4 ms·
The other credible theory is that by damaging your brain cells, they can no longer fire in ways that regulate your mood towards depression.
by Hydraulix989 8y ago
The other credible theory is that by damaging your brain cells, they can no longer fire in ways that regulate your mood towards depression.
- mattkrause 8y agoGot some references for that? I ask because ECT seems to upregulate trophic factors, rather than downregulating them. Some sort of hippocampal injury does seem like it could explain memory-related side effects, but it apparently doesn't actually happen (e.g., https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/481657 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/...)
- Hydraulix989 8y agoNature, for one: "ECT damage is easy to find if you look for it" https://www.nature.com/articles/35002188 https://www.nature.com/articles/35002188
- mattkrause 8y agoThat’s an unreviewed letter to the editor, not an actual research report. Look, I’m not arguing that ECT is the best thing ever. The side effects are awful for some people, no one understands the mechanism, and so on. However, it sometimes works when other treatments—-which aren’t great either—-fail. Clearly, better therapies are needed all around.