Shock therapy describes a set of techniques used in psychiatry to treat depression, or other illnesses, by inducing seizures or other extreme brain states.
The only form in current clinical practice is Electroconvulsive therapy. Other forms, no longer in use, include:
Shock therapy (psychiatry), otherwise known as electroconvulsive therapy, is used to help patients with mental health problems. Mental health problems such as severe depression, thoughts of suicide, treatment-resistant depression with medication, severe mania, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and aggression in people with dementia. Shock therapy is rarely used in these cases, only when medication and other behavioral treatments fail to succeed will a psychiatrist or doctor suggest shock therapy (Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)). “Electroconvulsive therapy involves applying a brief electrical pulse to the scalp while the patient is under anesthesia. This pulse excites the brain cells causing them to fire in unison and produces a seizure” (University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry). In some cases though, shock therapy can have extremely negative effects, it “can cause severe and permanent memory loss, brain damage, suicide, cardiovascular complications, intellectual impairment and even death” (Brain Damaging Effects of Electroshock). Other side effects include confusion, such as being confused where you are and usually only lasts a few hours, physical side effects such as nausea, headache, muscle aches, patients can also experience high blood pressure which can cause heart complications, and doctors usually prescribe medications for physical pain, problems or sickness (Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)).
Recent shock therapy can be administered two different ways. The first is Right Unilateral placement, which involves placing one electrode on the right side of the head and the other at the peak of the head. This is the less intense type of shock therapy, as it is more to stimulate the brain and help reduce seizures, and has minimal memory loss. The second, more intense shock therapy is bilateral placement, where electrodes are placed on both the left and right side of the head. This treatment is used to help reduce bipolar disorder, depression, and psychotic episodes. This form of shock therapy creates a higher risk for memory loss since the electrodes are closer to the hippocampus where memory is stored (University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry).
There are two main types of memory loss that result from receiving shock therapy. The first is short term memory loss, where patients forget minor things like what they did earlier in the day, such as feeding the dog or whom they spoke to that day. These effects could progress over a small amount of time, anywhere from a day to a month or two. The second type of memory loss is long term memory loss. Patients can forget long term information after treatment ranging from two weeks to six months. They can forget information such as if they made a doctor’s appointment, where they keep certain things in the house, or computer passwords. After about a year the patient begins to recall past information that could have been lost during treatment. Some patients recorded forgetting memory past six months, “This memory impairment is potentially permanent” (University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry). This condition is called retrograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is caused by damages to the hippocampus, close to where the electrodes are placed during shock therapy, where memory is stored and new memories are encoded. Often after treatment patients receive shock therapy, they are in a small state of confusion that can last as long as a day (Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)).