Authors :
Shreya S. Amin; William Charles Pereira; Jenisha Dsouza; Karthika Senthil Kumar
Volume/Issue :
Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 6 - June
Google Scholar :
https://tinyurl.com/mr2knssb
Scribd :
https://tinyurl.com/2bj7umj2
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jun021
Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.
Abstract :
Background and Need
Stroke is one of the most common causes of long term disability and often leaves a patient with upper limb motor loss,
affecting both function and independence as well as impacting on QOL. The conventional rehabilitation usually restores
only a limited arm hand function. In recent years, transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a form of
non-invasive neuromodulation method that might facilitate neuroplasticity and promote motor recovery after stroke.
Methods
About 458 articles were searched by database viz. PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Based on the inclusion
and exclusion criteria, seven studies were included consisting of interventional and prospective studies.
Results
Two randomized controlled trials found significant Improved upper limb motor function, functional independence, and
motor recovery, one prospective study and three randomized pilot study.
Conclusion
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation is a viable and realistic complementary technique to boost upper
limb motor recovery poststroke. Despite minor heterogeneity in stimulation parameters, treatment duration and outcome
measures among the persistence of positive findings suggest a therapeutic potential for taVNS.
Keywords :
“Post-Stroke”, “Upper Limb Function”, “Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation”, “Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation”, “taVNS”
References :
- Wu D, Ma J, Zhang L, Wang S, Tan B, Jia G. Effect and safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on recovery of upper limb motor function in subacute ischemic stroke patients: a randomized pilot study. Neural Plasticity. 2020;2020(1):8841752.
- Xue R, Ma J. Efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in treating patients with post-stroke motor disorders: a prospective study. Frontiers in Neurology. 2026 Mar 3;17:1711146.
- Li HL, Jia YB, Liu XY, Wang YS, Zhang ZK, Li KC, Wang XZ, Pan JX, Liu H. Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation With Rehabilitation on the Recovery of Upper Extremity Function After Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis. Neural Plasticity. 2025;2025(1):9927826
- Wang MH, Wang YX, Xie M, Chen LY, He MF, Lin F, Jiang ZL. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation with task-oriented training improves upper extremity function in patients with subacute stroke: a randomized clinical trial. Frontiers in neuroscience. 2024 Mar 8;18:1346634.
- Redgrave JN, Moore L, Oyekunle T, Ebrahim M, Falidas K, Snowdon N, Ali A, Majid A. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation with concurrent upper limb repetitive task practice for poststroke motor recovery: a pilot study. Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases. 2018 Jul 1;27(7):1998-2005.
- Chan NH, Ng SS. Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cognitive function and upper limb motor function in people with chronic stroke: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMJ open. 2025 Dec 1;15(12):e108243.
- Wang L, Gao F, Dai Y, Wang Z, Liang F, Wu J, Wang M, Wang L. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on upper limb motor function with stroke: a functional nearinfrared spectroscopy pilot study. Frontiers in neuroscience. 2023 Nov 21;17:1297887
- Ramos-Castaneda JA, Barreto-Cortes CF, LosadaFloriano D, Sanabria-Barrera SM, Silva-Sieger FA, Garcia RG. Efficacy and safety of vagus nerve stimulation on upper limb motor recovery after stroke. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in neurology. 2022 Jul 1;13:889953.
- Chen L, Gao H, Wang Z, Gu B, Zhou W, Pang M, Zhang K, Liu X, Ming D. Vagus nerve electrical stimulation in the recovery of upper limb motor functional impairment after ischemic stroke. Cognitive Neurodynamics. 2024 Oct;18(5):3107-24.
- Aprile I, Germanotta M, Cruciani A, Loreti S, Pecchioli C, Cecchi F, et al. Upper limb robotic rehabilitation after stroke: a multicenter, randomized clinical trial. J Neurol Phys Ther. 2020;44(1):3-14. doi:10.1097/NPT.0000000000000295.
- Stoykov ME, King E, David FJ, et al. Bilateral motor priming for post-stroke upper extremity hemiparesis: a randomized pilot study. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2020;38(1):11-22. doi:10.3233/RNN-190948.
- Stroke Feigin VL, Brainin M, Norrving B, Martins S, Sacco RL, Hacke W, et al. World Stroke Organization (WSO): Global Stroke Fact Sheet 2022. Int J Stroke. 2022;17(1):18-29. doi:10.1177/17474930211065917.
- Stroke Johnson CO, Nguyen M, Roth GA, Nichols E, Alam T, Abate D, et al. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Neurol. 2021;20(10):795-820. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(21)00252-0.
- Stroke O’Donnell MJ, Chin SL, Rangarajan S, Xavier D, Liu L, Zhang H, et al. Global and regional effects of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with acute stroke in 32 countries (INTERSTROKE study): a case control study. Lancet. 2016;388(10046):761-775. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30506-2.
- Stroke Virani SS, Alonso A, Aparicio HJ, Benjamin EJ, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2021 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2021;143(8):e254-e743. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000950.
- Stroke Donkor ES. Stroke in the 21st century: a snapshot of the burden, epidemiology, and quality of life. Stroke Res Treat. 2018;2018:3238165. doi:10.1155/2018/3238165.
Background and Need
Stroke is one of the most common causes of long term disability and often leaves a patient with upper limb motor loss,
affecting both function and independence as well as impacting on QOL. The conventional rehabilitation usually restores
only a limited arm hand function. In recent years, transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a form of
non-invasive neuromodulation method that might facilitate neuroplasticity and promote motor recovery after stroke.
Methods
About 458 articles were searched by database viz. PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Based on the inclusion
and exclusion criteria, seven studies were included consisting of interventional and prospective studies.
Results
Two randomized controlled trials found significant Improved upper limb motor function, functional independence, and
motor recovery, one prospective study and three randomized pilot study.
Conclusion
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation is a viable and realistic complementary technique to boost upper
limb motor recovery poststroke. Despite minor heterogeneity in stimulation parameters, treatment duration and outcome
measures among the persistence of positive findings suggest a therapeutic potential for taVNS.
Keywords :
“Post-Stroke”, “Upper Limb Function”, “Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation”, “Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation”, “taVNS”