RETROGRADE EFFECTS OF ELECTROCONVULSIVE SHOCK ON LEARNED RESPONSES

Indicates that electroconvulsive shock (ECS) has 3 different effects on responses learned prior to its administration. 1st, the aversive effect of ECS, demonstrable in 1 trial but usually found after repeated presentations, can produce a delay-of-punishment gradient. 2nd, ECS apparently differentially affects memory depending upon the learning-ECS interval, an effect which can be interpreted as disruption of memory consolidation. The postlearning interval during which ECS produces temporally graded memory effects is very brief, probably well under 1 min. The 3rd effect of ECS is the halting of the incubation, i.e., the development over time, of a punishment-produced conditioned emotional response. In the passive avoidance learning situation, incubation disruption and memory disruption have identical behavioral consequences in that in both cases Ss tend to repeat the previously punished response. The postpunishment time course of incubation is relatively long, with maximum response suppression occurring between 1 and 4 hr. after punishment. The ECS disruption of the long-term incubation process has frequently been misinterpreted as ECS disruption of a long-term memory consolidation process. (60 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.