Psychiatry Resident and Medical Student Perspectives on ECT: Influence of Exposure and Education.

We surveyed medical students doing the required psychiatry clerkship at our hospital and first-year psychiatry residents in our residency training program for their attitudes, knowledge, and opinions about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) before and after their inpatient rotations. The students' knowledge was lower and their attitudes more negative toward ECT than those of residents at baseline. Upon completion of the rotation, students and residents had more knowledge and highly positive attitudes about ECT and stated that they would undergo ECT if it were recommended. Willingness to undergo ECT if it were recommended correlated with the knowledge measures of ECT.

Electroconvulsive Therapy and Brain Glucose Metabolism.

The local cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (LCMRGlc) was evaluated in four patients before undergoing a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and after its completion. There was no reduction in LCMRGlc when studied 1 day after the last course of ECT. There was, however, the suggestion that metablic rates may increase in the middle frontal gyrus after significant time has elapsed since the last course of ECT.

Monitoring Electroconvulsive Therapy by Galvanic Skin Response.

Galvanic skin response (GSR) was assessed during 10 electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sessions with five patients to evaluate its clinical utility in monitoring ECT-induced seizures. While GSR change was consistently observed in all instances, its duration persisted far longer than did seizure activity as measured by observed tonic-clonic movements. Accordingly, and in contrast to a prior report, GSR cannot be recommended as an accurate and reliable method of monitoring ECT.

Use of ECT to Treat Bipolar Depression in a Mental Retardate with Cerebral Palsy.

We report the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment of a bipolar episode in a mildly retarded young man with cerebral palsy. Difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment of affective disorders in the retarded are discussed.