NCT06323954

tVNS During Motor Training in Older Adults

Pairing tVNS With Motor Skill Training in Older Adults

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 32 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Georgia Institute of Technology · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years – 84 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to learn about the effect of applying transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) during motor training on motor learning in older adults. The main question it aims to answer is whether applying tVNS after successful motor trials (post-success tVNS) will facilitate the rate of motor learning. Participants will be randomly assigned to tVNS or sham group and receive tVNS or sham, respectively, at the outer ear during finger control training sessions. Finger control performance will be tested before and after the training sessions without outer ear stimulation.

Detailed description

The participants will be randomly assigned to a tVNS or control group. They will visit the lab for four sessions. The main motor task is to trace target trajectories with finger forces. As the pre- and post-tests, all participants will be tested on a force tracing motor task with the left hand. There will be no electrical stimulation during the tests. During the training sessions, all participants will wear surface electrodes on the outer ear. The attachment sites are the tragus or cymba concha (depending on the shape and size of the ear) for the tVNS group and the earlobe for the sham group. The participants will perform finger training to trace target trajectories with their left finger forces. Participants in the tVNS and sham group will receive tVNS and sham stimulation, respectively, after successful finger trials.

Conditions

• Older Adults

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	tVNS stimulation	Electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve area.
PROCEDURE	Sham stimulation	Electrical stimulation to the non-vagus nerve area.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-05-27
• Primary completion: 2026-06-30
• Completion: 2026-07-31
• First posted: 2024-03-21
• Last updated: 2025-08-13

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States