title: Increased transcranial magnetic motor threshold after ECT. A case report.
abstract: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a powerful antidepressive treatment, but its mechanism of action remains poorly understood. To clarify the influence of ECT on corticospinal tract excitability we tested the motor threshold, the motor evoked potential (MEP) input/output curve, and the intracortical excitability using transcranial magnetic stimulation in a depressed patient before and after successful treatment with ECT. Resting motor thresholds were increased bilaterally after treatment, and the input/output curve less steep. These results point to a decreased excitability of the corticospinal motor tract after successful ECT.
authors.affiliation: Department Psychiatry, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. msommer@gwdg.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dieterich
authors.forename: Eckart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rüther
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Paulus
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiltfang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004056:Differential Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology