Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37968263›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2023

Clinical EEG slowing induced by electroconvulsive therapy is better described by increased frontal aperiodic activity.

Sydney E Smith, Vincent Ma, Celene Gonzalez, Angela Chapman, David Printz, Bradley Voytek, Maryam Soltani

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06725836 (Clinical Testing and Assessment of the Physiological Effects of Invasive Spinal Cord Stimulation Using Electroencephalography to Optimize Rehabilitation Programs and Develop Personalized Approaches for Recovery After Spinal Injury), which is not on this map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06725836 narecruitingnot on this map

Clinical Testing and Assessment of the Physiological Effects of Invasive Spinal Cord Stimulation Using Electroencephalography to Optimize Rehabilitation Programs and Develop Personalized Approaches for Recovery After Spinal Injury

TypeinterventionalSponsorArtur BiktimirovRan2023 to 2028Enrolled35ConditionsSpinal Cord Injuries (SCI), Spinal Cord InjuryArmsImplantation of electrodes into the epidural space for spinal cord stimulation, Selection of the optimal spinal cord stimulation program for spastic syndrome suppression, Selection of the optimal spinal cord stimulation program for volitional motor control, Resting electroencephalography for identifying neurocorrelates of spinal cord stimulation., Electroencephalography within the motor imagery paradigm
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Dissociating Contributions of Theta and Alpha Oscillations from Aperiodic Neural Activity in Human Visual Working Memory.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
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  14. Analyzing the Elephant: The Search for Electroencephalography Biomarkers.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025
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  18. Magnetic seizure therapy and electroconvulsive therapy increase aperiodic activity.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Sydney E SmithNeurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. s1smith@health.ucsd.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-5293-7247
Vincent MaLos Angeles General Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Celene GonzalezDepartment of Radiology, University of California, San Diego Health, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Angela ChapmanDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
David PrintzDepartment of Psychiatry, VA San Diego Health, San Diego, CA, USA.
Bradley Voytek *Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1640-2525
Maryam Soltani *Department of Psychiatry, VA San Diego Health, San Diego, CA, USA.
University of California San Diego · USUC San Diego Health System · USLos Angeles Medical Center · USUniversity of Iowa · US

Funding

Tools for parameterizing and visualizing electrophysiological rhythmic and arrhythmic featuresR01GM134363 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI VOYTEK, BRADLEY T. · 2019 to 2022
$1.4M
NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM134363
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most efficacious interventions for treatment-resistant depression. Despite its efficacy, ECT's neural mechanism of action remains unknown. Although ECT has been associated with "slowing" in the electroencephalogram (EEG), how this change relates to clinical improvement is unresolved. Until now, increases in slow-frequency power have been assumed to indicate increases in slow oscillations, without considering the contribution of aperiodic activity, a process with a different physiological mechanism. In this exploratory study of nine MDD patients, we show that aperiodic activity, indexed by the aperiodic exponent, increases with ECT treatment. This increase better explains EEG "slowing" when compared to power in oscillatory peaks in the delta (1-3 Hz) range and is correlated to clinical improvement. In accordance with computational models of excitation-inhibition balance, these increases in aperiodic exponent are linked to increasing levels of inhibitory activity, suggesting that ECT might ameliorate depressive symptoms by restoring healthy levels of inhibition in frontal cortices.

Indexed as

Depressive Disorder, Treatment-ResistantElectroconvulsive TherapyElectroencephalographyHumans

Identifiers

PMID37968263
PMCPMC10651871
OpenAlexW4388713065

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.