An adjunctive treatment for PARTIAL EPILEPSY and refractory DEPRESSION that delivers electrical impulses to the brain via the VAGUS NERVE. A battery implanted under the skin supplies the energy.
The 10th cranial nerve. The vagus is a mixed nerve which contains somatic afferents (from skin in back of the ear and the external auditory meatus), visceral afferents (from the pharynx, larynx, thorax, and abdomen), parasympathetic efferents (to the thorax and abdomen), and efferents to striated muscle (of the larynx and pharynx).
Application of electric current in treatment without the generation of perceptible heat. It includes electric stimulation of nerves or muscles, passage of current into the body, or use of interrupted current of low intensity to raise the threshold of the skin to pain.
Use of electric potential or currents to elicit biological responses.
A disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to a sudden, disorderly, and excessive neuronal discharge. Epilepsy classification systems are generally based upon: (1) clinical features of the seizure episodes (e.g., motor seizure), (2) etiology (e.g., post-traumatic), (3) anatomic site of seizure origin (e.g., frontal lobe seizure), (4) tendency to spread to other structures in the brain, and (5) temporal patterns (e.g., nocturnal epilepsy). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p313)
A disorder characterized by recurrent partial seizures marked by impairment of cognition. During the seizure the individual may experience a wide variety of psychic phenomenon including formed hallucinations, illusions, deja vu, intense emotional feelings, confusion, and spatial disorientation. Focal motor activity, sensory alterations and AUTOMATISM may also occur. Complex partial seizures often originate from foci in one or both temporal lobes. The etiology may be idiopathic (cryptogenic partial complex epilepsy) or occur as a secondary manifestation of a focal cortical lesion (symptomatic partial complex epilepsy). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp317-8)
Surgically placed electric conductors through which ELECTRIC STIMULATION of nerve tissue is delivered.
Surgically placed electric conductors through which ELECTRIC STIMULATION is delivered to or electrical activity is recorded from a specific point inside the body.
The use of specifically placed small electrodes to deliver electrical impulses across the SKIN to relieve PAIN. It is used less frequently to produce ANESTHESIA.
Diseases of the tenth cranial nerve, including brain stem lesions involving its nuclei (solitary, ambiguus, and dorsal motor), nerve fascicles, and intracranial and extracranial course. Clinical manifestations may include dysphagia, vocal cord weakness, and alterations of parasympathetic tone in the thorax and abdomen.
Nerve fibers which project from parasympathetic ganglia to synapses on target organs. Parasympathetic postganglionic fibers use acetylcholine as transmitter. They may also release peptide cotransmitters.
Failure to respond to two or more trials of antidepressant monotherapy or failure to respond to four or more trials of different antidepressant therapies. (Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary, 9th ed.)
A small space in the skull between the MAXILLA and the SPHENOID BONE, medial to the pterygomaxillary fissure, and connecting to the NASAL CAVITY via the sphenopalatine foramen.
Recurrent conditions characterized by epileptic seizures which arise diffusely and simultaneously from both hemispheres of the brain. Classification is generally based upon motor manifestations of the seizure (e.g., convulsive, nonconvulsive, akinetic, atonic, etc.) or etiology (e.g., idiopathic, cryptogenic, and symptomatic). (From Mayo Clin Proc, 1996 Apr;71(4):405-14)
The hearing and equilibrium system of the body. It consists of three parts: the EXTERNAL EAR, the MIDDLE EAR, and the INNER EAR. Sound waves are transmitted through this organ where vibration is transduced to nerve signals that pass through the ACOUSTIC NERVE to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. The inner ear also contains the vestibular organ that maintains equilibrium by transducing signals to the VESTIBULAR NERVE.
Traumatic injuries to the VAGUS NERVE. Because the vagus nerve innervates multiple organs, injuries in the nerve fibers may result in any gastrointestinal organ dysfunction downstream of the injury site.
The interruption or removal of any part of the vagus (10th cranial) nerve. Vagotomy may be performed for research or for therapeutic purposes.
A neurotransmitter found at neuromuscular junctions, autonomic ganglia, parasympathetic effector junctions, a subset of sympathetic effector junctions, and at many sites in the central nervous system.
Clinical or subclinical disturbances of cortical function due to a sudden, abnormal, excessive, and disorganized discharge of brain cells. Clinical manifestations include abnormal motor, sensory and psychic phenomena. Recurrent seizures are usually referred to as EPILEPSY or "seizure disorder."
Drugs used to prevent SEIZURES or reduce their severity.
A strain of albino rat used widely for experimental purposes because of its calmness and ease of handling. It was developed by the Sprague-Dawley Animal Company.
The number of times the HEART VENTRICLES contract per unit of time, usually per minute.
The domestic dog, Canis familiaris, comprising about 400 breeds, of the carnivore family CANIDAE. They are worldwide in distribution and live in association with people. (Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, p1065)
A nerve which originates in the lumbar and sacral spinal cord (L4 to S3) and supplies motor and sensory innervation to the lower extremity. The sciatic nerve, which is the main continuation of the sacral plexus, is the largest nerve in the body. It has two major branches, the TIBIAL NERVE and the PERONEAL NERVE.
Diminished or failed response of an organism, disease or tissue to the intended effectiveness of a chemical or drug. It should be differentiated from DRUG TOLERANCE which is the progressive diminution of the susceptibility of a human or animal to the effects of a drug, as a result of continued administration.
The nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord, including the autonomic, cranial, and spinal nerves. Peripheral nerves contain non-neuronal cells and connective tissue as well as axons. The connective tissue layers include, from the outside to the inside, the epineurium, the perineurium, and the endoneurium.
Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.
Slender processes of NEURONS, including the AXONS and their glial envelopes (MYELIN SHEATH). Nerve fibers conduct nerve impulses to and from the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.
The thoracolumbar division of the autonomic nervous system. Sympathetic preganglionic fibers originate in neurons of the intermediolateral column of the spinal cord and project to the paravertebral and prevertebral ganglia, which in turn project to target organs. The sympathetic nervous system mediates the body's response to stressful situations, i.e., the fight or flight reactions. It often acts reciprocally to the parasympathetic system.