Electroshock treatment (ECT) was developed in 1938 at a time that lobotomy and insulin coma therapy were already in use. Pioneer advocates of ECT openly admitted that it caused irreversible brain damage. In 1979 Dr. Breggin published the first medical book critical of ECT, Electroshock: Its Brain-Disabling Effects (New York: Springer Publishing Company). Dr. Breggin has advocated the banning of ECT, but it continues to be used extensively in most psychiatric facilities. In 1985 Dr. Breggin presented as the scientific expert on the brain-damaging effects of the treatment at the NIH Consensus Development Conference on ECT. In 2005 he was the medical expert in the first-ever malpractice victory against a doctor who referred his patient for ECT.
The best source of information on ECT memory loss and brain damage can be found in a chapter in Dr. Breggin’s book Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry. Many of Dr. Breggin’s articles on ECT can be found in his ECT Resources Center.
International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine 22 (2010) 89-92. Peter R. Breggin Abstract: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the machines that deliver it have never been tested for safety and efficacy in order to receive approval from the FDA. The American Psychiatric Association and ECT advocates protested when the […]
“Electroshock therapy and brain damage: the acute organic brain syndrome as treatment,” The Brain and Behavioral Sciences 7 (1984) 24-25. electroshocktherapy.pbreggin.1984.pdf
“ECT Damages the Brain: Disturbing News for Patients and Shock Doctors Alike.” Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 9, 83-86, 2007. ect damages the brain.pdf
Despite ongoing controversy, there has never been a large-scale, prospective study of the cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). We conducted a prospective, naturalistic, longitudinal study of clinical and cognitive outcomes in patients with major depression treated at seven facilities in the New York City metropolitan area. Of 751 patients […]
Breggin, PR. (1998). International Journal of Risk & Safety In Medicine, 11:5-40. Electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) is increasingly used in North America and there are attempts to further its use world-wide. However, most controlled studies of efficacy in depression indicate the treatment is no better than placebo, with no positive effect on […]
Readings: A Journal of Reviews and Comentary in Mental Health, March 1992. Dr. Breggin reviews and comments upon the 1990 Task Force Report of the American Psychiatric Association, “The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Recommendations for Treatment, Training, and Privileging.” thereturnofect.pbreggin.1992.pdf
Psychopharmacology Bulletin 22:476-479, 1986. Because ECT always produces an organic brain syndrome, the proper question, Breggin states, is not “Does ECT cause braind damage and dsyfunction?” but rather “How complete is recovery from this trauma?” neuropathologyand.pbreggin.1986.pdf
Electroconvulsive Therapy, Consensus Development Conference, NIMH, June 10-12. ECT always produces some degree of immediate brain damage and mental dysfunction, and frequently the patient never fully recovers. Permanent brain damage from ECT is demonstrated through clinical evaluations, psychological tests, EEG studies, CAT scans, human autopsy studies, and research on the […]
Behavior and Brain Sciences 7:24-25, 1984. electroshocktherapy.pbreggin.1984.pdf
Divergent Views in Psychiatry, M. Dongier and E. Wittkower, editors. Harper and Row, Hagerstown, MD, 247-271, 1981. Examines the relation between the “therapeutic” effects of electroshock and the damage it does to the brain. disablingthe.pbreggin.1981.pdf
