Cognitive Training for Memory Deficits Associated With Electroconvulsive Therapy

Summary

Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the most effective treatment for people with severe depression, patients may experience a significant degree of persistent and/or permanent memory problems following ECT. Many patients report the memory problems are the most disturbing and serious side effect of ECT, and that such effects impact their quality of life following treatment and their willingness to consent to further ECT needed to complete a treatment course or to maintain remission. New developments in the field of cognitive remediation have demonstrated the benefits of cognitive training to improve memory performance in various conditions, such as epilepsy. However, these strategies have never been applied to help patients regain memory after ECT. The investigators have designed and piloted a novel cognitive program specifically targeted to the cognitive effects of ECT, based upon a program tailored to people with seizure disorders, a group with memory problems very similar to people who undergo ECT. This Memory Training for ECT (Mem-ECT) is designed to help cognitive functions that may be compromised following ECT remain relatively preserved. In addition, the intervention attempts to help ECT patients quickly regain their general memory skills immediately following ECT. Recent results from our preliminary group of patients who underwent ECT and memory training at New York Presbyterian shows no overall decline in memory function following ECT. On the basis of these promising findings, the investigators propose a more rigorous and larger study to confirm whether this novel memory training program can help alleviate memory problems associated with ECT.

Conditions

• Memory Deficits
• Electroconvulsive Therapy

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Intervention: Memory Training

Paper-and-pencil and computerized exercises pre- and post-ECT which may be helpful in recovering episodic memories and allow for the retention of learned strategies

BEHAVIORAL

Comparable general mental stimulation

Active control will work on commercially available puzzle games at the same time prior and after ECT to determine if the developed memory training program is more effective than mere mental stimulation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• New York State Psychiatric Institute

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Joan Prudic, MD · New York State Psychiatric Institute

• Jimmy Choi, PsyD · New York State Psychiatric Institute

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-09-30

Primary Completion

2015-08-31

Completion

2017-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations