Electroconvulsive therapy "corrects" the neural architecture of visuospatial memory: Implications for typical cognitive-affective functioning.

ABSTRACT: Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a widely used and effective treatment for refractory depression, the neural underpinnings of its therapeutic effects remain poorly understood. To address this issue, here, we focused on a core cognitive deficit associated with depression, which tends to be reliably ameliorated through ECT, specifically, the ability to learn visuospatial information. Thus, we pursued three goals. First, we tested whether ECT can "normalize" the functional brain organization patterns associated with visuospatial memory and whether such corrections would predict post-ECT improvements in learning visuospatial information. Second, we investigated whether, among healthy individuals, stronger expression of the neural pattern, susceptible to adjustments through ECT, woul

SUBMITTER: Petrican R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6468194 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature