BRIGHT SPARK

Medical treatments that use electricity

THIS week: Mood STIMULATION of the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the abdomen, was first developed as a treatment for epilepsy.

However, scientists have found that it can also improve mood — so may help to treat depression, anxiety and insomnia, too.

It involves a pulse generator being implanted into the upper left side of the chest near the nerve. The pulses of electricity that it emits are thought to stimulate production of brain chemicals involved in happiness, stress reduction and mood.

A study in 2013 of patients who had depression found that, after 12 months of treatment, one in three saw a 50 per cent cut in symptoms.