Differential memory complaints after bilateral and unilateral ECT

A structured interview was used to elicit 35 depressed patients' reports of memory function after a full course of either bilateral or unilateral ECT. The interviewer and patients were blind to the type of electrode placement. Although the two groups of subjects did not differ in severity of depression or amount of ECT, significantly more patients receiving bilateral ECT reported general difficulty remembering things, difficulty describing events before hospitalization, and difficulty remembering daily events.