Groves Duncan A, Brown Verity J
School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005 May;29(3):493-500. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.01.004.
Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is an approved treatment for epilepsy and is currently under investigation as a therapy for other disorders, including depression, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease. This review examines the pre-clinical and clinical literature relating to VNS. A brief historical perspective is given, followed by consideration of the efficacy of the various clinical applications of VNS. Finally, what is known about the mechanism by which VNS exerts clinical benefit is considered. It is concluded that although the precise mechanism of action of VNS is still unknown, the search for the mechanism has the potential to lend new insight into the neuropathology of depression. It is important that prior assumptions about the influence of VNS on particular aspects of brain function do not constrain the investigations.
迷走神经刺激（VNS）是一种已获批准用于治疗癫痫的方法，目前正在作为治疗包括抑郁症、焦虑症和阿尔茨海默病在内的其他疾病的疗法进行研究。本综述考察了与迷走神经刺激相关的临床前和临床文献。先给出了简要的历史回顾，接着考虑了迷走神经刺激各种临床应用的疗效。最后，探讨了关于迷走神经刺激发挥临床益处的机制的已知情况。得出的结论是，尽管迷走神经刺激的确切作用机制仍然未知，但对该机制的探索有可能为抑郁症的神经病理学提供新的见解。重要的是，关于迷走神经刺激对脑功能特定方面影响的先前假设不应限制研究。
