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electroconvulsive therapy
[ ih-lek-troh-kuhn-vuhl-siv, ih-lek- ]
/ ɪˈlɛk troʊ kənˈvʌl sɪv, ɪˌlɛk- /
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noun Psychiatry.
a treatment for serious mental illnesses, as severe depressive disorders, involving the application to the head of electric current in order to induce a seizure: usually administered after sedatives and muscle relaxants. Abbreviation: ECT
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Also called electroshock.
Compare shock therapy.
Origin of electroconvulsive therapy
First recorded in 1945–50; electro- + convulsive
Words nearby electroconvulsive therapy
electrochromatography, electrochromic, electroclash, electrocoagulation, electroconductive, electroconvulsive therapy, electrocorticogram, electrocorticography, electrocratic, electrocute, electrocyte
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use electroconvulsive therapy in a sentence
Nothing she had tried to treat it, including electroconvulsive therapy, had helped.
This woman’s brain implant zaps her with electricity when it senses she’s getting depressed|Charlotte Jee|October 4, 2021|MIT Technology ReviewSo, we said, “All right, we’re gonna give it not once, but we’re gonna give it on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, just like we’d give electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression, for a couple of weeks and see how they do.”
How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry? (Ep. 433)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 1, 2020|FreakonomicsOne option for unresolved depression is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
British Dictionary definitions for electroconvulsive therapy
electroconvulsive therapy
/ (ɪˌlɛktrəʊkənˈvʌlsɪv) /
noun
med the treatment of certain psychotic conditions by passing an electric current through the brain to induce coma or convulsionsAbbreviation: ECT Also called: electroshock therapy See also shock therapy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for electroconvulsive therapy
electroconvulsive therapy
[ ĭ-lĕk′trō-kən-vŭl′sĭv ]
Administration of electric current to the brain through electrodes placed on the head, usually near the temples, in order to induce unconsciousness and brief seizures. It is used in the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders, especially severe depression.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.