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Electroconvulsive Therapy: Mechanisms of Action, Clinical Considerations, and Future Directions.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kritzer, MD; Peterchev, AV; Camprodon, JA
Published in: Harv Rev Psychiatry
May 2023

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: • Outline and discuss the fundamental physiologic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of ECT to devise strategies to optimize therapeutic outcomes• Summarize the overview of ECT, its efficacy in treating depression, the known effects on cognition, evidence of mechanisms, and future directions. ABSTRACT: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for a variety of psychiatric illnesses, including treatment-resistant depression, bipolar depression, mania, catatonia, and clozapine-resistant schizophrenia. ECT is a medical and psychiatric procedure whereby electrical current is delivered to the brain under general anesthesia to induce a generalized seizure. ECT has evolved a great deal since the 1930s. Though it has been optimized for safety and to reduce adverse effects on cognition, issues persist. There is a need to understand fundamental physiologic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of ECT to devise strategies to optimize therapeutic outcomes. Clinical trials that set out to adjust parameters, electrode placement, adjunctive medications, and patient selection are critical steps towards the goal of improving outcomes with ECT. This narrative review provides an overview of ECT, its efficacy in treating depression, its known effects on cognition, evidence of its mechanisms, and future directions.

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Published In

Harv Rev Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1465-7309

Publication Date

May 2023

Volume

31

Issue

3

Start / End Page

101 / 113

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Treatment Outcome
  • Schizophrenia
  • Psychiatry
  • Humans
  • Electroconvulsive Therapy
  • Catatonia
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • 3209 Neurosciences
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
 

Citation

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Kritzer, M. D., Peterchev, A. V., & Camprodon, J. A. (2023). Electroconvulsive Therapy: Mechanisms of Action, Clinical Considerations, and Future Directions. Harv Rev Psychiatry, 31(3), 101–113. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000365
Kritzer, Michael D., Angel V. Peterchev, and Joan A. Camprodon. “Electroconvulsive Therapy: Mechanisms of Action, Clinical Considerations, and Future Directions.Harv Rev Psychiatry 31, no. 3 (May 2023): 101–13. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000365.
Kritzer MD, Peterchev AV, Camprodon JA. Electroconvulsive Therapy: Mechanisms of Action, Clinical Considerations, and Future Directions. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2023 May;31(3):101–13.
Kritzer, Michael D., et al. “Electroconvulsive Therapy: Mechanisms of Action, Clinical Considerations, and Future Directions.Harv Rev Psychiatry, vol. 31, no. 3, May 2023, pp. 101–13. Pubmed, doi:10.1097/HRP.0000000000000365.
Kritzer MD, Peterchev AV, Camprodon JA. Electroconvulsive Therapy: Mechanisms of Action, Clinical Considerations, and Future Directions. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2023 May;31(3):101–113.

Published In

Harv Rev Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1465-7309

Publication Date

May 2023

Volume

31

Issue

3

Start / End Page

101 / 113

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Treatment Outcome
  • Schizophrenia
  • Psychiatry
  • Humans
  • Electroconvulsive Therapy
  • Catatonia
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • 3209 Neurosciences
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences