ArticleNeuroImage. Clinical2021
Electric field strength induced by electroconvulsive therapy is associated with clinical outcome.
Article in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on cortical thickness in depression: a systematic review.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2024Pooled it
- Electroconvulsive therapy induces rapid microstructural and macrostructural changes, but microstructural changes are longer-lasting.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Trial
- Exploring postictal recovery with acetaminophen or nimodipine: A randomized-controlled crossover trial.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2024Trial
- Electroconvulsive therapy, electric field, neuroplasticity, and clinical outcomes.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Network localization of brain structural and functional alterations induced by electroconvulsive therapy for depression.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Brain morphometry, stimulation charge, and seizure duration in electroconvulsive therapy.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Postictal resting-state connectivity changes after electroconvulsive therapy-induced seizures.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- A Computational Modeling Study of Focal Electrically Administered Seizure Therapy and Frontoparietal Electroconvulsive Therapy.The journal of ECT · 2026Article
- Computational Models of High-Definition Electroconvulsive Therapy for Focal or Multitargeting Treatment.The journal of ECT · 2025Article
- Comparison of High-Charge Protocol vs. Dose Titration Protocol in Bilateral ECT: Evaluation of Antidepressant Effectiveness and EEG Parameters.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- The relationship between electric field strength induced by electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive and antidepressant outcomes.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Amplitude-determined seizure-threshold, electric field modeling, and electroconvulsive therapy antidepressant and cognitive outcomes.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Restoration of postictal cortical activity after electroconvulsive therapy relates to recovery of orientation in person, place, and time.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2024Article
- Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Article
- Electric Field, Ictal Theta Power, and Clinical Outcomes in Electroconvulsive Therapy.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2023Article
- Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression.Research square · 2023Article
- Clinical Improvement in Depression and Cognitive Deficit Following Electroconvulsive Therapy.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Cerebro-cerebellar functional neuroplasticity mediates the effect of electric field on electroconvulsive therapy outcomes.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation mapping of the motor cortex: comparison of five estimation algorithms.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- Parsing the Network Mechanisms of Electroconvulsive Therapy.Biological psychiatry · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The clinical effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is mediated by eliciting a generalized seizure, which is achieved by applying electrical current to the head via scalp electrodes. The anatomy of the head influences the distribution of current flow in each brain region. Here, we investigated whether individual differences in simulated local electrical field strength are associated with ECT efficacy. We modeled the electric field of 67 depressed patients receiving ECT. Patient's T1 magnetic resonance images were segmented, conductivities were assigned to each tissue and the finite element method was used to solve for the electric field induced by the electrodes. We investigated the correlation between modelled electric field and ECT outcome using voxel-wise general linear models. The difference between bilateral (BL) and right unilateral (RUL) electrode placement was striking. Even within electrode configuration, there was substantial variability between patients. For the modeled BL placement, stronger electric field strengths appeared in the left hemisphere and part of the right temporal lobe. Importantly, a stronger electric field in the temporal lobes was associated with less optimal ECT response in patients treated with BL-ECT. No significant differences in electric field distributions were found between responders and non-responders to RUL-ECT. These results suggest that overstimulation of the temporal lobes during BL stimulation has negative consequences on treatment outcome. If replicated, individualized pre-ECT computer-modelled electric field distributions may inform the development of patient-specific ECT protocols.
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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.