Permanent depression relief…maybe.
July 16th, 2005
Interesting research going on out there. While I’ve experienced depression (severe, even), it’s never quite been to the point that anything this extreme would be merited as a treatment. For all the bad rep that ECT gets, I’ve read reports of lives it’s saved.
The pacemaker-like implant has been sold since 1997 to control intractable epilepsy, a much smaller market.
A generator the size of a pocket watch is implanted into the chest. Wires snake up the neck to the vagus nerve, delivering tiny electric shocks through that nerve and into a region of the brain thought to play a role in mood.
Posted by Allison in psychology, personality, & mental health |
July 16th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
I think the public’s perception of ECT comes from the 60s and “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest” rather than present reality. Thanks for linking that article. Today’s ECT is a fraction of the amperage and voltage that was used when the technology was in its infancy. In fact, the voltages used are called “micro-voltages”. One of my clients told me that she is conscious during the whole procedure and cannot even tell when the brain has been “stimulated” (sic).