Home Operations Utilizing Stimulation

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: This project will utilize a home-operated stimulator in 1) a healthy young adult population and 2) a healthy older adult population to provide a proof of concept of home-use of transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS). tVNS is believed to modulate cognitive performance.

Detailed Description: The vagal nerve is a major component of the autonomic nervous system and mediates the physiological responses of major organs during moments of stress and learning, including brain areas that modulate cognitive performance. Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) has been indicated to improve stress response and to enhance neuroplasticity by directly impacting brain structures critical for cognition. Historically, VNS methods required neurosurgery and were reserved for medically intractable epilepsy or other severe conditions. Today, vagal nerve stimulation can be performed with a minimal-risk non-invasive approach without surgery through a technique called transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation (tVNS). This project will utilize a home-operated stimulator in healthy young adult and healthy older populations to provide a proof of concept of practical home-use stimulation.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Participants for one cohort will be adults between the ages of 18-55, consistent with the typical college population
Participants for the other cohort will be adults between the ages of 56 - 85. Participants must read and write English.

Exclusion Criteria

Major medical illnesses including diagnosed severe neurological illnesses (e.g., stroke, seizure history), autoimmune disorders, and severe psychiatric diseases (e.g., schizophrenia) will be excluded. Participants with any history of brain surgery, tumor, intracranial metal implantation, pacemakers or other implanted devices will be excluded.
Sleep medications and/or psychostimulants are exclusionary. Subjects in the older cohort will NOT be excluded for taking blood pressure and cholesterol medication. Participants who are pregnant will be excluded. If participants have a history of adverse reaction to electrical nerve stimulation, they will be excluded.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Older Cohort	Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation (tVNS)	Healthy individuals aged 56 - 85
Younger Cohort	Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation (tVNS)	Healthy individuals aged 18 - 55

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
System Usability Scale	Day 7 reported	This is a standard version of a usability scale. Subjects will be given 10 statements regarding the usability of the equipment they used, and they will report how much they agree with each statement on a 1 - 5 scale (1 is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree). The score range is 10-50 where 50 demonstrates the highest acceptance of the usability of the device and 10 demonstrates the lowest acceptance of the usability of the device.

Secondary Outcome Measures