LIP-MBE External Colloquium: Lina Skora, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as a neuromodulatory experimental manipulation in different contexts: Promises, problems, and perspectives

Lina Skora, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany, will present:
„Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as a neuromodulatory experimental manipulation in different contexts: Promises, problems, and perspectives“

Abstract:

Transcutaneous auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) is a non-invasive technique increasingly applied as a tool in clinical, psychophysiological, and behavioural research. taVNS has been reported to affect the physiological markers of noradrenergic activity, potentially serving as a neuromodulatory tool. Elsewhere, taVNS has been applied as a general amplification of the afferent vagal pathway, offering insights into the influence of bodily signals on perception and cognition. Here, I will present the effects of taVNS across three different studies with human participants. First, we investigated pupil dilation as a noradrenergic marker under phasic (1s) and tonic (30s) taVNS in a task-free, sham-controlled crossover design, revealing that both active and sham tonic modes closely resemble the phasic effect, with implications for future task design. Second, we applied sham-controlled phasic taVNS as a noradrenergic manipulation in a foraging task, investigating noradrenergic control over foraging parameters such as residence times and decisions to stay versus leave. Third, we amplified the afferent vagal signal during threat anticipation, aiming to disrupt the bodily information at critical adaptive moments, in order to investigate the effects of bodily (especially cardiac) signal on detection ability, perceptual sensitivity and response criterion. Jointly, the results show that taVNS can be a useful tool in a variety of contexts, but appropriate control over multiple stimulation parameters – predominantly subjective intensity, stimulation order, and washout period – is essential for robust and replicable results.

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