Vagus nerve stimulation boosts the drive to work for rewards.

Nature Communications
Monja P NeuserNils B Kroemer

Abstract

Interoceptive feedback transmitted via the vagus nerve plays a vital role in motivation by tuning actions according to physiological needs. Whereas vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) reinforces actions in animals, motivational effects elicited by VNS in humans are still largely elusive. Here, we applied non-invasive transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS) on the left or right ear while participants exerted effort to earn rewards using a randomized cross-over design (vs. sham). In line with preclinical studies, acute taVNS enhances invigoration of effort, and stimulation on the left side primarily facilitates invigoration for food rewards. In contrast, we do not find conclusive evidence that acute taVNS affects effort maintenance or wanting ratings. Collectively, our results suggest that taVNS enhances reward-seeking by boosting invigoration, not effort maintenance and that the stimulation side affects generalization beyond food reward. Thus, taVNS may enhance the pursuit of prospective rewards which may pave avenues to treat motivational deficiencies.

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Citations

Dec 18, 2020·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience·Lina ÖztürkMaria G Veldhuizen
Jan 11, 2021·Brain Stimulation·Marius KeuteAlireza Gharabaghi
Dec 12, 2020·Appetite·Mechteld M van den Hoek OstendeNils B Kroemer
Feb 16, 2021·Psychological Medicine·Magdalena FerstlNils B Kroemer
May 1, 2021·Brain Communications·Immo WeberCarina R Oehrn
May 13, 2021·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science·Hilke PlassmannLeonie Koban

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Software Mentioned

MATLAB robustfit
taVNS
lmerTest
R
Psychophysics
JAGS
SPSS
JASP
MATLAB
HLM

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