ArticleBiological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging2017
Hippocampal volume changes following electroconvulsive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perioperative effects of dexmedetomidine on renal function in allogeneic kidney transplant patients: a meta-analysis.International urology and nephrology · 2025Pooled it
- Structural and Functional MRI Brain Changes in Patients with Schizophrenia Following Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Systematic Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of ketamine for major depressive episodes at 2, 4, and 6-weeks post-treatment: A meta-analysis.Psychopharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Electroconvulsive Therapy in Schizophrenia: Exploratory Study on the Efficacy, Cognitive Effects, and Safety of Right Unilateral Versus Bitemporal Techniques.Brain and behavior · 2026Trial
- Hippocampal volume and depression among young children.Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging · 2019Trial
- Rostral anterior cingulate cortex is a structural correlate of repetitive TMS treatment response in depression.Brain stimulationTrial
- Hippocampal subfield-specific imaging in depression: the translational power of ultra-high field MRI.Translational psychiatry · 2026Review
- Neuromodulation and cognition in late-life depression.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Relationship between hippocampal volume and treatment response before and after escitalopram administration in patients with depression.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Modified electroconvulsive therapy for severe malnutrition secondary to obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case report.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- Hippocampal microstructural changes following electroconvulsive therapy in severe depression.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- Putative Mechanisms of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia Examined Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- Urgency to treat and early optimized treatment in major depressive disorder: consequences of delayed treatment, barriers to implementation, and practical strategies for clinicians.CNS spectrums · 2025Review
- Immune-inflammatory, neuroplastic, and epigenetic effects of electroconvulsive therapy in mood disorders: an overview of recent studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Depressive symptoms during the transition to adolescence: Left hippocampal volume as a marker of social context sensitivity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- The myth of brain damage: no change of neurofilament light chain during transient cognitive side-effects of ECT.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Article
- Cortical excitation/inhibition ratios in patients with major depression treated with electroconvulsive therapy: an EEG analysis.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Article
- Neurobiological mechanisms of ECT and TMS treatment in depression: study protocol of a multimodal magnetic resonance investigation.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Blood-brain barrier permeability and electroconvulsive therapy: a systematic review.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2023Review
- Electric Field, Ictal Theta Power, and Clinical Outcomes in Electroconvulsive Therapy.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionReduced hippocampal volume is one of the most consistent morphological findings in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective therapy for MDD, yet its mechanism of action remains poorly understood. Animal models show that ECT induces several neuroplastic processes, which lead to hippocampal volume increases. We conducted a meta-analysis of ECT studies in humans to investigate its effects on hippocampal volume.
methodsPubMed was searched for studies examining hippocampal volume before and after ECT. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis with standardized mean difference (SMD) of the change in hippocampal volume before and after ECT as the primary outcome. Nine studies involving 174 participants were included.
resultsTotal hippocampal volumes increased significantly following ECT compared to pre-treatment values (SMD=1.10; 95% CI 0.80-1.39; z=7.34; p<0.001; k=9). Both right (SMD=1.01; 95% CI 0.72-1.30; z=6.76; p<0.001; k=7) and left (SMD=0.87; 95% CI 0.51-1.23; z=4.69; p<0.001; k=7) hippocampal volumes were also similarly increased significantly following ECT. We demonstrated no correlation between improvement in depression symptoms with ECT and change in total hippocampal volume (beta=-1.28, 95% CI -4.51-1.95, z=-0.78, p=0.44).
conclusionWe demonstrate fairly consistent increases in hippocampal volume bilaterally following ECT treatment. The relationship among these volumetric changes and clinical improvement and cognitive side effects of ECT should be explored by larger, multisite studies with harmonized imaging methods.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.