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Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Appetite

NCT07444177 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2026-03-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study tests a new way to help control appetite. Researchers will use a wearable device on the ear. This device sends gentle electrical pulses to a nerve. This is called vagus nerve stimulation.

The main goals of this study are:

* To see if this device helps people eat less.
* To check if it lowers feelings of hunger.
* To measure how it changes responses to food cues.

Healthy adult women will join this study. Each person will have two study visits. At one visit, the device will be turned on. At the other visit, the device will be off. This is a fake or "sham" treatment.

During each visit, researchers will:

* Give a standard meal for 30 minutes.
* Measure how much food each person eats.
* Ask questions about hunger and fullness.
* Use computer tasks to check food cravings.

This study may find a safe, medicine-free way to manage eating habits.

Conditions

  • Appetite Regulation
  • Food Intake
  • Obesity
  • Eating Behaviour

Interventions

DEVICE

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS)

A single 30-minute session of active taVNS (20 Hz, 1 mA, 50% duty cycle) will be administered to the left cymba conchae. As this is a crossover study, each participant receives this intervention once during their assigned active period.

DEVICE

Sham Stimulation

A single 30-minute session of sham stimulation will be administered at the same location (left cymba conchae). The device is applied for 30 minutes with the same visual and tactile setup, but no effective electrical stimulation is delivered. This is performed once during the participant's assigned sham period.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Seoul National University Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Hyung Jin Choi, MD, PhD · Seoul National University College of Medicine

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-01-12
Primary Completion
2026-02-12
Completion
2026-02-12

Countries

  • South Korea

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07444177 on ClinicalTrials.gov