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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffVagus nerve stimulation is a procedure that sends electrical impulses into your brain in an effort to improve depression symptoms. Sometimes called vagal nerve stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation is one of a few newer brain-stimulation methods designed to treat chronic depression when other treatments haven't worked.
There's one vagus nerve on each side of your body. Each nerve runs from your brainstem through your neck and down to your chest and abdomen.
With vagus nerve stimulation, a device called a pulse generator is surgically implanted in your chest. A wire threaded under your skin connects the pulse generator to the left vagus nerve in your neck. The pulse generator sends out electrical signals along the vagus nerve to your brain. These signals affect mood centers of your brain, which may improve depression symptoms.
- Dougherty DD, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation. In: Stern TA, et al. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/205162974-3/0/1657/451.html?tocnode=57543416&fromURL=451.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04743-2..50048-2--cesec4_1191. Accessed June 10, 2010.
- George MS, et al. Nompharmacological somatic treatments. In: Hales RE, et al. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/content.aspx?aID=332262. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- VNS Therapy system — P970003s050. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/DeviceApprovalsandClearances/Recently-ApprovedDevices/ucm078532.htm. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- Grimm S, et al. Efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of depression. Expert Reviews of Neurotherapeutics. 2010;10:87.
- Implantation procedure. Cybertronics. http://dynamic.cyberonics.com/manuals/doc_download.asp?docid={D6761ECC-D653-4175-84CB-E8C4AF92645D}. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- Schachter SS, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 10, 2010.
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