title: The 'anti-delirium' theory of electroconvulsive therapy action.
abstract: It is proposed that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is not specifically mood-elevating or anti-depressant but that its effect is as an anti-delirium intervention. I suggest that ECT exerts its primary therapeutic effects by inducing a generalized epileptic seizure which operates on the brain like a deep and restorative sleep that acts rapidly to resolve delirium. Provided that the diagnosis is made using sufficiently sensitive criteria, delirium is here assumed to be a common feature of many so-called 'functional' psychoses - frequently occurring as a consequence of sleep deprivation, and leading to symptoms such as hallucinations, bizarre delusions and psychomotor retardation. Testable predictions of this 'anti-delirium' theory of ECT action are described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. bruce.charlton@newcastle.ac.uk
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Charlton
mesh_terms: D003295:Convulsive Therapy; D003693:Delirium; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology