title: A dissociation between anterograde and retrograde amnesia after treatment with electroconvulsive therapy: a naturalistic investigation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study is to investigate the cumulative effects of a clinically determined course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on anterograde and retrograde amnesia. In this study, mood and memory were examined in the context of a protocol driven by therapeutic response, rather than by preordained research criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two patients with major depressive disorder and 18 nondepressed controls were taught a series of faces and names before the initiation of ECT, and their retention of this information was examined after the end of treatment. Anterograde (ie, new learning) and retrograde memory (ie, recall of information learned before ECT) were assessed. Eleven ECT patients underwent unilateral (UL) stimulation, and 11 had a combination of UL and bilateral stimulation. Major depressive disorder patients and nondepressed controls participants were matched according to baseline memory abilities. Unilateral and unilateral/bilateral (UB) ECT patients were matched according to baseline depression and memory abilities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment with ECT resulted in a dissociation between anterograde and retrograde memory; after treatment, major depressive disorder patients demonstrated significant retrograde amnesia, whereas there was no change in their anterograde memory. Unilateral and UB ECT patients performed equally well on tasks of anterograde memory. Contrary to our expectation, UB ECT was not associated with greater retrograde memory loss than was UL ECT treatment. However, a trend toward a group difference was present on 1 memory measure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of the study suggest that a clinical course of ECT is associated with isolated impairment for information learned before treatment (ie, retrograde memory), whereas there was no effect of ECT on posttreatment learning abilities (ie, anterograde memory).
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. moconnor@caregroup.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lebowitz
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ly
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Panizzon
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elkin-Frankston
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bloomingdale
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thall
authors.forename: Chester
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pearlman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020324:Amnesia, Anterograde / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000648:Amnesia, Retrograde / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies