VNS

CATEGORY:
Clinical Trials

TITLE:
Investigating Accelerated Learning in Tinnitus Participants Implanted With Vagus Nerve Stimulation

DESCRIPTION:
Condition : VNS Implanted Tinnitus Patients

Intervention : Device: Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Sponsors : The University of Texas at Dallas; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Suspended

GUID:
NCT03143842

ID:
NCT03143842

DATE – FIRST POSTED:
Mon, 08 May 2017 12:00:00 EDT

DATE – LAST UPDATED:
11/04/20 07:16AM

DATE – RETRIEVED:
11/04/20 07:16AM

LINK – SOURCE:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03143842?type=Intr&cond=Tinnitus&phase=012345&lupd_s=11%2F03%2F2020&lupd_d=1

LINK – STUDY RECORD:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03143842

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207281

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30485375?dopt=Abstract

BOLD fMRI effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in patients with chronic tinnitus.

PLoS One

BOLD fMRI effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in patients with chronic tinnitus.

PLoS One. 2018;13(11):e0207281

Authors: Yakunina N, Kim SS, Nam EC

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation method used for treatment of epilepsy and depression. Transcutaneous VNS (tVNS) has been gaining popularity as a noninvasive alternative to VNS. Previous tVNS neuroimaging studies revealed brain (de)activation patterns that involved multiple areas implicated in tinnitus generation and perception. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to explore the effects of tVNS on brain activity in patients with tinnitus.

METHODS: Thirty-six patients with chronic tinnitus received tVNS to the inner tragus, cymba conchae, and earlobe (sham stimulation).

RESULTS: The locus coeruleus and nucleus of the solitary tract in the brainstem were activated in response to stimulation of both locations compared with the sham stimulation. The cochlear nuclei were also activated, which was not observed in healthy subjects with normal hearing. Multiple auditory and limbic structures, as well as other brain areas associated with generation and perception of tinnitus, were deactivated by tVNS, particularly the parahippocampal gyrus, which was recently speculated to cause tinnitus in hearing-impaired patients.

CONCLUSIONS: tVNS via the inner tragus or cymba conchae suppressed neural activity in the auditory, limbic, and other tinnitus-related non-auditory areas through auditory and vagal ascending pathways in tinnitus patients. The results from this study are discussed in the context of several existing models of tinnitus. They indicate that the mechanism of action of tVNS might be involved in multiple brain areas responsible for the generation of tinnitus, tinnitus-related emotional annoyance, and their mutual reinforcement.

PMID: 30485375 [PubMed – in process]

PubMed:30485375