Evidence map · VNS · treatment-resistant depression
VNS for treatment-resistant depression: what the research shows
Vagus nerve stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. 1,043 papers from 1969 to 2026, including 24 meta-analyses, 32 systematic reviews and 91 randomised controlled trials. Each study below links to its source.
1,043Papers in the corpus
24Meta-analyses
91Randomised controlled trials
312Open-access papers
Study design
Jev labels172 papers have no confident study-design label yet. Labels are AI-classified by Jev: advisory, not clinician-reviewed.
Papers over time
by publication year* 2025–26 is still in progress, so its count is incomplete.
Most-cited trials and reviews
by citations- 1
Vagus nerve stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a randomized, controlled acute phase trial.
- 2
Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Modulates Default Mode Network in Major Depressive Disorder.
- 3
Auricular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in depressed patients: a randomized controlled pilot study.
- 4
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulates amygdala functional connectivity in patients with depression.
- 5
Vagus nerve stimulation therapy randomized to different amounts of electrical charge for treatment-resistant depression: acute and chronic effects.
- 6
Serial vagus nerve stimulation functional MRI in treatment-resistant depression.
- 7
Safety and efficacy of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in treatment-resistant depression. A systematic review.
- 8
A patient-level meta-analysis of studies evaluating vagus nerve stimulation therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
Recent trials and reviews
last 3 years- 1
Postoperative pain after joint replacement surgery : A randomized controlled trial of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation and the role of depression and anxiety.
- 2
Long-term efficacy and safety of vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review.
- 3
Assessing symptom severity in patients with markedly treatment-resistant depression: Insights from the RECOVER trial.
- 4
Vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: A one-year, randomized, sham-controlled trial.
- 5
Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on daily function and quality of life in markedly treatment-resistant major depression: Findings from a one-year, randomized, sham-controlled trial.
Decision support only. This page summarises published literature; it is not medical advice or a recommendation for any patient. Study designs and topic labels are AI-classified by Jev: advisory, not clinician-reviewed. Abstracts are not reproduced here: follow the links to read each source. Data snapshot 2026-09-25.