Vagus Nerve Stimulation Can Alleviate Chronic Depression

Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Mild to moderate forms of depression are often amenable to pharmacological or psychological approaches, but severe depression is a different matter. The successful treatment of very deep depression is something of a Holy Grail for many in the mental health field.

This is why invasive procedures such as Deep Brain Stimulation and now Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) are of such interest. VNS involves implanting a kind of pacemaker into the chest that delivers electrical impulses to the mood centres of the brain every five minutes.

This latest research found that around a quarter of patients experienced a complete remission from their symptoms after extended treatment.

University of Texas
Article on VNS as well as some people's treatment experiences.

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2 comments

Blogger powayslugger on 3/1/06 10:14 PM 

interesting research. 25% cure is pretty good for depression.

Blogger Andreas on 31/3/07 9:41 AM 

A degree of intermittent vagus nerve stimulation can also be reached through various breathing exercises, frequent in use in traditional chinese psychiatric departments.

I am not saying that this is necessarily suitable treatment for a chronic depression, but it is a good example on where modern science rediscovers traditional medicinal knowledge. Perhaps a trial of some form of psychomotorical movement therapy would be in order prior to installing such an implant?
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