Ann Rehabil Med.  2023 Feb;47(1):68-77. 10.5535/arm.22119.

Exploratory Investigation of the Effects of Tactile Stimulation Using Air Pressure at the Auricular Vagus Nerve on Heart Rate Variability

• Lee HJ
• Wi S
• Park S
• Oh BM
• Seo HG
• Lee WH

• KMID: 2539729
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.22119

Abstract

Objective
To explore the effects of tactile stimulation using air pressure at the auricular branch of the vagus nerve on autonomic activity in healthy individuals.
Methods
Three types of tactile stimulation were used in this study: continuous low-amplitude, continuous high-amplitude, and pulsed airflow. The tactile stimulations were provided to the cymba concha to investigate autonomic activity in 22 healthy participants. The mean heart rate (HR) and parameters of HR variability, including the standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN) and root mean square of successive R-R interval differences (RMSSD) were compared at baseline, stimulation, and recovery periods.
Results
Two-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant main effect of time on HR (p=0.001), SDNN (p=0.003), and RMSSD (p<0.001). These parameters showed significant differences between baseline and stimulation periods and baseline and recovery periods in the post-hoc analyses. There were no significant differences in the changes induced by stimulation type and the interaction between time and stimulation type for all parameters. One-way repeated measures ANOVA showed that HR, SDNN, and RMSSD did not differ significantly among the three time periods during sham stimulation.
Conclusion
Parasympathetic activity can be enhanced by auricular tactile stimulation using air pressure, targeting the cymba concha. Further studies are warranted to investigate the optimal stimulation parameters for potential clinical significance.

Keyword

Auricular vagus nerve; Heart rate; Tactile stimulation; Parasympathetic nervous system

Figure

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  Fig. 1. This presents schematic illustrations of the participant flow diagram (A) and the experimental design for 3 types of auricular tactile stimulation (B).

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  Fig. 2. The figure presents the experimental setup of a headset-type tactile stimulator using air pressure. A tactile stimulator consists of a part to generate and control air pressure and a part to provide air pressure to the external ear (A). The speaker part of the headset was replaced with the ball head and the air hose (B). The angle of the air hose could be adjusted to localize the air to the cymba concha (C).

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