PURPOSE: Memory plays an essential role in daily life and is one of the first functions to deteriorate in cognitive impairment and dementia. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a promising therapeutic method; however, its ability to enhance memory is underexplored, especially considering long-term stimulation. We aimed to investigate the effect of a 2-week course of auricular tVNS (taVNS) on memory in a non-clinical population. METHODS: This single-blind randomized placebo-wait-list controlled trial recruited 76 participants (30 men; mean age 48.32 years) and randomized them into four groups: early active/sham taVNS and late active/sham taVNS. Participation in the study lasted 4 weeks; early groups underwent 2 weeks intervention immediately following the first study site visit (days 0-13) and late groups 2 weeks after the first study site visit (days 14-27). Active and sham taVNS included 2 weeks of daily 4-h neurostimulation at the tragus or earlobe, respectively. To assess memory, we used the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. RESULTS: Two weeks of active taVNS, but not sham taVNS, improved immediate recall and short-term memory score both in early and late groups. Furthermore, the improvements persisted over subsequent follow-up in early active taVNS. Importantly, the effect of active taVNS was superior to sham for immediate recall in both early and late groups. There were no statistical differences in delayed recall. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that taVNS has potential to improve memory, particularly immediate recall, and may be an effective method in preventing memory loss and mitigating cognitive aging.

• Keywords
• Immediate recall, Memory, Memory modulation, Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation, Vagus nerve,
• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Single-Blind Method MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Memory * physiology   MeSH
• Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation * methods   MeSH
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation * methods   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Randomized Controlled Trial MeSH