ABSTRACT
Intensive studies on electroshock seizures by L. S. Goodman and his associates at the University of Utah during the 1940s and 1950s led to improvements in the technique and the discovery of a convenient apparatus for the production of electroshock seizures. As early as 1959 an attempt was made to explain the neurophysiological mechanisms associated with the electroshock induced seizures. During any generalized seizure, including electroshock, multiple neurotransmitters are released and those systems undoubtedly undergo changes. Repeated maximal electroshock-induced seizures administered daily for 7 days caused an increase in norepinephrine synthesis and turnover. A. R. Green and co-workers have examined the effect of both single and repeated electroshock on gamma-aminobutyric acid content, synthesis and release in rats. Electroshock seizures can alter neurotransmitter systems which may, in turn, alter the response to subsequent tests depending on how long the effect persists.
