Time Factors in Electric Convulsive Therapy
نویسنده
چکیده
Electric shock treatment of mental disorders has considerably increased its field of application. This treatment is, however, not without dangers and complications, although the fatalities are extremely rare."' Among the complications, memory disorders often associated with profound electroencephalographic changes have particularly attracted attention of physicians, physiologists, and psychologists. These changes are usually only temporary. They suggest, however, the possibility of a structural damage to the brain, as actually described by some authors.1' 2 8, 5,11 In the classical technic the city current is used (A.C.; 60 per second; 100-150 volts; short time of application, 0.1-0.4 second). The electrodes are applied to both temples. Recently an attempt to change this technic has been made.4' 1 The Friedman-WilcoxReiter (FWR) procedure uses pulses of unidirectional current by eliminating the alternative oscillation of the city current. The frequency remains the same (60 per second). The time of application is considerably longer (1 to 4 seconds), and the voltage is lower than in the classical technic. The electrodes are applied unilaterally on the left temporal region and on the vertex. The total electrical energy is decreased. Although the therapeutic results (at least in involutional melancholia, according to our controls) are approximately the same, the memory disorders following a complete treatment are considerably less marked with the FWR technic. Moreover, the EEG changes after a series of treatments are less pronounced with this method than with the classical one (Cf. Proctor and Goodwin"2). Thiey are perfectly symmetrical despite the unilateral application of the current. This suggests a physiological mechanism in the production of the EEG a;bnormality following this method of electric treatment. Unfortunately, patients treated with the FWR technic develop, in
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عنوان ژورنال:
- The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine
دوره 17 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 1945