The misunderstood consequences of electroconvulsive therapy

Post by Hydraulix989 » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 8:12 PM UTC

mattkrause wrote: post #59

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other credible theory is that by damaging your brain cells, they can no longer fire in ways that regulate your mood towards depression.

Got some references for that? I ask because ECT seems to upregulate trophic factors, rather than downregulating them. Some sort of hippocampal injury does seem like it could explain memory-related side effects, but it apparently doesn't actually happen (e.g., https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/... )

Nature, for one:

"ECT damage is easy to find if you look for it" https://www.nature.com/articles/35002188

Post by mattkrause » Sun, Apr 21, 2019, 12:13 AM UTC

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #61

mattkrause wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got some references for that? I ask because ECT seems to upregulate trophic factors, rather than downregulating them. Some sort of hippocampal injury does seem like it could explain memory-related side effects, but it apparently doesn't actually happen (e.g., https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/... )

Nature, for one: "ECT damage is easy to find if you look for it" https://www.nature.com/articles/35002188

That’s an unreviewed letter to the editor, not an actual research report.

Look, I’m not arguing that ECT is the best thing ever. The side effects are awful for some people, no one understands the mechanism, and so on. However, it sometimes works when other treatments—-which aren’t great either—-fail. Clearly, better therapies are needed all around.

Re: The misunderstood consequences of electroconvulsive therapy

Re: The misunderstood consequences of electroconvulsive therapy