What is a "vagal nerve stimulator"?

What is a "vagal nerve stimulator"?

Charles Ribak, Ph.D. (Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, UC Irvine School of Medicine) gives expert video advice on: If I have one seizure, will I definitely have another?; Is there a cure for epilepsy?; What are the surgical treatments for epilepsy? and more...

With regards to the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, a vagal nerve stimulator is relevant to the 30% of epilepsy suffers who are not treatable. Surgery is an option; but the other option is the vagal nerve stimulator. The vagas nerve stimulator is implanted under the skin into the chest, it causes the vagas nerve to be stimulated from time to time, interacting with lymbic region activity, apparently increasing the threshold for a person with epileptic seizures.