Brain anatomic effects of electroconvulsive therapy. A prospective magnetic resonance imaging study.
To determine prospectively whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) produces structural brain changes, 35 inpatients with depression underwent magnetic resonance imaging before and twice after (at 2 to 3 days and at 6 months) completion of a course of brief-pulse, bilateral ECT. The magnetic resonance images were analyzed blindly for evidence of changes in brain structure using two approaches: measurement of regional brain volumes and a pairwise global comparison. Structural brain abnormalities were present in many patients before ECT. The course of ECT produced no acute or delayed (6-month) change in brain structure as measured by alterations of the total volumes of the lateral ventricles, the third ventricle, the frontal lobes, the temporal lobes, or the amygdala-hippocampal complex. In five subjects, the pairwise global comparisons revealed an apparent increase in subcortical hyperintensity, most likely secondary to progression of ongoing cerebrovascular disease during follow-up. Our results confirm and extend previous imaging studies that also found no relationship between ECT and brain damage.
Duke Scholars
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- Psychiatry
- Prospective Studies
- Middle Aged
- Male
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Humans
- Hippocampus
- Female
- Electroconvulsive Therapy
- Depressive Disorder
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Psychiatry
- Prospective Studies
- Middle Aged
- Male
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Humans
- Hippocampus
- Female
- Electroconvulsive Therapy
- Depressive Disorder