Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment involving the delivery of a small

electrical current to a persons brain using electrodes. The therapy induces a

seizure or a convulsion that lasts for around 15 seconds and is thought to
alleviate symptoms in cases of severe depression. Results have also shown that
ECT may be beneficial in treating some states of psychosis and mania.
Several adverse side effects are associated with the use of ECT. However, the
United States Surgeon Generals report states that there are no health
contraindications to the use of ECT and that the effects of ECT on the brain are
similar to those caused by a brief episode of general anesthesia.

Side effects
The main side effects associated with ECT are described below:
Muscle soreness
A patients muscles may feel sore after they have undergone ECT, although this
is usually caused by the administration of muscle relaxants rather than activity
in the muscles during therapy.
Effects on memory
One of the main reasons ECT is considered a controversial therapy concerns the
purported effects of the therapy on memory. ECT may cause both retrograde
amnesia (the loss of memories that existed prior to treatment) and anterograde
amnesia (loss of memories formed after treatment).
Memory loss and confusion are more common in cases of bilateral electrode
placement rather than unilateral placement. Similarly, these effects are usually
seen when the more traditional sine-wave technique is used as opposed to briefpulse therapy.
Among individuals with retrograde amnesia caused by ECT, the lack of memory
is usually most pronounced for events that occurred just weeks or months before
the therapy took place. One study showed that in cases where memories are lost
from years before treatment, they are almost completely recovered by seven
months after the therapy.