Three Hundred Hertz Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) Impacts Pupil Size Non-Linearly as a Function of Intensity.

ABSTRACT: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a neuromodulatory technique that may have numerous potential health and human performance benefits. However, optimal stimulation parameters for maximizing taVNS efficacy are unknown. Progress is impeded by disagreement on the identification of a biomarker that reliably indexes activation of neuromodulatory systems targeted by taVNS, including the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system. Pupil size varies with LC-NE activity and is one potential taVNS biomarker that has shown inconsistent sensitivity to taVNS in prior studies. The present study examined the relationship between pupil size and taVNS using stimulation parameters that have shown promising behavioral effects in prior studies but have received comparatively little

SUBMITTER: Phillips I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11866280 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature