The British Journal of Psychiatry 144: 370-375 (1984)
© 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Memory test performance under three different waveforms of ECT for depression
EW Warren and DH Groome
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.