Antinociceptive effect of transauricular electrical vagal nerve stimulation and its underlying mechanisms

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Non-invasive neuromodulation, using the transauricular electrical vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a promising non-pharmacological method for the treatment of acute and chronic pain conditions, however the exact underlying mechanisms are still to be elucidated. We are going to: i) study the effect of tVNS on central sensitization (as an equivalent of chronic pain); ii) evaluate the involvement of the parasympathetic nervous system in pain modulating effects of tVNS; and iii) examine whether effective tVNS is modulating functional activation of brain areas, processing emotional and vegetative aspects of thermal pain.