Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-2dmjx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-10T13:20:59.136Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Electrode placement in ECT: cognitive effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

J. S. Lawson ,
James Inglis ,
N. J. Delva ,
Martin Rodenburg ,
J. J. Waldron  and
F. J. J. Letemendia
J. S. Lawson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
James Inglis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
N. J. Delva
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Martin Rodenburg
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
J. J. Waldron
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
F. J. J. Letemendia*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr F. J. J. Letemendia, Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

Forty patients suffering from a major depressive disorder, for whom electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was clinically indicated, were assigned to one of three electrode placement groups: bitemporal (BT), right unilateral (RU) or bifrontal (BF). Comparisons of these groups in terms of cognitive status showed that the BF placement, which avoided both temporal regions, spared both verbal and nonverbal functions. These differential effects, which were independent of the degree of clinical depression, were not, however, evident three months after the last ECT.

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , May 1990 , pp. 335 - 344
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abrams, R. (1988). Electroconvulsive Therapy. Oxford University Press: Oxford.Google Scholar
Abrams, R. & Taylor, M. A. (1973). Anterior bifrontal ECT: a clinical trial. British Journal of Psychiatry 122, 587–590.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association (1980). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – (Third Revision). American Psychiatric Association: Washington.Google Scholar
Berg, E. A. (1948). A simple objective technique for measuring flexibility in thinking. Journal of General Psychology 39, 15–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'Elia, G., Frederiksen, S. O., Raotma, H. & Widepalm, K. (1977). Comparison of fronto-frontal and temporo-parietal unilateral ECT. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 56, 233–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 23, 56–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, A. J. (1958). Harris Tests of Lateral Dominance (3rd edn). Psychological Corporation: New York.Google Scholar
Inglis, J. (1969). Electrode placement and the effect of ECT on mood and memory in depression. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal 14, 463–471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inglis, J. (1970). Shock, surgery and cerebral asymmetry. British Journal of Psychiatry 117, 143–148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inglis, J. (1973). Similarities in the side-effects of ECT and temporal lobectomy in man. In A Triune Concept of the Brain and Behaviour: The Second Hincks Memorial Lectures (ed. Boag, T. J. and Campbell, D.), pp. 99–114. University of Toronto Press: Toronto.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kraemer, H. C. & Thiemann, S. (1987). How Many Subjects?: Statistical Power Analysis in Research. Sage Publications: Newbury Park.Google Scholar
Lancaster, N. P., Steinert, R. R. & Frost, I. (1958). Unilateral electro-convulsive therapy. Journal of Mental Science 104, 221–227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matarazzo, J. D. (1972). Wechsler's Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence (5th edn). Williams and Wilkins: Baltimore.Google Scholar
Milner, B. (1971). Interhemispheric differences in the localization of psychological processes in man. British Medical Bulletin 27, 272–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montgomery, S. A. & Asberg, M. (1979). A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry 134, 382–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory (2nd edn). McGraw-Hill: New York.Google Scholar
Overall, J. E. & Rhoades, H. M. (1986). A comment on the efficacy of unilateral versus bilateral ECT. Convulsive Therapy 2, 245–251.Google ScholarPubMed
Porteus, S. D. (1950). The Porteus Maze Test and Intelligence. Pacific Books: Palo Alto.Google Scholar
Price, T. R. P. (1982). Short- and long-term cognitive effects of ECT: Part I – Effects on Memory. Psychopharmacology Bulletin 18, 81–91.Google Scholar
Sackeim, H. A., Portnoy, S., Neeley, P., Steif, B. L., Decina, P. & Malitz, S. (1986). Cognitive consequences of low-dosage electroconvulsive therapy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 462, 326–340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spreen, O. & Benton, A. L. (1965). Comparative studies of some psychological tests for cerebral damage. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 140, 323–333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Squire, L. R. (1986). Memory functions as affected by electroconvulsive therapy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 462, 307–314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Squire, L. R. & Slater, P. C. (1978). Bilateral and unilateral ECT: effects on verbal and non-verbal memory. American Journal of Psychiatry 135, 1316–1320.Google Scholar
Stuss, D. T. & Benson, D. F. (1986). The Frontal Lobes. Raven Press: New York.Google Scholar
Thénon, J. (1956). Electrochoque monolateral. Acta Neuropsiquiatrica Argentina 2, 292–296.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1945). A standardized memory scale for clinical use. Journal of Psychology 19, 87–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1981). Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised. Psychological Corporation: New York.Google Scholar
Weeks, D., Freeman, C. P. L. & Kendell, R. E. (1980). ECT III: enduring cognitive deficits? British Journal of Psychiatry 137, 26–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiner, R. D., Rogers, H. J., Davidson, J. R. T. & Squire, L. R. (1986). Effects of stimulus parameters on cognitive side effects. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 462, 315–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widepalm, K. (1987). Comparison of fronto-frontal and temporoparietal unilateral non-dominant ECT. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 75, 441–444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed