Our team's peer-reviewed publications. Data and code are shared in Resources where possible.
In healthy adults (n=80), bilateral cymba conchae and tragus stimulation was compared with sham in a simplified, monetary-reward probabilistic learning task. tVNS significantly improved accuracy and shortened response times during learning, and this advantage persisted into an extinction phase in which reward and feedback were removed. Reinforcement-learning drift-diffusion modelling (RLDDM) showed that the tVNS group adopted a more intuitive strategy, devoted more time to stimulus encoding and motor processes, and exhibited greater reward sensitivity. The findings indicate that tVNS strengthens reinforcement learning in healthy individuals and may aid fast learning and the formation of new habits.
Open access (CC BY-NC). Data and experiment code are shared in Resources and on OSF.
