
Stimulation applied over the cervical branch of the vagus nerve, anterior to the sternocleidomastoid along the carotid sheath. Pulse width 200 microseconds, frequency 30 Hz, rectangular monophasic waveform, intensity titrated between 17.8 and 39.5 volts to a mild tingling sensation below the threshold of discomfort. Stimulation is maintained for 20 minutes before the cold pressor test and continues throughout it.
Enhet: Sham transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation
Identical device, parameters, and duration as the active condition, differing only in placement. The device is positioned slightly posterior on the neck, away from the cervical branch of the vagus nerve.
Övrig: Cold pressor test
Immersion of both hands up to the wrist in water maintained at 4 degrees Celsius with ice for up to two minutes or as long as tolerated. Performed three times per participant: once with no stimulation, once during active stimulation, and once during sham stimulation.

Vad mäter studien?

Primära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Pain intensity measured by the Numerical Pain Rating Scale
Tidsram: Immediately after each of the three cold pressor tests during a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Participant-reported pain intensity on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain imaginable. Higher scores indicate greater pain. Rated immediately after each cold pressor test.
Immediately after each of the three cold pressor tests during a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Pain intensity measured by the Visual Analogue Scale
Tidsram: Immediately after each of the three cold pressor tests during a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Participant-reported pain intensity is marked on a 100 mm line anchored at 0 mm for no pain and 100 mm for the worst imaginable pain. The distance in millimeters from the left anchor is recorded as the score. Higher scores indicate greater pain. Rated immediately after each cold pressor test.
Immediately after each of the three cold pressor tests during a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Pain threshold during cold pressor test
Tidsram: During each of the three cold pressor tests within a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Time in seconds from hand immersion to the participant's first verbalized sensation of pain, recorded separately for each hand.
During each of the three cold pressor tests within a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.

Sekundära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Change in EEG spectral power
Tidsram: Continuously throughout a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Change in spectral power within canonical frequency bands (delta 1 to 4 Hz, theta 4 to 8 Hz, alpha 8 to 12 Hz, beta 13 to 30 Hz, gamma above 30 Hz), measured by continuous 16-channel electroencephalography, compared across resting baseline, stimulation without noxious stimulus, and stimulation during cold pressor test.
Continuously throughout a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Change in EEG functional connectivity
Tidsram: Continuously throughout a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.
Change in functional connectivity between brain regions, derived from continuous 16-channel electroencephalography. Phase locking values are computed for each pair of EEG channels within canonical frequency bands, and connectivity metrics are derived from those values. Coherence is assessed in the frequency domain. Analyses are restricted to predefined, theory-driven regions and frequency bands. Compared across resting baseline, stimulation without noxious stimulus, and stimulation during the cold pressor test.
Continuously throughout a single visit, approximately 90 minutes.

Samarbetspartners och utredare

Det är här du hittar personer och organisationer som är involverade i denna studie.

Sponsor

David A. Purger

Samarbetspartners

Purdue University
Indiana University Health
Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital

Utredare

  • Huvudutredare: David A Purger, MD, PhD, Indiana University

Studieavstämningsdatum

Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.

Studera stora datum

Studiestart (Beräknad)

1 september 2026

Primärt slutförande (Beräknad)

1 januari 2028

Avslutad studie (Beräknad)

1 januari 2028

Studieregistreringsdatum

Först inskickad

14 september 2026

Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

14 september 2026

Första postat (Faktisk)

18 september 2026

Uppdateringar av studier

Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)

18 september 2026

Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

14 september 2026

Senast verifierad

1 september 2026

Mer information

Termer relaterade till denna studie

Ytterligare relevanta MeSH-villkor

Andra studie-ID-nummer

  • 27960
  • SNEU-IIR-TVNS-ADULTS (Annan identifierare: Indiana University IRB)

Plan för individuella deltagardata (IPD)

Planerar du att dela individuella deltagardata (IPD)?

NEJ

IPD-planbeskrivning

This is a small exploratory pilot study in healthy volunteers, designed to generate preliminary effect size estimates rather than definitive findings. With a target enrollment of 20 participants at a single site, the dataset is small enough that a decision about sharing individual participant data has been deferred. The current informed consent form does not specifically address sharing de-identified individual participant data with researchers outside the study team. Any future data sharing would require review of participant consent and approval by the Indiana University Institutional Review Board. The study team will revisit this decision before study completion.

Läkemedels- och apparatinformation, studiedokument

Studerar en amerikansk FDA-reglerad läkemedelsprodukt

Nej

Studerar en amerikansk FDA-reglerad produktprodukt

Ja

produkt tillverkad i och exporterad från U.S.A.

Nej

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