Visuospatial impairment in depression: a controlled ECT study

In order to study the effect of bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on visuospatial function in depression, a comparison was made between the performance of 20 ECT-treated patients and 20 healthy controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests including the Complex Figure Test (CFT) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The CFT but not the MMSE performances of depressives vs controls were impaired in pre-ECT testing. While ECT does not affect visuospatial performance, cognitive deficits are unveiled by MMSE. Possible meanings of these findings are discussed.