Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression: Current Status of This Novel Treatment

Patients with treatment-resistant or difficult-to-treat major depression (TRD/DTD) have limited proven treat-ment options. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), chronic stimulation of the left cervical vagus nerve using an implant-able pulse generator, has been dem-onstrated in numerous clinical trials to effectively treat TRD/DTD. In this re-view, seminal and ongoing vagus nerve stimulation trials are summarized and compared, and critical clinical find-ings are discussed. [Psychiatr Ann. 2022;52(7):272-282.]