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Influence of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac vagal activity: Not different from sham stimulation and no effect of stimulation intensity

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  • Uirassu Borges
  • Sylvain Laborde
  • Markus Raab

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac vagal activity, the activity of the vagus nerve regulating cardiac functioning. We applied stimulation on the left cymba conchae and tested the effects of different stimulation intensities on a vagally-mediated heart rate variability pagerameter (i.e., the root mean square of successive differences) as well as on subjective ratings of strength of perceived stimulation intensity and unpleasantness due to the stimulation. Three experiments (within-subject designs, M = 61 healthy participants each) were carried out: In Experiment 1, to choose one fixed stimulation intensity for the subsequent studies, we compared three preset stimulation intensities (i.e., 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mA) with each other. In Experiment 2, we compared the set stimulation method with the free stimulation method, in which the participants were instructed to freely choose an intensity. In Experiment 3, to control for placebo effects, we compared both methods (i.e., set stimulation vs. free stimulation) with their respective sham stimulations. In the three experiments, an increase of cardiac vagal activity was found from resting to the stimulation phases. However, this increase in cardiac vagal activity was not dependent on stimulation intensity (Experiment 1), the method used to stimulate (i.e., set vs. free; Experiment 2), or whether stimulation was active or sham (Experiment 3). This pattern of results was solidly supported by Bayesian estimations. On the subjective level, higher stimulation intensities were perceived as significantly stronger and a stronger stimulation was generally also perceived as more unpleasant. The results suggest that cardiac vagal activity may be similarly influenced by afferent vagal stimuli triggered by active and sham stimulation with different stimulation intensities. Potential explanations for these findings and its implications for future research with tVNS are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Uirassu Borges & Sylvain Laborde & Markus Raab, 2019. "Influence of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac vagal activity: Not different from sham stimulation and no effect of stimulation intensity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0223848
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223848
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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvain Laborde & Maša Iskra & Nina Zammit & Uirassu Borges & Min You & Caroline Sevoz-Couche & Fabrice Dosseville, 2021. "Slow-Paced Breathing: Influence of Inhalation/Exhalation Ratio and of Respiratory Pauses on Cardiac Vagal Activity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Min You & Sylvain Laborde & Nina Zammit & Maša Iskra & Uirassu Borges & Fabrice Dosseville & Robert S. Vaughan, 2021. "Emotional Intelligence Training: Influence of a Brief Slow-Paced Breathing Exercise on Psychophysiological Variables Linked to Emotion Regulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-13, June.

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