Investigating the Neurophysiology of the Motor System and the Feasibility of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)

Starting soon · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Functional Neurological Disorder, Motor Symptoms

In brief

This clinical study will test if adding a non-invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve through the ear during physiotherapy brings an improvement to FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) patients with motor symptoms. First, the investigators will test the normal functioning of the motor regions of the brain in FND patients and in healthy volunteers for comparison, using a painless method called TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation). Then, the investigators will further test how brain regions communicate with each other in FND patients, using fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, also painless). Additionally, the investigators will ask both FND patients and healthy volunteers to answer questions about their health and wellbeing, and will assess the exact symptoms of FND patients. The FND patients will then be assigned to two groups randomly, and neither they nor the researchers will know in which group they are. Both groups will do 5 sessions of their usual physiotherapy - one group with a real stimulation of the vagus nerve, and the other group with a fake stimulation. This is important to obtain reliable results. At the end, both groups of patients will be tested again to see if the way brain regions communicate with each other has changed. They will also answer again questions about their health and wellbeing, and their symptoms will be assessed again, to see if any changes happen. The results of the two groups of patients will be compared to isolate the effects of vagus nerve stimulation from the effects of physiotherapy alone.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT07710677
Run by
University of Fribourg
People needed
68
Starts
2026-07-01
Expected to finish
2028-12-01
Last updated by the study team
2026-07-17

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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