Life Sciences Commons^™

Treatment Of Anxiety By Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A Retrospective Chart Review, Rhea Gandhi

CMC Senior Theses

Surgical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was FDA cleared for depression (2005) and epilepsy. (1997). In the surgical procedure, a pacemaker is implanted below the collarbone (clavicle) and connected to the vagus nerve in the neck. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a non-surgical alternative to VNS and there is evidence supporting its effectiveness for several conditions. Advantages include lower cost and fewer adverse side effects.

Anxiety is tied to excess or unopposed sympathetic nervous system activity, while the parasympathetic nervous system, especially the vagus nerve, is relatively underactive. This study aimed to investigate a potential impact of regular tVNS stimulation …

Are Coloring Books Really Just For Kids? Investigating Possible Effects Of Specific Pattern Coloring On Conceptual, Physiological And Behavioral Aspects Of Anxiety, Hannah Taylor

Scripps Senior Theses

This study examined the role of specific pattern coloring, such as coloring books for adults, on conceptual, behavioral and physiological measures of anxiety. Undergraduate female students (n = 8) had ECG electrodes and a respiration belt attached and completed the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) at five time points; at baseline, after an initial autobiographical anxiety induction, following a passive relaxation condition, after a repeat induction and then after a coloring condition. The participants were randomly split into a control and experimental group; the control group free colored while the experimental group colored in a mandala pattern. Participants had the …