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Event-related transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulates behaviour and pupillary responses during an auditory oddball task

Villani, Valerio, Finotti, Gianluca, Di Lernia, Daniele, Tsakiris, Manos, Azevedo, Ruben T. (2022) Event-related transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulates behaviour and pupillary responses during an auditory oddball task. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 140 . Article Number 105719. ISSN 0306-4530. (doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105719) (KAR id:93635)

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Abstract

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a neuromodulatory technique that is thought to activate the Locus Coeruleus-Noradrenaline (LC-NA) system. Standard taVNS protocols consist of the administration of intermittent or continuous stimulation over long periods. However, there is currently a limited understanding of the temporal dynamics of taVNS modulation of cognitive processes, as well as its mechanisms of action. We argue that novel stimulation approaches, informed by established theories of the LC-NA system, are needed to further our understanding of the neurocognitive underpinnings of taVNS. In this pre-registered study, we tested whether an “event-related” taVNS protocol can modulate the LC-NA system. In a within-subject design (single session) we delivered brief trains of taVNS (3 seconds) during an auditory oddball paradigm. The taVNS was time-locked to the target stimuli and randomly interleaved with sham stimulation. Response times (RT) and stimuli-driven pupillary diameter (PD) were used as indices of LC-NA activity. Results revealed that active taVNS increased RT to targets, as compared to sham trials. Notably, in line with current theories of LC-NA functioning, taVNS modulation of target-related pupil dilation depended on pre-stimulation PD, an index of baseline LC-NA activity. In particular, active (vs. sham) taVNS was associated with smaller pupil dilation in trials where the baseline PD was small. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the effectiveness of brief event-related taVNS in the modulation of cognitive processes and highlight the importance of using pupil size as an index of tonic and phasic LC-NA activity.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105719
Uncontrolled keywords: vagus nerve; taVNS; oddball paradigm; locus coeruleus; pupil size; noradrenaline
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Ruben Andre Teixeira Azevedo
Date Deposited: 17 Mar 2022 15:29 UTC
Last Modified: 10 Mar 2023 00:00 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/93635 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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