Vagus nerve stimulation boosts the drive to work for rewards

Neuser, Monja P.; Teckentrup, Vanessa; Kühnel, Anne; Hallschmid, Manfred; Walter, Martin; Kroemer, Nils B.

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17344-9

Cited by 61 publications

(192 citation statements)

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“…Moreover, participants completed a reinforcement learning task (Kühnel et al, 2020), which required cognitive effort (~15 min). Experimental procedure and schematic summary of the task block.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To conclude the first session, all participants received their monetary winnings earned in the effort allocation task and reinforcement learning task as part of the compensation. Both visits were conducted at approximately the same time within a week, usually within 3-4 days, and followed the same standardized protocol (for details on the procedure, see (Neuser et al, 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, we had to exclude 3 participants who did not finish the second experimental session, leading to a sample size of N = 82 with complete mood ratings. As reported before (Neuser et al, 2020), one additional participant had to be excluded from the correlation analysis involving taVNS-induced changes in motivation because of an incorrectly assigned maximum of the button press frequency for the effort task precluding comparisons of the two sessions. Out of the 82 participants, 42 completed the study during left-sided taVNS, whereas 40 completed it during right-sided taVNS.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the effort allocation task, participants had to collect food and money tokens throughout the task by exerting effort (i.e., repeatedly pressing the right trigger button with the right index finger). The task was adapted from (Meyniel et al, 2013) and used frequency of button presses instead of grip force to measure physical effort (Neuser et al, 2020). Trials varied in the type of reward, which was always indicated by money or food symbols on the screen.…”

Section: Effort Allocation Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The electrical current is transmitted by a titanium electrode placed at the cymba conchae (taVNS) or earlobe (sham) of the ear (Frangos et al, 2015). To match the subjective experience of the stimulation, intensity was determined for each participant and each condition individually to correspond to mild pricking (Kühnel et al, 2020;Neuser et al, 2020;Teckentrup et al, 2020).…”

Section: Tavns Devicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation boosts mood recovery after effort exertion

Ferstl

Teckentrup

Lin

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Mood plays an important role in our life which is illustrated by the disruptive impact of aberrant mood states in depression. Although vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been shown to improve symptoms of depression, the exact mechanism is still elusive, and it is an open question whether non-invasive VNS could be used to swiftly and robustly improve mood. Here, we investigated the effect of left- and right-sided transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS) versus a sham control condition on mood after exertion of physical and cognitive effort in 82 healthy participants (randomized cross-over design). Using linear mixed-effects and hierarchical Bayesian analyses of mood ratings, we found that 90 min of either left-sided or right-sided taVNS improved positive mood (b = 5.11, 95% credible interval, CI [1.39, 9.01], 9.6% improvement relative to the mood intercept, BF10= 7.69, pLME = .017), yet only during the post stimulation phase. Moreover, lower baseline scores of positive mood were associated with greater taVNS-induced improvements in motivation (r = −.42, 95% CI [−.58, −.21], BF10 = 249). We conclude that taVNS boosts mood after a prolonged period of effort exertion with concurrent stimulation and that acute motivational effects of taVNS are partly dependent on initial mood states. Collectively, our results show that taVNS may help quickly improve affect after a mood challenge, potentially by modulating interoceptive signals contributing to reappraisal of effortful behavior. This suggests that taVNS could be a useful add-on to current behavioral therapies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effort Allocation Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tavns Devicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation boosts mood recovery after effort exertion

Ferstl

Teckentrup

Lin

et al. 2020

Preprint

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New approaches for the quantification and targeting of noradrenergic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease

David

Malhotra

2022

Ann Clin Transl Neurol

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There is clear, early noradrenergic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. This is likely secondary to pathological tau deposition in the locus coeruleus, the pontine nucleus that produces and releases noradrenaline, prior to involvement of cortical brain regions. Disruption of noradrenergic pathways affects cognition, especially attention, impacting memory and broader functioning. Additionally, it leads to autonomic and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Despite the strong evidence of noradrenergic involvement in Alzheimer's, there are no clear trial data supporting the clinical use of any noradrenergic treatments. Several approaches have been tried, including proof‐of‐principle studies and (mostly small scale) randomised controlled trials. Treatments have included pharmacotherapies as well as stimulation. The lack of clear positive findings is likely secondary to limitations in gauging locus coeruleus integrity and dysfunction at an individual level. However, the recent development of several novel biomarkers holds potential and should allow quantification of dysfunction. This may then inform inclusion criteria and stratification for future trials. Imaging approaches have improved greatly following the development of neuromelanin‐sensitive sequences, enabling the use of structural MRI to estimate locus coeruleus integrity. Additionally, functional MRI scanning has the potential to quantify network dysfunction. As well as neuroimaging, EEG, fluid biomarkers and pupillometry techniques may prove useful in assessing noradrenergic tone. Here, we review the development of these biomarkers and how they might augment clinical studies, particularly randomised trials, through identification of patients most likely to benefit from treatment. We outline the biomarkers with most potential, and how they may transform symptomatic therapy for people living with Alzheimer's disease.

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