Objective: To explore the brain function mechanism of rs-fMRI in the treatment of PD by taVNS.

Background: TaVNS has the potential  to improve the clinical symptoms of PD patients by regulating vagus nerve activity, and the related brain function mechanism is still lacking.

Method: Eighty-two patients with PD who met the criteria were randomly divided into treatment group (taVNS) and control group (sham taVNS). The patients were stimulated twice a day, 30 minutes each time, 5 days a week, for a total of 8 weeks. Patients with PD underwent rs-fMRI sequence scans before and after treatment, and healthy participants only underwent the same sequence scans at the time of inclusion.  The different brain regions between PD patients and healthy participants were used as the region of interest (ROI) for functional connectivity (FC) to evaluate the global brain function changes.  Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the changes in scale scores and brain changes before and after treatment.

Results: After 8 weeks treatment, compared to sham taVNS group,  PD patients in taVNS group showed statistically significant differences in the scores of MDS-UPDRS III.  There were differences between the real and sham taVNS treatment group after intervention. The FC analyses showed increased connectivity between the right and left auxiliary motor areas,

and decreased connectivity between the left anterior cingulate gyrus and the left superior temporal gyrus, as well as decreased FC values of the right fusiform gyrus and the left medial superior frontal gyrus, the right auxiliary motor area, the right cerebellar-foot 2 area, and the right triangular inferior frontal gyrus.  Correlation analysis showed that the main outcome index of PD patients in the treatment group, MDS-UPDRS III score change was positively correlated with the change of FC value in the right auxiliary motor area (r=0.385, p=0.025), and positively correlated with the change of FC value in the right middle temporal pole (r=0.343, p=0.0047).

Conclusion: The ameliorating effect of taVNS on motor symptoms in PD can be  achieved by modulating the functional connectivity of sensorimotor networks, especially in the bilateral accessory motor areas and the precentral gyrus.

« Back to 2026 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/modulated-functional-connectivity-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-by-transcutaneous-auricular-acupoint-vagus-nerve-stimulation-tavns/