PubMed · 13068460
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
H BEEK, K COHEN STUART. 1953. The electroshock technique.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13068460/
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
It is proposed that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is not specifically mood-elevating or anti-depressant but that its effect is as an anti-delirium intervention. I suggest that ECT exerts its primary therapeutic effects by inducing a generalized epileptic seizure which operates on the brain like a deep and restorative sleep that acts rapidly to resolve delirium. Provided that the diagnosis is made using sufficiently sensitive criteria, delirium is here assumed to be a common feature of many so-called 'functional' psychoses - frequently occurring as a consequence of sleep deprivation, and leading to symptoms such as hallucinations, bizarre delusions and psychomotor retardation. Testable predictions of this 'anti-delirium' theory of ECT action are described.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.