Electroconvulsive Therapy

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure in which electric currents are passed through the brain, deliberately triggering a brief seizure. This seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can alleviate symptoms of certain mental illnesses ECT is most often used as a treatment for severe major depression which has not responded to other treatment, and is also used in the treatment of mania (often in bipolar disorder), catatonia, schizophrenia and other disorders.