Auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation alters directed cortical communication during intentional actions.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how intentional behavior emerges from neural dynamics requires linking cognitive theories with neurobiology. We combined auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (atVNS) with EEG-based directed connectivity analyses to probe action-effect integration in a canonical theta-band network comprising the anterior temporal lobe (ATL), insular cortex (IC), and inferior frontal cortex (IFC). We show that this core network supports action-effect processing, but atVNS additionally recruited posterior temporal/ventral stream regions (PTL) and altered directed information transfer in the network. While some network properties (e.g., IFC-PTL asymmetry) were involved in both action-effect perception and planning, others (e.g., IC-IFC coupling) were specific to only one of these proc

SUBMITTER: Muckschel M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12828603 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature