The Effect of Repeated Electroshock on Learning in Depressives

Although clinical observations abound, substantiated evidence concerning the effect of electroshock treatment on learning capacity, particularly in depressed patients, is scanty and experimental findings have been conflicting. The experiments reported here were accordingly conducted as a pilot investiga- tion, visual learning tests involving spatial relations being used to examine in depressed patients: - (a) The extent to which a single electroshock (ES) impairs learning capacity, and the amount of its restoration 30 min, four hours and twenty-eight hours after shock. (b) The effect of repeated shocks (EOT) on learning capacity. (c) The relationship between possibly influential factors and changes in learn- ing performance. (d) The extent of personality change recorded by "expressive movement" scores after three shocks. Before the experiments, extensive testing was carried out to determine the most suitable testing times. Important points emerging from an initial experiment were re-investigated with a more appropriate test. Finally, certain scores of expres- sive movement derived from a greatly improved scoring system were used to assess personality changes resulting from electroshock.