Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Emeritus Are Holen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),
- Second opponent: Associate Professor Karin Jensen, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden,
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Trygve Thorn Skonnord, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor Svend Davanger, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Senior Researcher Henrik Børsting Jacobsen, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo
Summary
In his thesis, The Vagus Nerve: Bridging Mind, Body, & Heart in the Treatment of Chronic Pain, Charles Ethan Paccione investigated whether short-term transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation or meditative-based diaphragmatic breathing could aid in the management of fibromyalgia (i.e., chronic pain) and whether psychological distress mediates the relationship between vagal activity (i.e., heart rate variability, HRV) and experimental pain outcomes in those with chronic pain.
Paccione and colleagues found that both active and sham (i.e., inactive) vagus nerve stimulation and meditative-based diaphragmatic breathing showed overall comparable effects on pain and vagal (HRV) activity for those with fibromyalgia; average pain decreased as short-term resting SDNN—a HRV parameter of overall autonomic regulatory function—increased in the entire population during treatment. The impact HRV has on evoked pain tolerance and intensity seems to be conveyed indirectly via psychological distress in those with chronic pain and does not differ by sex. These findings indicate that more research should be conducted on these interventions to offer clearer clinical recommendations for those with long-term pain.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.