Research Hit: Shocking! Why Electroconvulsive Therapy Works

Electroconvulsive therapy seems to reset resting brain signals

What are we still strapping people down and giving them electric shocks! I am shocked, truly!

Well, I confess I wasn’t really aware that this was still happening. And thanks to portrayal in films it does indeed get a bad rap.

But this is obviously done in a more humane way - and the other fact is that for certain conditions, such as depression, it is surprisingly effective.

Really?

Yes, really. It is effective in up to 80% of people who receive this treatment - most often for depression but also for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. But many people would opt to pop a pill rather than go through electroconvulsive therapy.

Why and how is this effective - I thought it was used for aversive conditioning?

Nope, that is straight from the movies, but the way it works has puzzled researchers for a long time and it seems like this may now be resolved.

And the answer is that it seems to reset aperiodic brain activity.

What is that?