Effects of ECT and Depression on Various Aspects of Memory

Frith, C. D.; Stevens, Marilyn; Johnstone, Eve C.; Deakin, J.F.W.; Lawler, P.G.; Crow, Timothy J.

doi:10.1192/bjp.142.6.610

Cited by 94 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…ECT-1 = electroconvulsive therapy group at baseline; NECT-1 = no electroconvulsive therapy group at baseline; ECT-2 = electroconvulsive therapy group at 2-year follow-up; NECT-2 = no electroconvulsive therapy group at 2-year follow-up; PANSS = Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale; CGI = Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale; WAIS-III least two antipsychotics is a recommendation criteria of ECT in the AACAP . Regarding the cognitive variables, our study supports other investigations that have assessed the influence of ECT on cognition and have reported no differences in memory and learning after a few weeks to 7 months of treatment (Weeks et al 1980;Frith et al 1983;Smith et al 2010). Most of these studies do not have a control group against which to compare the baseline results (Calev et al 1991;Squire and Chace 1996;Smith et al 2010), and none of them have matched both groups while taking into account the psychopathology that has a clear influence on neuropsychological performance (Basso et al 1998;Bilder et al 2000;Fitzgerald et al 2004;Good et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Regarding electrical dosage, Sackeim et al (2000) compared different electrode position (bilateral vs. right unilateral) and electric dosage (50% vs. 150% and 500% above the seizure threshold) and found that a high dosage result in a greater cognitive impairment. Most of these studies have also shown that both learning and retaining were totally recovered between a few weeks and 7 months after the ECT series (Weeks et al 1980;Frith et al 1983;Calev et al 1991;Squire and Chace 1996). Moreover, Zervas et al (1993) associated patient age in adults to the risk of short-term memory deficits in patients treated with ECT.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two-Year Follow-Up of Cognitive Functions in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders of Adolescent Patients Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy

Serna

Flamarique

Castro‐Fornieles

et al. 2011

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

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Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the long-term cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in a sample of adolescent patients in whom schizophrenia spectrum disorders were diagnosed. Methods: The sample was composed of nine adolescent subjects in whom schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder was diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR criteria on whom ECT was conducted (ECT group) and nine adolescent subjects matched by age, socioeconomic status, and diagnostic and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score at baseline on whom ECT was not conducted (NECT group). Clinical and neuropsychological assessments were carried out at baseline before ECT treatment and at 2-year follow-up. Results: Significant differences were found between groups in the number of unsuccessful medication trials. No statistically significant differences were found between the ECT group and the NECT group in either severity as assessed by the PANSS, or in any cognitive variables at baseline. At follow-up, both groups showed significant improvement in clinical variables (subscales of positive, general, and total scores of PANSS and Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement). In the cognitive assessment at follow-up, significant improvement was found in both groups in the semantic category of verbal fluency task and digits forward. However, no significant differences were found between groups in any clinical or cognitive variable at follow-up. Repeated measures analysis found no significant interaction of time · group in any clinical or neuropsychological measures. Conclusions: The current study showed no significant differences in change over time in clinical or neuropsychological variables between the ECT group and the NECT group at 2-year follow-up. Thus, ECT did not show any negative influence on long-term neuropsychological variables in our sample.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-Year Follow-Up of Cognitive Functions in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders of Adolescent Patients Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy

Serna

Flamarique

Castro‐Fornieles

et al. 2011

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

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“…Unfortunately, continued memory complaints were common among individuals who received bilateral ECT. Several other studies have revealed similar long-term consequences of ECT Frith et al 1983;Squire et al 1984;Sackeim 1992;Sackeim et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…However, these complaints may be due to a lack of improvement in depressive symptoms. Several researchers have found that ECT patients who continue to experience depressive symptoms complain of more memory loss as compared with their counterparts whose depressive symptoms go into remission, but do not demonstrate memory defi cits on neuropsychological evaluation Squire and Slater 1983;Frith et al 1983). Furthermore, depressive symptoms or medication were not associated with defi cits on tests of logical memory, face-name recall and verbal learning .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological effects and attitudes in patients following electroconvulsive therapy

Feliu

Edwards

Sudhakar³

et al. 2008

NDT

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Abstract:The current study examined the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on neuropsychological test performance. Forty-six patients completed brief neuropsychological and psychological testing before and after receiving ECT for the treatment of recalcitrant and severe depression. Neuropsychological testing consisted of the Levin Selective Reminding Test (Levin) and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised Edition (WMS-R). Self-report measures included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Short-Term Memory Questionnaire (STMQ), and several other measures of emotional functioning and patient attitudes toward ECT. The mean number of days between pre-ECT and post-ECT testing was 24. T-test revealed a signifi cant decrease in subjective ratings of depression as rated by the BDI, t(45) = 9.82, P Ͻ 0.0001 (Pre-BDI = 27.9 ± 20.2; post-BDI = 13.5 ± 9.7). Objective ratings of memory appeared impaired following treatment, and patients' self-report measures of memory confi rmed this decline. More specifi cally, repeated measures MANOVA [Wilks Lambda F(11,30) = 4.3, p Ͻ 0.001] indicated signifi cant decreases for measures of immediate recognition memory (p Ͻ 0.005), long-term storage (p Ͻ 0.05), delayed prose passage recall (p Ͻ 0.0001), percent retained of prose passages (p Ͻ 0.0001), and percent retained of visual designs (p Ͻ 0.0001). In addition, the number of double mentions on the Levin increased (p Ͻ 0.02). This study suggests that there may be a greater need to discuss the intermittent cognitive risks associated with ECT when obtaining informed consent prior to treatment. Further that self-reports of cognitive diffi culties may persist even when depression has remitted. However, patients may not acknowledge or be aware of changes in their memory functioning, and post-ECT self-reports may not be reliable.

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“…Based on previous studies, effect of ECT in memory dysfunction in depressed patients was shown to be independent of the impact of depression on memory loss itself (34). Nevertheless, the current research performed HDRS both before ECT to equalize the 2 groups and also 3 months after the last ECT session.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Naltrexone on Memory Deficit Followed by Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Motazedian

Noorbakhsh

Shams

et al. 2017

Iran Red Crescent Med J

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Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is famously known as a treatment for depression; however, memory impairments have always been a point of concern. The use of opioid antagonists may protect against the development of memory deficits after ECT. The current study aimed at assessing the effect of Naltrexone in diminishing memory impairments. Methods: This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial took place at Imam Hossein hospital of Tehran/Iran. Patients diagnosed with MDD, were assigned to either Naltrexone or placebo and received 6 sessions of ECT within 2 weeks. Wechsler Memory Scale was performed the day before the first session of ECT, as well as 2 weeks, 1 and 3 months after finishing the 6th session. The Hamilton depression rating scale was performed 2 times to examine the possible interference caused by depression or to relapse as a confounding variable. Results: Patients receiving Naltrexone and placebo showed no significant difference in WMS scores. However, after further assessment, changes of WMS scores in every round were compared; the results showed that after 2 weeks from baseline, the amount of the reduction of total WMS scores from baseline was significantly lower in the Naltrexone group (P = 0.04). Conclusions: This study suggests that Naltrexone as compared to placebo has no advantageous effect on attenuating memory deficits in the long term. It is a smaller degree of memory decline that makes Naltrexone superior to placebo.

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Effects of ECT and Depression on Various Aspects of Memory

Cited by 94 publications

References 13 publications

Two-Year Follow-Up of Cognitive Functions in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders of Adolescent Patients Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy

Two-Year Follow-Up of Cognitive Functions in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders of Adolescent Patients Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy

Neuropsychological effects and attitudes in patients following electroconvulsive therapy

The Effect of Naltrexone on Memory Deficit Followed by Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

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