title: Improvement in verbal memory performance in depressed in-patients after treatment with electroconvulsive therapy.
abstract: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and well-tolerated therapy for severe and treatment-resistant depression. Cognitive side-effects are still feared by some patients and clinicians. Importantly, cognitive impairments are among the most disabling symptoms of depression itself.
  
  
  
  Patients suffering from a severe episode of depression were treated with either ECT or treatment as usual (TAU) in an in-patient setting. Matched healthy participants served as controls (HC). Verbal memory was tested with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) before the specific treatment started (ECT = 15, TAU = 16, HC = 31) and 2 months after the last ECT session or 2 months after discharge respectively.
  
  
  
  Before the specific treatment started, depressed patients performed substantially worse compared with HC in total, short- and long-delay recall in the CVLT, while the ECT group showed the worst performance. More severely depressed patients showed worse performances in these measures. Intriguingly, verbal memory showed a significant improvement in ECT-treated patients, but not in the other groups. No differences between the groups were found at follow-up.
  
  
  
  Contrary to the widely feared assumption that ECT has long-term impact on memory functions, we found evidence that ECT is superior to TAU in improving verbal memory in depressed patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.|Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Biedermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bumb
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Demirakca
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ende
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.|Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sartorius
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: California Verbal Learning Test; cognitive dysfunction; declarative memory; electroconvulsive therapy; major depression