Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation to shift approach–avoidance behavior in people with anxiety and anhedonia

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

The work combines an online reinforcement-learning task, MRI-based phenotyping, and in-lab virtual reality to probe how anxiety and anhedonia affect learning, effort trade-offs, and foraging under threat. After online screening and diagnostic visits, participants undergo fMRI while performing an effort-based decision task, then complete two randomized VR sessions with active or sham tVNS both when hungry and after a standardized ~400 kcal milkshake. Physiological signals such as heart rate are recorded while participants freely move in VR so behavioral adaptations and recovery can be measured. Groups include healthy controls and participants with high anxiety, high anhedonia, or both, matched for age, sex, and BMI.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* BMI between 18,5 and 30,0 kg/m2,
* between 18 and 40 years of age, and
* be able and willing to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* have a high risk of suicide,
* have a lifetime diagnosis of severe neurological disorder (incl. ADHD), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe substance abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, or coronary heart disease
* have fulfilled criteria for an eating disorder or somatic symptom disorder within the last 12-months,
* take medication (except psychopharmacological medication for MDD or anxiety), patients have to be on stable psychopharmacological medication for at least two months before study participation (minimizing confounding effects)
* contraindications for MRI (metal implants or claustrophobia)
* for female individuals if they are pregnant or nursing at the time,
* impaired movement ability or hearing
* impaired, uncorrected vision (need contact lenses)
* contraindications for tVNS hearing aids or diseased skin on the right ear.

Where it's running

• University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  Bonn, Germany Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Dr. Anne Kühnel
• Email: akuehnel@uni-bonn.de
• Phone: +49 228 28711519

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.