Factors affecting amnesia, seizure duration, and efficacy in ECT

A. L. Miller, R. A. Faber, John P Hatch, H. E. Alexander

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

Twenty-nine patients given unilateral ECT were tested for memory with each treatment. Forgetting of nonverbal material correlated positively with seizure duration and with anesthetic dose. Seizure duration did not correlate with forgetting of verbal material or with changes in Hamilton depression ratings. Seizure duration was inversely related to succinylcholine and methohexital doses. These findings suggest that muscle relaxant and anesthetic doses can be adjusted to lessen the amnestic effects of ECT. There are, however, insufficient data on the relationship between seizure length and ECT efficacy to specify a minimum duration for seizures, individually or cumulatively.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)692-696
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican Journal of Psychiatry
Volume142
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1985

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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