What is VNS Therapy?
VNS stands for vagus nerve stimulation. The vagus nerves are a pair of large nerves carrying much information from the body, up through the neck, to appropriate areas of the brain. In VNS Therapy, a device similar to a pacemaker is placed in the chest wall. It sends small electrical pulses via a wire up to the vagus nerve in the left side of the neck. Then the vagus nerve delivers these pulses directly to areas of the brain felt to be responsible in some ways for depression. The pacemaker turns itself on every few minutes to deliver a tiny electrical pulse that is not painful, nor harmful to the patient. Repeatedly affecting these brain areas may slowly reverse depression symptoms over time.
