Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or electroshock therapy (in English) is the treatment of mental disorders using the passage of electric current through the brain.
It is called electric shock therapy or “shock therapy”. In this method of treatment, a shock therapy machine (ECT machine) is used and this machine can produce direct DC electricity and depending on the type of machine, need and application, a current between 200 mA and 1600 mA, voltage from 70 volts to 450 Volts, and for 1 to 6 seconds, is used, which passes through two electrodes that are installed on the scalp. This electrical current, which is usually connected for less than a second, causes widespread firing in the neurons of the brain, creating a state similar to epileptic seizures. After a few minutes of regaining consciousness, the patient is oblivious to the events immediately preceding the shock, and is usually confused for an hour or more afterward. Continuing the treatment for three to five times a week will leave the patient disorientated, which will usually improve gradually after stopping the treatment.
Seizures cause many changes in the central and peripheral nervous system. A seizure activates the autonomic nervous system.
In the 1940s and 1950s, ECT was used to treat all mental disorders, including schizophrenia, but today, based on extensive research, shock therapy is mainly used for severely depressed patients who do not respond to antidepressants and are suicidal. .