BBC Focus - 09.2019

RESEARCHERS HAVE

DISCOVERED SOME

CHANGES IN THE BRAIN

AFTER ECT, BUT HAVEN’T

SETTLED ON ANY

DEFINITIVE ANSWERS

AROUND HOW IT WORKS.

HERE ARE THE MAIN

CONTENDERS...

HORMONES AND

NEUROTRANSMITTERS

IN THE BRAIN

ECT increases the levels of some

neurotransmiers (chemical

messengers that transmit

signals between neurons)

and hormones in the brain.

Serotonin and dopamine are two

neurotransmiers that increase

aer ECT. Serotonin regulates

anxiety and reduces depression,

while dopamine aects mood

and motivation. Antidepressants

have similar eects on the brain,

but as ECT is generally faster

acting and more eective than

antidepressants, experts believe

these changes cannot entirely

account for ECT’s benefits.

INCREASES IN THE SIZE OF

THE BRAIN’S EMOTIONAL

PROCESSING AREAS

A recent study in humans

showed that ECT increases

the amount of grey maer in

the brain’s hippocampus and

the amygdala.

The hippocampus is involved

in learning, memory and

emotion, while the amygdala

plays a role in the processing of

emotions. However, this

increase in volume of grey

maer wasn’t correlated to

noticeable changes in the mood

of the patients, so more

research is needed to establish

whether or not this is a

contributing factor.

HOW

DOES

ECT

WORK?

CHANGES IN BRAIN

CONNECTIONS

One study has shown that patients

with severe depression have more

connections between certain brain

regions, including the prefrontal

lobes, than healthy controls.

Experts suggest that these

connections could account for the

ruminations and hyper-alertness

that characterise some forms of

depression, so decreasing these

connections might help a patient.

According to several studies, aer

ECT there are fewer connections

between prefrontal lobes and

other areas of the brain. But ECT

may also build new connections in

some areas of the brain, so more

research is needed.

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