Fig. 3

Vibrotactile stimulation at the cymba concha reduces whole-blood LPS-induced TNF production. In a pilot study, six healthy subjects were enrolled at the Academic Medical Center, the Netherlands, and subjected to vibrotactile stimulation at the cymba concha. Blood was obtained before stimulation (− 1) and at different time points after stimulation (0.5, 2, 4 and 24 h). Whole blood was incubated with LPS, and TNF levels in plasma were determined after 4 h in culture. Data are shown as mean ± SEM, **p < 0.01; RMANOVA with Friedman test