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

经耳迷走神经电刺激(TVNS)无创神经调节是治疗急、慢性疼痛的一种很有前途的非药理学方法，但其确切的机制仍有待阐明。我们将：i)研究tVNS对中枢敏感化的影响(作为慢性疼痛的等价物)；ii)评估副交感神经系统参与tVNS的疼痛调制效应；iii)检测有效的tVNS是否正在调节大脑区域的功能激活，处理热疼痛的情绪和植物方面。

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.