Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A New Era For Developing Self-Compassion And Mental Health

The vagus nerve connects the brain to organs and influences automatic functions, emotions, and social behaviors. Stimulating this nerve through the skin (non-invasively) can improve emotional self-regulation and increase self-compassion, especially when combined with specific training. This method shows potential to enhance psychological therapies based on meditation and compassion, helping in the treatment of mental disorders.

The vagus nerve is a very important nerve that connects the brain to various organs in the body, such as the heart and digestive system. It is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps control automatic body functions such as heart rate and breathing. For example, it helps synchronize heart rate with breathing, a natural phenomenon called respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Besides these better-known functions, the vagus nerve also influences the brain in areas linked to cognition, the way we think, and our emotional and motivational states. This happens because it sends signals from the brainstem to regions of the brain that regulate emotions and social behaviors, such as recognizing others' emotions and the motivation to help or care.

When the vagus nerve malfunctions, it can be linked to mental illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. To treat these problems, there are medical devices that stimulate the vagal nerve directly through surgery, but these techniques are invasive.

Therefore, researchers have developed non-invasive methods that stimulate the vagal nerve through the skin, called transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.

This stimulation, which can be performed simply and inexpensively, has already been shown to have positive effects on psychological conditions such as depression and stress disorders. However, to use this technique effectively, we still need to understand exactly how this stimulation works in people's brains and minds.

Scientific studies indicate that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation can improve people's ability to self-regulate, that is, to control their own emotions and behaviors. Furthermore, it helps with social aspects, such as recognizing emotions in others, promoting cooperation, and even increasing the release of oxytocin, a hormone linked to social bonding and empathy.

Stimulation can also influence how people view themselves spiritually, promoting feelings of connection and well-being.

This is consistent with theories that the vagus nerve helps create calm, contemplative mental states, such as compassion. Compassion is the ability to feel concern for one's own suffering and the suffering of others, with the motivation to alleviate that pain.

Continued practice of meditation and mindfulness techniques, which is the ability to be conscious and attentive to the present moment without judgment, can strengthen these qualities, making them more permanent.

These compassion and mindfulness skills are linked to better mental and emotional health outcomes, which is why many modern therapies incorporate practices to develop them.

However, some people struggle to develop these skills due to emotional insecurities or fear of opening themselves to compassion. These difficulties can hinder the success of psychotherapy, but they can be overcome when therapy provides a safe and supportive environment.

Furthermore, complementary treatments that promote emotional self-regulation and brain plasticity, the brain's ability to adapt and change, can help overcome these limitations. Medications used for this often have limitations and side effects, while non-invasive brain stimulation techniques have shown promise and are increasingly used.

Recently, researchers proposed combining transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation with a specific type of training called “self-compassion training with mental imagery.” This combination could create a potentiated effect, where vagus nerve stimulation facilitates compassionate emotional response, helping a person develop compassion more easily.

To test this, a study was conducted with healthy adults who were divided into groups to receive different combinations of stimulation and training. Some received real vagus nerve stimulation along with self-compassion training, others received sham stimulation with the same training, and others received other combinations for comparison.

The researchers primarily measured three things: how compassionate people felt toward themselves (self-compassion), how critical they were of themselves (self-criticism), and heart rate variability, which is an indicator of vagus nerve activity and nervous system self-regulation.

They also assessed mindfulness in the moment, compassion more generally, and how people paid attention to facial expressions that showed compassion, using an eye tracker to measure eye movements.

The results showed that, from the very first session, those who received the combination of vagus nerve stimulation and self-compassion training experienced significant increases in self-compassion and mindfulness. These effects were also observed over multiple sessions, indicating that the benefits may accumulate over time.

On the other hand, changes in self-criticism and attention to compassion in other people's faces were influenced more by the type of training than the stimulation. Heart rate variability was not significantly altered in this study.

In summary, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation helped enhance the effects of self-compassion training, suggesting that this technique may be a useful tool for improving therapies that use meditation and contemplative practices. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of using measures such as eye tracking to better understand how these therapies work.

These findings pave the way for further research that could use vagus nerve stimulation to enhance the impact of psychological treatments, helping people develop emotional skills important for mental health. They also suggest the future possibility of using similar techniques to promote virtues and positive behaviors that benefit both the individual and society.

READ MORE:

Electroceutical enhancement of self-compassion training using transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation: results from a preregistered fully factorial randomized controlled trial. 

Sunjeev K. Kamboj, Matthew Peniket, Jessica Norman, Rosalind Robshaw, Amit Soni-Tricker, Caroline Falconer, Paul Gilbert, and Louise Simeonov

Psychological Medicine. 2025; 55: e 223. 

doi:10.1017/S0033291725101013

Abstract: 

Physiological signals conveyed by the vagus nerve may generate quiescent psychological states conducive to contemplative practices. This suggests that vagal neurostimulation could interact with contemplative psychotherapies (e.g. mindfulness and compassion-based interventions) to augment their efficacy. In a fully factorial experimental trial, healthy adults (n = 120) were randomized to transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) plus Self-Compassion-Mental-Imagery Training (SC-MIT) or alternative factorial combinations of stimulation (tVNS or sham) plus mental imagery training (MIT: SC-MIT or Control-MIT). Primary outcomes were self-reported state self-compassion, self-criticism, and heart rate variability (HRV). Exploratory outcomes included state mindfulness and oculomotor attentional bias to compassion-expressing faces. Most outcomes were assessed acutely on session 1 at the pre-stimulation (T1), peri-stimulation (T2), and post-MIT + stimulation (T3) timepoints, and after daily stimulation+MIT sessions (eight sessions). During session 1, a significant Timepoint × Stimulation × MIT interaction (p = 0.025) was observed, reflecting a larger acute T1→T3 increase in state self-compassion after tVNS+SC-MIT, with similar rapid effects on state mindfulness. Additionally, significant Session × MIT and Session × Stimulation interactions (p ≤ 0.027) on state mindfulness (but not self-compassion) suggested that tVNS+SC-MIT’s effects may accumulate across sessions for some outcomes. By contrast, changes in state self-criticism and compassion-related attentional bias were only moderated by MIT (not stimulation) condition. HRV was unaffected by stimulation or MIT condition. tVNS augmented the effects of SC-MIT and might, therefore, be a useful strategy for enhancing meditation-based psychotherapies. Our findings also highlight the value of oculomotor attentional metrics as responsive markers of self-compassion training and the continued need for sensitive indices of successful vagal stimulation.