Transcutaneous Cervical Vagus Nerve Stimulation Reduces Respiratory Variability in the Context of Opioid Withdrawal.

ABSTRACT: Opioid withdrawal's physiological effects are a major impediment to recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD). Prior work has demonstrated that transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS) can counteract some of opioid withdrawal's physiological effects by reducing heart rate and perceived symptoms. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of tcVNS on respiratory manifestations of opioid withdrawal - specifically, respiratory timings and their variability. Patients with OUD (N = 21) underwent acute opioid withdrawal over the course of a two-hour protocol. The protocol involved opioid cues to induce opioid craving and neutral conditions for control purposes. Patients were randomly assigned to receive double-blind active tcVNS (n = 10) or sham stimulation (n = 11) through

SUBMITTER: Gazi AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10155675 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature