Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
A treatment in which an electric current is passed through the brain, causing a seizure; usually reserved for severely depressed patients who are either suicidal or unresponsive to other treatment.
For many years, ECT involved passing an electric current through both cerebral hemispheres, a procedure known as bilateral ECT.
Today, the electric current is administered to the right hemisphere only, and the procedure is called unilateral ECT.
Rapid Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Performed on patients who are not sedated; it causes no seizures, no memory loss, and has no known side effects.