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The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lisanby, SH; Maddox, JH; Prudic, J; Devanand, DP; Sackeim, HA
Published in: Arch Gen Psychiatry
June 2000

BACKGROUND: Retrograde amnesia is the most persistent cognitive adverse effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); however, it is not known whether ECT has differential effects on autobiographical vs impersonal memories. This study examined the short- and long-term effects of differing forms of ECT on memory of personal and impersonal (public) events. METHODS: Fifty-five patients with major depression were randomly assigned to right unilateral (RUL) or bilateral (BL) ECT, each at either low or high electrical dosage. The Personal and Impersonal Memory Test was administered by blinded raters at baseline, during the week after ECT, and at the 2-month follow-up. Normal controls were tested at matched intervals. RESULTS: Shortly after ECT, patients recalled fewer events and event details than controls, with the deficits most marked for impersonal compared with personal events. Bilateral ECT caused more marked amnesia for events and details than RUL ECT, and especially for impersonal memories. These effects were independent of electrical dosage and clinical outcome. At the 2-month follow-up, patients had reduced retrograde amnesia, but continued to show deficits in recalling the occurrence of impersonal events and the details of recent impersonal events. CONCLUSIONS: The amnestic effects of ECT are greatest and most persistent for knowledge about the world (impersonal memory,) compared with knowledge about the self (personal memory), for recent compared with distinctly remote events, and for less salient events. Bilateral ECT produces more profound amnestic effects than RUL ECT, particularly for memory of impersonal events.

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Published In

Arch Gen Psychiatry

DOI

ISSN

0003-990X

Publication Date

June 2000

Volume

57

Issue

6

Start / End Page

581 / 590

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Middle Aged
  • Mental Recall
  • Memory, Short-Term
  • Memory Disorders
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Functional Laterality
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Lisanby, S. H., Maddox, J. H., Prudic, J., Devanand, D. P., & Sackeim, H. A. (2000). The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 57(6), 581–590. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.57.6.581
Lisanby, S. H., J. H. Maddox, J. Prudic, D. P. Devanand, and H. A. Sackeim. “The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events.Arch Gen Psychiatry 57, no. 6 (June 2000): 581–90. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.57.6.581.
Lisanby SH, Maddox JH, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Sackeim HA. The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;57(6):581–90.
Lisanby, S. H., et al. “The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events.Arch Gen Psychiatry, vol. 57, no. 6, June 2000, pp. 581–90. Pubmed, doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.6.581.
Lisanby SH, Maddox JH, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Sackeim HA. The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;57(6):581–590.

Published In

Arch Gen Psychiatry

DOI

ISSN

0003-990X

Publication Date

June 2000

Volume

57

Issue

6

Start / End Page

581 / 590

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Middle Aged
  • Mental Recall
  • Memory, Short-Term
  • Memory Disorders
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Functional Laterality