The goal of this study is to explore the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation(tVNS) on improving cognition in community-dwelling elderly people. The study will recruit 120 subjects. Participants will undergo baseline cognitive assessment, EEG and eye tracking. Participants will be randomized to tVNS group and sham group. All subjects will repeat the baseline assessments after 1st session, 5th session，10th session and within 3 days after 10th session.
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a non-invasive neurostimulation technology.Recent studies have found that tVNS may involve in the regulation of cognition and improve the memory of the elderly.However, due to the limited number of studies, the effect of tVNS on improving cognitive function and stimulation parameters are currently unclear. To investigate the effects of tVNS on improving cognition in community-dwelling elderly people, our study will recruit 120 subjects. Participants will undergo baseline cognitive assessment, EEG and eye tracking. Active vs. sham treatment will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 fashion in groups using computer generated lists. Subjects and evaluators will be blind to treatment. All subjects will repeat the baseline assessments after 1st session, 5th session，10th session and within 3 days after 10th session.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
120
One electrode tip is used as their common terminal, and the other two electrode tips are respectively connected to the skin surfaces of the auricle and the external auditory meatus. Each subject will have 10 active tVNS sessions.The active tVNS group will be stimulated with a 2 mA current for 30 minutes.
Each subject will have 10 sham tVNS sessions.The sham tVNS group will be stimulated with a 2 mA current for 30 minutes. Except for the stimulation site, other parameters are the same as active group.
Shanghai Mental Health Center
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
cognition
Identifying cognitive affected domains by using Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) (Memory:PAL、DMS、PRM; Executive Function : RTI、MOT)
Time frame: up to 2 weeks(end of the intervention)
cognition
Identifying cognitive affected domains by using Cambridge Neuropsychological Test
Time frame: within 1 day after 1st session and 5th session and 1-week follow-up
PHQ-9
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items，values:0-27, higher score indicates more severe depression symptoms
Time frame: up to 2 weeks(end of the intervention),1-week follow-up
GAD-7
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7，values:0-21, Higher score indicates more severe anxiety symptoms
Time frame: up to 2 weeks(end of the intervention),1-week follow-up
Relative power for delta, theta, alpha, sensorimotor and lower beta frequency bands.
The power spectral density was calculated to extract the relative power for each frequency band and estimated as a log-ratio.
Time frame: up to 2 weeks(end of the intervention)
Antisaccade latency
We used an EyeLink Desktop 1000 eye-tracker to collect the information of eye movements.The latency of the saccade was measured from the onset of the saccade to the target onset.
Time frame: up to 2 weeks(end of the intervention)
Side-effects of tVNS
Time frame: At each stimulation session, up to 2 weeks.
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