Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation: From Concept to Application
Yu Wang 1 • Shao-Yuan Li 1 • Dan Wang 2 • Mo-Zheng Wu 1 • Jia-Kai He 1 • Jin-Ling Zhang 1 • Bin Zhao 1 • Li-Wei Hou 1 • Jun-Ying Wang 1 • Lei Wang 1 • Yi-Fei Wang 1 • Yue Zhang 1 • Zi-Xuan Zhang 1 • Pei-Jing Rong 1
1 Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
2 College of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
Abstract
Whether in the West or the East, the connection between the ear and the rest of the body has been explored for a long time. Especially in the past century or more, the relevant theoretical and applied research on the ear has greatly promoted the development of ear therapy, and finally the concept of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been proposed. The purpose of taVNS is to treat a disease non-invasively by applying electrical current to the cutaneous receptive field formed by the auricular branch of the vagus nerve in the outer ear. In the past two decades, taVNS has been a topic of basic, clinical, and transformation research. It has been applied as an alternative to drug treatment for a variety of diseases. Based on the rapid understanding of the application of taVNS to human health and disease, some limitations in the development of this field have also been gradually exposed. Here, we comprehensively review the origin and research status of the field.
Keywords
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation; Concept; Application; Development
