Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression
Published on: January 7, 2019
The effects of stimulation parameters on clinical outcomes in patients with vagus nerve stimulation implants with
Helge H Müller1, Johannes Kornhuber, Juan Manuel Maler
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany. helge.mueller@uk-erlangen.de
Abstract:
Stimulation techniques, such as vagus nerve stimulation, are a promising new approach for treatment-resistant depression. Most international studies have used fixed stimulation parameters or have varied the stimulation frequencies. Our retrospective examination of 2 parallel groups of 10 patients each compared low-strength/high-frequency vagus nerve stimulation parameters (≤1.5 mA, 20 Hz) with high-strength/low-frequency ( >1.5 mA, 15 Hz) parameters. We found a significant decrease in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores in patients who were treated using the low-strength/high-frequency stimulation parameters. In contrast, the scores of the patients treated with high-strength/low-frequency stimulation did not change.
