A Comparison Between the Results of Unmodified and Modified Electroplexy (E.C.T.)

Abstract

Since the discovery of the therapeutic value of induced epileptic convulsions in mental illness, there have been efforts to make this form of treatment available to those patients whose psychiatric state would benefit from it but whose physical condition contraindicates its use. Modifications have been sought, particularly since the introduction of electrical methods of inducing the fit. The modification of electroplexy takes three main forms—postural, electrical and chemical (Montagu, 1953) and it is with this third type, the use of anaesthetic and relaxant drugs, that this paper is concerned.