tVNS and Obesity-related Mechanisms

NAEnrolling by invitationINTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment

60

Participants

Timeline

Start Date

April 8, 2025

Primary Completion Date

March 31, 2027

Study Completion Date

March 31, 2027

Conditions
Overweight/Obesity (BMI: 27 and 35 kg/m2)
Interventions
DEVICE

Transcutaneous non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS)

To stimulate vagal afferents, the electrode will be placed at the cymba conchae of the right ear using a previously established conventional stimulation protocol (30 s ON, 30s OFF, 25 Hz frequency, 250 µs pulse widths; tVNS R device, tVNS Technologies GmbH, Erlangen, Germany). Stimulation intensity will be pre-set for each participant for the following stimulation period to correspond to a mild pricking sensation determined with a staircase procedure in the lab session.

DEVICE

Low intensity stimulation

The electrode will be placed at the cymba conchae, but only receive a low-intensity stimulation below the perception threshold (0.1mA, 1s ON, 30s OFF, 1 Hz frequency, 250 µs pulse widths; tVNS R device, tVNS Technologies GmbH, Erlangen, Germany).

Trial Locations (1)

53127

Section of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn

All Listed Sponsors
lead

University of Bonn

OTHER