A method for treating a patient suffering from epilepsy and/or depression includes applying electrical stimulation energy to a first cervical segment and/or a second cervical segment of a spinal cord of the patient, thereby treating the epilepsy and/or depression. The electrical stimulation energy may be epidurally applied to the first cervical segment and/or the second cervical segment of the spinal cord of the patient by an electrode implanted within an epidural space of the patient adjacent to the first or second cervical segment of the spinal cord. The electrode may be implanted adjacent to the first cervical vertebra and/or the second cervical vertebra of the patient. Applying the electrical stimulation energy may include applying electrical activation energy to activate afferent pathways that feed collateral nerve fibers into a trigeminocervical complex of the patient. The applied electrical stimulation energy may have a frequency in the range of 40-50 Hz.
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TREATING DEPRESSION AND EPILEPSY