Tardive dystonia, catatonia, and electroconvulsive therapy.

Tardive dystonia is a late onset, persistent dystonia associated with neuroleptic therapy. We report improvement of tardive dystonia in a patient who had received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for depression. This improvement may be the result of a direct effect of ECT on the brain or the result of an interaction between the neurochemical processes responsible for both tardive dystonia and depression.