---
title: Gentle ear stimulation improves movement
nct_id: NCT06409338
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06409338"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06409338"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:06:01.445Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Gentle ear stimulation improves movement

**Goal (in five words):** Gentle ear stimulation improves movement

**Official Title:** Research on the Brain Mechanism of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Regulating PD Motor Symptoms

**Trial ID:** [NCT06409338](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06409338)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University
- **Target Enrollment:** 32 participants
- **Start Date:** 2024-05-11
- **Completion Date:** 2024-08
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease
- **Interventions:** Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (active）, Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (sham）
- **Intervention Types:** DEVICE

## Summary For Families

The goal is to see whether gentle electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve at the outer ear can change brain circuits and reduce Parkinson's motor symptoms in people with early-stage disease. The approach, called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation or taVNS, delivers mild pulses to the auricular branch of the vagus nerve to modulate brain network activity involved in movement, and the study compares active stimulation to a sham while participants remain on their usual PD medications. Because taVNS is a non-drug device, it is being tested as an add-on that may affect symptom control independently of levodopa or other PD drugs. Eligible participants are 40 to 80 years old with idiopathic PD at Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 or less on medication, on stable PD meds for at least a month, and without significant cognitive impairment, severe tremor or dyskinesia, recent VNS, anticholinergic use, taVNS contraindications, or serious other medical conditions.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 40 Years
- **Maximum age:** 80 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* (1) had a diagnosis of idiopathic PD according to the Movement Disorder Society Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for PD and ON-medication Hoehn and Yahr (H\&Y) stage ≤2,
* (2) had stable pharmacotherapy for PD at least one month prior to the study,
* (3) were aged between 40 and 80,
* (4) signed written informed consent,
* (5) can cooperate with the testing and taVNS treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

* (1) with cognitive impairment, according to Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) \< 24;
* (2) with severe tremor or levodopa-induced dyskinesia;
* (3) with current intake of anticholinergics or any drugs that could induce cerebral functional change;
* (4) with taVNS contraindications;
* (5) received VNS treatment during the past six month;
* (6) with concomitant severe neurologic, renal, cardiovascular, or hepatic disease.
```

## Locations (1)

- the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China _(32.0617, 118.7778)_
  - Kezhong Zhang — (CONTACT) — 13770840575 — kezhong_zhang1969@126.com

## Central Contacts

- Zhang Kezhong — (CONTACT) — 13770840575 — kezhong_zhang1969@126.com

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06409338*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06409338*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06409338*