Kim Woo-Jin, Lee Yun-Sung, Hong Ki Hwan, Choi Hyuk, Song Jae-Jun, Hwang Han-Jeong
Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, Korea University, Sejong, Republic of Korea.
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program for Artificial Intelligence Smart Convergence Technology, Korea University, Sejong, Republic of Korea.
Front Digit Health. 2025 Sep 1;7:1593614. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1593614. eCollection 2025.
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has demonstrated efficacy in alleviating stress-related symptoms, yet its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the effects of taVNS on stress regulation by employing self-report surveys and electroencephalography (EEG) measures.
Participants performed mental arithmetic (MA) and 2-back tasks to induce stress, receiving either taVNS or sham stimulation in a randomized, crossover design. Resting-state EEG was recorded at baseline and immediately after each stress-inducing task-thereby capturing persisting taVNS-induced changes in neural activity-and subjective stress levels were assessed immediately before and after stimulation.
The survey results showed a significant increase in perceived stress following the tasks in the sham condition, whereas stress levels in the taVNS condition did not significantly change. Power spectral density (PSD) analyses revealed that theta and alpha band power in the frontal region significantly decreased only in the sham condition, suggesting elevated stress. Furthermore, whole-brain network analysis indicated a significant reduction in theta band path length in the taVNS condition following both tasks, pointing to enhanced global network efficiency that may help prevent stress escalation.
By demonstrating distinctive EEG and behavioral differences between taVNS and sham stimulation, this study provides a neurophysiological basis for taVNS as a non-invasive intervention for stress regulation. Future research involving a more diverse participant pool and optimization of taVNS parameters will further clarify its therapeutic potential.
经皮耳迷走神经刺激（taVNS）已被证明在缓解与压力相关的症状方面具有疗效，但其潜在的神经生理机制仍未完全明确。在本研究中，我们旨在通过采用自我报告调查和脑电图（EEG）测量方法来阐明taVNS对压力调节的影响。
参与者进行心算（MA）和2-back任务以诱导压力，在随机交叉设计中接受taVNS或假刺激。在基线以及每次压力诱导任务后立即记录静息态脑电图，从而捕捉taVNS诱导的神经活动持续变化，并在刺激前后立即评估主观压力水平。
调查结果显示，在假刺激条件下，任务后感知到的压力显著增加，而在taVNS条件下压力水平没有显著变化。功率谱密度（PSD）分析表明，仅在假刺激条件下额叶区域的θ和α频段功率显著降低，表明压力升高。此外，全脑网络分析表明，在两项任务后的taVNS条件下，θ频段路径长度显著缩短，这表明全局网络效率提高，可能有助于防止压力升级。
通过展示taVNS与假刺激之间独特的脑电图和行为差异，本研究为taVNS作为一种非侵入性压力调节干预措施提供了神经生理基础。未来涉及更多样化参与者群体和优化taVNS参数的研究将进一步阐明其治疗潜力。
