ArticleFrontiers in aging neuroscience2025
Effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on mild cognitive impairment: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
Article in Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and exercise-induced autonomic regulation: a systematic review.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2026Pooled it
- P300 Event-Related Potentials as Cognitive Biomarkers in Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.Revista de neurologia · 2026Pooled it
- Neuromodulation Techniques in Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Advances.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Current Evidence and Future Directions.NeuroSci · 2026Review
- Application of auriculotherapy in cancer-related fatigue symptom cluster: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation: mechanisms, applications, and research progress.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Therapeutic progress in rosacea: targeting the neuro-vascular-immune triad.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques have been widely used in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to accelerate the recovery of their cognitive functions. However, the clinical efficacy of single non-invasive stimulation techniques in treating MCI still requires further improvement. The combination of two non-invasive neuromodulation techniques can enhance the synergistic effects of the treatment. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) regulates the cortical-subcortical network in a "top-down" manner, while transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) modulates the brainstem-limbic system-cortical pathway in a "bottom-up" fashion. We will combine rTMS and taVNS, anticipating synergistic regulation through dual pathways to achieve multi-level neural remodeling effects and improve MCI. Methods: This study will investigate the effectiveness of combined rTMS and taVNS therapy in improving the cognitive function of MCI patients. We will enroll 88 participants and randomly assign them to single-stimulation groups and combined-stimulation groups. The single-stimulation groups will be further randomized in a 1:1 ratio into a rTMS + sham taVNS stimulation group and a taVNS + sham rTMS stimulation group; the combined-stimulation groups will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio into an rTMS + taVNS group and an rTMS sham stimulation + taVNS sham stimulation group. All patients will receive treatment for 4 weeks. Assessments will be conducted before treatment (T0), 4-week treatment (T1), and 4-week post-treatment follow-up (T2). The primary outcome measure will be the Chinese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Basic (MoCA-B), while secondary outcome measures will include the Rivermead Behaviour Memory Test (RBMT), the modified Barthel Index (MBI) for activities of daily living, and the latency and amplitude of event-related potential (ERP) P300. Discussion: This study is a clinical randomized controlled trial, which innovatively combines two non-invasive modulation techniques to improve cognitive function in patients with MCI. This study can validate the clinical efficacy of the combined TMS + taVNS stimulation, providing a theoretical basis for the application of this technology in clinical settings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.