Spatial Cognitive Functioning and ECT: New Study From India
Out on PubMed, from investigators in India, is this paper: Preservation of spatial cognitive functioning in depressed patients treated with bilateral electroconvulsive therapy. Devaraj A, Prasad Y, Thirthalli J, Andrade C. Asian J Psychiatr. 2022 Nov 26;79:103367. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103367. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36493691 The abstract is copied below: Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is associated with memory and non-memory, verbal and nonverbal cognitive deficits. This study was conducted to test the expectation that the Tactual Performance Test (TPT) is uniquely sensitive to perturbation by ECT. Importantly, this study included a non-ECT disease control group. Methods: Inpatients (n = 35) referred for ECT for the treatment of a major depressive episode were assessed 1-2 days before and after a course of ECT using a logical memory test, the digit span test, the block design test, and the TPT. A comparison cohort was formed from antidepressant-treated inpatients