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Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A New Form of Therapeutic Brain Stimulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Mark S. George ,
Ziad Nahas ,
Daryl E. Bohning ,
Mikhael Lomarev ,
Stuart Denslow ,
Richard Osenbach  and
James C. Ballenger
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Abstract

Although the vagus nerve has traditionally been considered to perform efferent functions, in reality it performs significant afferent functions as well, carrying information from the body, head, and neck to the brain. Preliminary studies examining this afferent activity led to the theory that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) could successfully control seizure activity in persons who are refractory to antiepileptic medications. Unlike other forms of brain stimulation, VNS is unable to directly stimulate multiple discrete areas of the brain; however, through several pathways, it is able to relay sensory information to higher brain regions. An implantable VNS device known as the VNS™ NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis (NCP) System has been used in approximately 9,000 epilepsy patients in Europe and the United States since 1994. The implant has reduced seizure frequency by an average of 25% to 30%, with minimal side effects. Studies underway are also showing some degree of success in the management of treatment-refractory depression. The future efficacy of the implantable system in other disorders may depend on whether the implant can be more precisely focused to affect different brain regions. Research in this area is underway.

Type
Feature Article
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 5 , Issue 11: Surgery for Psychiatric Disorders: Part Two , November 2000 , pp. 43 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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