Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Syllabova 19, Ostrava, 703 00, Czech Republic.
Department of Human Movement Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Clin Auton Res. 2024 Aug;34(4):447-462. doi: 10.1007/s10286-024-01053-0. Epub 2024 Jul 22.
PURPOSE: Memory plays an essential role in daily life and is one of the first functions to deteriorate in cognitive impairment and dementia. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a promising therapeutic method; however, its ability to enhance memory is underexplored, especially considering long-term stimulation. We aimed to investigate the effect of a 2-week course of auricular tVNS (taVNS) on memory in a non-clinical population. METHODS: This single-blind randomized placebo-wait-list controlled trial recruited 76 participants (30 men; mean age 48.32 years) and randomized them into four groups: early active/sham taVNS and late active/sham taVNS. Participation in the study lasted 4 weeks; early groups underwent 2 weeks intervention immediately following the first study site visit (days 0-13) and late groups 2 weeks after the first study site visit (days 14-27). Active and sham taVNS included 2 weeks of daily 4-h neurostimulation at the tragus or earlobe, respectively. To assess memory, we used the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. RESULTS: Two weeks of active taVNS, but not sham taVNS, improved immediate recall and short-term memory score both in early and late groups. Furthermore, the improvements persisted over subsequent follow-up in early active taVNS. Importantly, the effect of active taVNS was superior to sham for immediate recall in both early and late groups. There were no statistical differences in delayed recall. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that taVNS has potential to improve memory, particularly immediate recall, and may be an effective method in preventing memory loss and mitigating cognitive aging.
目的:记忆在日常生活中起着至关重要的作用,是认知障碍和痴呆症中首先恶化的功能之一。经皮迷走神经刺激(tVNS)是一种很有前途的治疗方法;然而,其增强记忆的能力尚未得到充分探索,尤其是考虑到长期刺激。我们旨在研究为期 2 周的耳廓 tVNS(taVNS)对非临床人群记忆的影响。
方法:这项单盲随机安慰剂对照试验招募了 76 名参与者(30 名男性;平均年龄 48.32 岁),并将他们随机分为四组:早期主动/假 taVNS 和晚期主动/假 taVNS。研究的参与时间持续 4 周;早期组在第一次研究现场访问(第 0-13 天)后立即进行 2 周的干预,晚期组在第一次研究现场访问后 2 周进行(第 14-27 天)。主动和假 taVNS 分别包括为期 2 周的每天 4 小时神经刺激于耳廓或耳垂。为了评估记忆,我们使用了 Rey 听觉言语学习测试。
结果:2 周的主动 taVNS,但不是假 taVNS,改善了早期和晚期组的即时回忆和短期记忆评分。此外,早期主动 taVNS 的改善在随后的随访中持续存在。重要的是,主动 taVNS 的效果优于早期和晚期组的即时回忆中的假 taVNS。延迟回忆没有统计学差异。
结论:我们的研究结果表明,taVNS 有可能改善记忆,特别是即时回忆,并且可能是预防记忆丧失和减轻认知老化的有效方法。
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