Effects of stimulus parameters on seizure duration and ECS-induced retrograde amnesia.

Full Abstract

A selected electroconvulsive therapy stimulus dose can result from different combinations of pulse amplitude, pulse width, pulse frequency, and stimulus duration; however, the roles of these stimulus variables in the effects of the overall stimulus dose are not clearly understood. A series of studies on Wistar rats was therefore conducted to assess the effects of different stimulus compositions at constant stimulus charge. In the first two studies, two differently composed 60 mC charge unidirectional electroconvulsive shock (ECS) stimuli were administered once daily for 3 days, while in the third study three differently composed 120 mC charge unidirectional ECS stimuli were administered on a single occasion. At constant charge, a markedly longer stimulus duration was associated with ear burns and an approximately 12.5% longer seizure duration. At constant charge, however, different stimulus compositions were not associated with different degrees of impairment in two passive avoidance models of ECS-induced retrograde amnesia. These preliminary findings have implications for the choice of stimulus settings during dose titration and dose selection procedures. While the findings encourage further investigation, it appears that variations in stimulus duration are biologically significant, but minor variations in other stimulus elements may not influence the effects of electrically induced seizures very much.

Author information

Author/s: Andrade, Chittaranjan (C); Suresh, Sudha (S); Krishnan, Jyothsna (J); Venkataraman, Burrah V (BV);

Affiliation: Department of Psychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India. andrade(-atsign-)nimhans.kar.nic.in

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The journal of ECT (J ECT), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Mar; vol 18 (issue 1) : pp 31-7

Dates: Created 2002/04/01; Completed 2002/04/30; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 11925519, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.