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Vibrotactile transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) during working memory: convergent electrophysiological evidence for cortical efficiency
Tan G, Demarest P, Kardashina T, Adams J, Willie JT, Roland J, Gorlewicz JL, Brunner P et al.. bioRxiv, 2026-10-08
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Results Active vtaVNS reduced both scalp-recorded visual ERP and high-gamma response in temporal cortices, relative to sham stimulation. Moreover, smaller visual event-related potentials were associated with successful encoding during the most demanding working-memory condition (i.e., 4-back task). Exploratory analyses showed that vtaVNS shifted cortical dynamics closer to criticality. Conclusion Our results converge on the conclusion that vtaVNS does not uniformly amplify cortical responses to external stimuli. These findings provide a framework for predicting when taVNS will be most beneficial and for optimizing stimulation protocols across cognitive and clinical applications. Reduced visual event-related potentials are associated with successful encoding in the 4-back task.
Key findings
- Results Active vtaVNS reduced both scalp-recorded visual ERP and high-gamma response in temporal cortices, relative to sham stimulation.
- Moreover, smaller visual event-related potentials were associated with successful encoding during the most demanding working-memory condition (i.e., 4-back task).
- Exploratory analyses showed that vtaVNS shifted cortical dynamics closer to criticality.
- Conclusion Our results converge on the conclusion that vtaVNS does not uniformly amplify cortical responses to external stimuli.
- These findings provide a framework for predicting when taVNS will be most beneficial and for optimizing stimulation protocols across cognitive and clinical applications.
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Study details
- Participants20
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 27 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 17 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 27 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 20 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 17 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 17 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 27 out of 100. |
| Total | 27 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Tan, G., Demarest, P., Kardashina, T., Adams, J., Willie, J. T., Roland, J., et al. (2026). Vibrotactile transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) during working memory: convergent electrophysiological evidence for cortical efficiency. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.07.756069
Vancouver
Tan G, Demarest P, Kardashina T, Adams J, Willie JT, Roland J, et al. Vibrotactile transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) during working memory: convergent electrophysiological evidence for cortical efficiency. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.10.07.756069.
BibTeX
@article{tan2026-39628f53,
author = {Tan, G. and Demarest, P. and Kardashina, T. and Adams, J. and Willie, J. T. and Roland, J. and Gorlewicz, J. L. and Brunner, P. and others},
title = {{Vibrotactile transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) during working memory: convergent electrophysiological evidence for cortical efficiency}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.07.756069},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.07.756069}
}
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