Memory complaint after electroconvulsive therapy: assessment with a new self-rating instrument

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Psychology

Background:

• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment for severe mental health conditions.
• Memory complaints are a common concern for patients undergoing ECT.
• Understanding the nature and duration of memory changes after ECT is crucial for patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess memory complaints in patients before, during, and after bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
• To characterize the qualitative and quantitative differences in memory complaints at various time points.
• To evaluate the persistence of altered memory perception following ECT.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 35 patients undergoing bilateral ECT was studied.
• A newly developed self-rating scale was used to measure memory complaints.
• Assessments were conducted before ECT, one week after ECT, and six months after ECT.

Main Results:

• Memory complaints one week after ECT differed significantly from pre-ECT complaints.
• Six months post-ECT, memory complaints qualitatively resembled those from one week after, differing from pre-ECT complaints.
• A patient's subjective impression of memory appears altered by bilateral ECT and persists for at least six months.

Conclusions:

• Bilateral ECT significantly alters a patient's impression of their memory.
• The altered memory perception persists for at least six months, gradually diminishing.
• The self-rating scale may differentiate between depression-associated and amnesia-associated memory complaints, proving useful in memory research.