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Memory Test Performance Under Three Different Waveforms of ECT for Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Eric W. Warren  and
David H. Groome
Eric W. Warren
Affiliation:
Division of Science, The Polytechnic of Central London, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8JS; and Department of Psychological Medicine, Basildon Hospital, Basildon, Essex
David H. Groome
Affiliation:
Division of Science, The Polytechnic of Central London, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8JS
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Summary

Thirty-eight patients suffering from severe depression were given a course of ECT (Electroconvulsive therapy) in one of three waveforms. These were high-energy sine wave (HS), high-energy pulse (HP), and low-energy pulse (LP). Patients were assigned to one of these treatments on a double-blind basis. The patients were given a battery of memory tests before ECT commenced, after three treatments, at the termination of treatment, and two weeks after the last treatment. The marked improvement in both verbal and nonverbal memory scores was attributed to the lifting of depression. No significant differences were found between the memory scores of the three treatment groups at any point during the treatment period.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 4 , April 1984 , pp. 370 - 375
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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