Shock therapy (psychiatry)

Shock therapy describes a set of techniques used in psychiatry to treat depression, or other illnesses, by inducing seizures or other extreme brain states.

The only form in current clinical practice is Electroconvulsive therapy. Other forms, no longer in use, include:

• Insulin shock therapy, introduced by Sakel in 1933 for the treatment of Schizophrenia.
• Convulsive therapy, using pentylenetetrazol or other agents to induce seizures. The first use was with cardiazol by von Meduna of Budapest; the belief at the time was there was "some kind of biological antagonism between schizophrenia and epilepsy".
• Deep Sleep Therapy.

See also

• Shock therapy (disambiguation)