Alleviating arousal vigilance loss through transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation

• Applicant: Fernando Gabriel Luna, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 513247174

Sustaining attention over long periods is a challenging although imperatively necessary ability for many daily and work situations. In prolonged tasks without breaks, vigilance loss is usually observed, resulting in a progressive increase of attentional lapses with time-on-task. Efforts have been undertaken to develop effective methods to reduce attentional lapses, especially in those contexts wherein vigilance loss might have critical consequences (e.g., human-machine interactions, traffic). The present project aims at developing an effective and safe procedure to prevent attentional lapses in prolonged tasks. We propose to mitigate the vigilance decrement by stimulating the arousal system of attention through transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), a new non-invasive brain stimulation technique that directly modulates the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system. Across two experimental series, with planned hypotheses and high-powered studies, we expect to determine the best parameters and suitable time points in the task period for the highest effectiveness in mitigating the arousal vigilance decrement through tVNS. Noting the relative heterogeneity in stimulations parameters of tVNS reported to date in human experimental research, first, we will examine which is the most suitable tVNS protocol to alleviate the arousal vigilance decrement. Then we will conduct a new data collection aiming at a) replicating and extending the expected positive effects of tVNS in mitigating the arousal vigilance decrement and b) examining whether tVNS can boost arousal vigilance in moments wherein arousal is already at low levels. Across these planned objectives, we expect the present project would contribute in developing a non-invasive and safe procedure to prevent attentional lapses when performing prolonged tasks without breaks. The present project is also expected to make remarkable progress in theoretical research, by dissociating the neural pathways underlying the vigilance decrement phenomenon.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position