Provided herein are, inter alia, methods for identifying subjects suffering from depression that will respond to treatment with an antidepressant.

Diagnostic screening tests that can be used to identify if a patient is a good candidates for an implantable vagus nerve stimulation device. One or more analyte, such as a cytokine or inflammatory molecule, can be measured from a blood sample taken prior to implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator to determine the patient's responsiveness to VNS for treatment of an inflammatory disorder.

An implantable medical device (1) includes a resonant circuit, a switch (Si), and a control circuit (CC). The resonant circuit includes an inductive charging coil (L1), a first capacitor and (C1′), and a second capacitor (C2′). The inductive charging coil (L1) is electrically connected to the first capacitor (C1′). The inductive charging coil (L1) is electrically connected to the second capacitor (C2′) when the switch (S1) is closed and electrically disconnected from the second capacitor (C2′) when the switch (Si) is open such that the resonant circuit comprises a first resonance frequency when the switch (S1) is open and a second resonance frequency when the switch (S1) is closed. The second resonance frequency is different from the first resonance frequency. The control circuit (CC) is configured to apply a frequency modulated control signal or a pulse width modulated control signal to the switch (S1) for controlling the switch (S1).

Systems, methods and devices for paired training include timing controls so that training and neural stimulation can be provided simultaneously. Paired trainings may include therapies, rehabilitation and performance enhancement training. Stimulations of nerves such as the vagus nerve that affect subcortical regions such as the nucleus basalis, locus coeruleus or amygdala induce plasticity in the brain, enhancing the effects of a variety of therapies, such as those used to treat tinnitus, stroke, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, speech deficit or language deficit.

A gastrointestinal stimulation devices including a random stimulation delivery mechanism(s), configured to provide stimuli to a bodily tissue in a vicinity of the stimulation capsule, the provided random stimuli being characterized by a stimulation parameter, and a control circuitry in communication with said physical stimulation delivery mechanism, and configured to set and alter the stimulation parameter non-systematically, thereby altering the characterization of the stimuli provided to the bodily tissue. The algorithm may be patient tailored, and may have a learning machinery which responds to data being received from the patient.

Devices, systems and methods are disclosed for electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve to treat or prevent disorders in a patient. The methods comprise transmitting impulses of energy to the vagus nerve according to a treatment paradigm. The treatment paradigm may include generating and transmitting the electrical impulse as a single dose from about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes. The treatment paradigm may comprise a treatment session of 2 to 4 times within an hour time period and/or as a single dose from 2 to 5 times during a day.

The present disclosure discusses a nerve cuff that includes a thin-film elastic mesh with an integrated array of electrodes. The nerve cuff can wrap around a human carotid artery or other tissue to stimulate the autonomic nervous system. The nerve cuff can include a housing that secures the mesh to the carotid artery or other tissue.

The disclosure provides systems and methods for system for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), using a VNS stimulator implanted in a human subject and configured to transmit electrical stimulation pulses to a vagus nerve of the human subject; and at least one sensor configured to detect a predefined pattern of tactile input, a bodily gesture, and/or a voice command from the human subject, wherein the VNS stimulator includes a controller configured to modulate at least one stimulation parameter of the electrical stimulation pulses based at least in part on the tactile input, bodily gesture, and/or voice command from the human subject.

Obesity and other medical conditions can be managed using a closed-loop system, which uses one or more implantable recording electrodes, a processing device, and one or more implantable stimulating electrodes. The one or more implantable recording electrodes can record signals from a portion of one or more subdiaphragmatic branches of a patient’s vagus nerve. The processing device can be configured to: receive the signals from the portion of the one or more subdiaphragmatic branches of the patient’s vagus nerve, perform signal processing to decode the signals from the portion of the one or more subdiaphragmatic branches of the patient’s vagus nerve, and configure a stimulation to decrease the patient’s hunger and/or increase the patient’s satiety based on the decoded signals. The one or more implantable stimulating electrodes can deliver the configured stimulation to another portion of one or more subdiaphragmatic branches of the patient’s vagus nerve.

Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and apparatus for treating a medical condition of a patient, involving detecting a physiological cycle or cycles of the patient and applying an electrical signal to a portion of the patient's vagus nerve through an electrode at a selected point in the physiological cycle(s). The physiological cycle can be the cardiac and/or respiratory cycle. The selected point can be a point in the cardiac cycle correlated with increased afferent conduction on the vagus nerve, such as a point from about 10 msec to about 800 msec after an R-wave of the patient's ECG, optionally during inspiration by the patient. The selected point can be a point in the cardiac cycle when said applying increases heart rate variability, such as a point from about 10 msec to about 800 msec after an R-wave of the patient's ECG, optionally during expiration by the patient.