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A comparison of some retrograde and anterograde effects of
electroconvulsive shock in patients with severe depression
Br J Psychol 1987 Feb;78 ( Pt 1):53-63
Author(s): Frith CD; Stevens M; Johnstone EC; Deakin JF; Lawler P;
Crow TJ
Abstract: Seventy severely depressed patients were randomly assigned
to receive either a standard course of bilateral
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or a course of simulated
ECT (muscle relaxant and anaesthesia) identical to the real
course except that the shock was omitted. Anterograde
amnesia due to the shock was demonstrated in recognition
Abstract: memory for word lists and in recall of labels for faces,
but this was eliminated by priming. Retrograde amnesia was
also present for labels for faces learned the day before a
treatment, but this was not eliminated by priming.
Recognition memory for material learned in the remote past
was better in the patients who had received shock than in
those who had received only anaesthetic.
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