Effect of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Cortical Excitability in a patient With Long-Term Remission of Schizophrenia: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study

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Authors	PŘIKRYL Radovan USTOHAL Libor PŘIKRYLOVÁ KUČEROVÁ Hana ČEŠKOVÁ Eva
Year of publication	2011
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	Journal of ECT
MU Faculty or unit	Central European Institute of Technology
Citation
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/YCT.0b013e3181dbf785
Field	Other medical specializations
Keywords	effect; electroconvulsive therapy; therapy on cortical excitability; remission of schizophrenia
Description	The exact effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the brain are still not accurately known. Hypotheses considered include the effect of ECT on cortical excitability of the brain. The aim of this trial was to assess the changes in cortical excitability in the brain of a patient with remitted schizophrenia, undergoing maintenance ECT. Three successive ECT applications resulted in significant prolongation of the cortical silent period, which implies augmentation of inhibitory cortical mechanisms in the brain, most likely mediated by the GABAergic (GABA, gamma-aminobutyric acid) system with direct involvement of GABA(B) receptors. The actual therapeutic effect of ECT is therefore probably due to facilitation of cortical inhibitory mechanisms induced by GABAergic neurotransmission.
Related projects:	The internal organisation and neurobiological mechanisms of functional CNS systems under normal and pathological conditions.