How Does Vagus Nerve Stimulation Affect Blood Glucose, Food, and Movement Cravings?

NCT07457372 | Not Yet Recruiting FDA Device

• 1 other identifier: taVNS Study 2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 8
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of using non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) to examine physiological and psychological responses in a college-aged healthy population

Conditions

Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in plasma glucose

  Hour 2 after oral glucose load

Study Arms (2)

Active taVNS

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Device: Active taVNS

Sham taVNS

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Device: Sham taVNS

Interventions

Active taVNS DEVICE

Actual taVNS

Active taVNS

Sham taVNS DEVICE

No nerve stimulation

Sham taVNS

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 35 as we are focused on recruiting undergraduate and graduate students.

You may not qualify if:

• Participants will be excluded if they have epilepsy, clinically significant tachycardia or arrhythmia, diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2) or another metabolic disease, current pregnancy, any implanted electronic medical device (for example, pacemaker or defibrillator), or a known skin allergy to adhesives that would prevent CGM placement. Participants will also be excluded if they have a history of major depressive disorder if taVNS could reasonably be expected to alter mood symptoms

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Minnesota: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Minnesota Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota, 55812, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Mark Hartman, PhD

  University of Minnesota

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Mark Hartman, PhD

CONTACT

218-726-7275; hartm373@d.umn.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: This is a within-subject, counterbalanced repeated-measures study with two experimental conditions (active taVNS and sham taVNS)

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 3, 2026
• First Posted: March 9, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2028
• Last Updated: May 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Locations

US (1)