The effects of electroconvulsive treatments on memory efficiency.

Janis, Irving L.; Astrachan, Myrtle

doi:10.1037/h0057125

Cited by 48 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…5859 This denial of persistent deficit was so profound that it has been proposed that patients with persistent complaints about RA for autobiographical information be considered as presenting with a somatoform disorder. 60 This denial of deficit ran counter to reports of many patients, including those who believed ECT was lifesaving, the experience of countless ECT practitioners who had patients’ in their practice who were non-litigious and appeared to have genuine RA, and the continuity of findings from the early research by Janis 9–11 and Squire 12–16 and the studies using the CUAMI and CUAMI-SF. 2 Thus, important progress, both clinical and scientific, was made by the field with the subsequent broad acceptance that RA for autobiographical information is a potential persistent effect.…”

Section: Implications Of Semkovska and Mcloughlin’s Viewpointmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Autobiographical Memory and Electroconvulsive Therapy

Sackeïm

2014

The Journal of ECT

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Retrograde amnesia for autobiographical information is the most critical side effect of ECT. Much, if not most, modern research demonstrating long-term autobiographical amnesia following ECT has used either the Columbia University Autobiographical Memory Interview (CUAMI) or the short form of this scale (CUAMI-SF). Semkovska and McLoughlin claimed that studies using these instruments should be dismissed and the findings ignored due to a lack of normative data, as well as concerns about the reliability and validity of these instruments. In this commentary, the development and use of these scales is reviewed. It is shown that Semkovska and McLoughlin’s critique is factually incorrect, as normative data were simultaneously collected in virtually all studies using these instruments. Furthermore, there is substantial evidence supporting the reliability and validity of these scales. Indeed, these instruments are the only neuropsychological tests repeatedly shown to covary with patient self-evaluations of ECT’s effects on memory, and have repeatedly demonstrated long-term differences in the magnitude of amnesia as a function of ECT technique. Findings with the CUAMI and CUAMI-SF provide key evidence regarding ECT’s cognitive side effect profile. It is inaccurate and inadvisable to continue to deny that ECT can exert long-term adverse effects in this domain.

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Section: Implications Of Semkovska and Mcloughlin’s Viewpointmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Janis 9–11 and Squire 12–16 pioneered the study of postECT RA for autobiographical information. Their descriptions of this phenomenon, derived from studies of small samples using limited instruments, nonetheless is largely consonant with the conclusions of modern research.…”

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confidence: 99%

Autobiographical Memory and Electroconvulsive Therapy

Sackeïm

2014

The Journal of ECT

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“…Twelve prospective studies that incorporated non-ECT controls were reviewed (Gangadhar et al 1982;Hemsi, Whitehead & Post 1968;Huston & Strother 1947;Jackson 1978;Janis 1950a;1950b;1950c;Janis & Astrachan 1951;Johnstone et al 1980;Korin, Fink & Kwalwasser 1956;Michael 1954;Squire, Slater & Miller 1981b;Stieper, Williams & Duncan 1951;Weeks et al 1980) with follow-up periods ranging from 2 weeks to 7 months. Three of the studies (Gangadhar et al 1982;Jackson 1978;Johnstone et al 1980) involved random assignment to experimental and control groups.…”

Section: What Is the Behavioral Morbidity With Ect?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three of the studies (Gangadhar et al 1982;Jackson 1978;Johnstone et al 1980) involved random assignment to experimental and control groups. The extent of matching of the ECT and control groups in the other studies varied from none or minimal (Hemsi et al 1968;Huston & Strother 1947;Korin et al 1956;Michael 1954;Squire et al 1981b;Stieper et al 1951) to strong (Janis 1950a;1950b;1950c;Janis & Astrachan 1951;. These studies can be broken down into two overlapping groups: those that considered autobiographic, or personal, memory measures and those that considered other, more standard types of memory measures.…”

Section: What Is the Behavioral Morbidity With Ect?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Autobiographic memory can be defined, for our purposes, as material that makes specific reference to the individual being tested, such as past experiences, details about family and friends, and the like. Ten of these prospective, non-ECT controlled studies considered measures of memory performance other than or in addition to autobiographic ones (all except Janis 1950a;1950b;1950c andJanis &Astrachan 1951). In only one case (Stieper et al 1951) was there a significant decrement in the performance at follow-up of experimental subjects as contrasted with that of control subjects.…”

Section: What Is the Behavioral Morbidity With Ect?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does electroconvulsive therapy cause brain damage?

Weiner

1984

Behav Brain Sci

113

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Although the use of ECT has declined dramatically from its inception, this decrease has recently shown signs of leveling out because of ECT's powerful therapeutic effect in severely ill depressed individuals who either do not respond to pharmacologic alternatives or are too ill to tolerate a relatively lengthy drug trial. Notwithstanding its therapeutic benefits, ECT has also remained a controversial treatment modality, particularly in the eye of the public. Given the unsavory qualities associated with the word “electroconvulsive,” claims of possible, probable, or even certain brain damage with ECT have easily found listeners. A careful, nonselective assessment of data covering the areas of pathology, radiology, electrophysiology, biochemistry, and neuropsychology leads both to certain conclusions and to certain unanswered questions. ECT is not the devastating purveyor of wholesale brain damage that some of its detractors claim. For the typical individual receiving ECT, no detectable correlates of irreversible brain damage appear to occur. Still, there remains the possibility that either subtle, objectively undetectable persistent deficits, particularly in the area of autobiographic memory function, occur, or that a rarely occurring syndrome of more pervasive persistent deficits related to ECT use may be present. Clearly, more research directed toward answering these questions needs to be carried out so that the role of ECT can be more rigorously defined. While such research is pending, however, we cannot expect that the conditions that predispose to clinical referrals for ECT will disappear. Given the misery, anguish, and risk of death by suicide, starvation, or debilitation associated with severe depressive illness, for example, it still appears that ECT, at least for the present, must continue to be available.

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Electroconvulsive Therapy Instruments

Davies¹

1971

Arch Gen Psychiatry

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The effects of electroconvulsive treatments on memory efficiency.

Cited by 48 publications

References 6 publications

Autobiographical Memory and Electroconvulsive Therapy

Autobiographical Memory and Electroconvulsive Therapy

Does electroconvulsive therapy cause brain damage?

Electroconvulsive Therapy Instruments

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