Calev A
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook 11794-8101.
Psychopharmacol Bull. 1994;30(3):461-9.
Past research focused on characterizing the cognitive deficits caused by ECT, understanding their causes, and defining ways of ameliorating the deficits. Future research includes the following recommendations. IN CHARACTERIZING THE DEFICITS: more accurately defining the time course to recovery; finding out whether specific memory tasks and specific patients show long-lasting effects; and defining specific components of memory and non-memory deficits (e.g., associative memory, incidental everyday memory, inattention). IN UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES: determining whether seizure activity in certain brain structures is associated with specific cognitive deficits; finding out in which ways electric dose, electrode placement, seizure duration, and seizure threshold interact in causing the deficits; evaluating the effects of mediating variables such as blood pressure rise; and assessing the influence of background variables such as age, sex, and brain abnormality. IN AMELIORATING THE DEFICITS: continuing the search for effective medication; defining ways of reducing the number of treatments (twice weekly ECT, caffeine or thyroxine modified treatment); and manipulating dose in relation to electrode placement.
过去的研究集中于描述电休克疗法（ECT）所导致的认知缺陷、理解其成因并确定改善这些缺陷的方法。未来的研究包括以下建议。在描述缺陷方面：更准确地确定恢复的时间进程；查明特定记忆任务和特定患者是否会出现长期影响；以及确定记忆和非记忆缺陷的具体组成部分（例如，联想记忆、日常偶然记忆、注意力不集中）。在理解成因方面：确定某些脑结构中的癫痫活动是否与特定认知缺陷相关；查明电剂量、电极放置、癫痫持续时间和癫痫阈值在导致这些缺陷方面是如何相互作用的；评估诸如血压升高等中介变量的影响；以及评估年龄、性别和脑异常等背景变量的影响。在改善缺陷方面：继续寻找有效的药物；确定减少治疗次数的方法（每周两次的ECT、咖啡因或甲状腺素改良治疗）；以及根据电极放置情况调整剂量。
