G. Pijnse van der Aa: Memory-disturbances and electroshock therapy.
This article is an attempt to summarize the literature on memory-disturbances in connection to electroshock therapy. It appears that both anterograde and reterograde amnesia do occur after electroshock treatment, but seem to be reversible if treatment has been given with proper frequency (2-3 times a week) and in proper number (maximally 12-15 shocks).
It is striking to see the difference between objectively measured memory disturbances and subjectively experienced ones. This holds especially for patients who were treated bilaterally. An explanation for this might be the concept of lateralisation: the bilaterally treated patient experienced immediately after shock a more serious memory-disturbance, which might make him more concerned to attribute possible future 'normal' forgettability to his electroshock treatment. From this one might conclude that unilateral electroshock treatment is the 'treatment of choice'. However there are indications that unilateral electroshock therapy is less effective, so that more shocks have to be given and even bilateral treatment has to be given as yet.