Electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive performance from the Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration

The Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) has collected clinical and neuroimaging data of patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from around the world. Results to date have focused on neuroimaging correlates of antidepressant response. GEMRIC sites have also collected longitudinal cognitive data. Here, we summarize the existing GEMRIC cognitive data and provide recommendations for prospective data collection for future ECT-imaging investigations. We describe the criteria for selection of cognitive measures for mega-analyses: Trail Making Test Parts A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B), verbal fluency category (VFC), verbal fluency letter (VFL), and percent retention from verbal learning and memory tests. We performed longitudinal data analysis focused on the pre-/post-ECT assessments with healthy comparison (HC) subjects at similar timepoints and assessed associations between demographic and ECT parameters with cognitive changes. The study found an interaction between electrode placement and treatment number for VFC (F(1,107) = 4.14, p = 0.04). Higher treatment was associated with decreased VFC performance with right unilateral electrode placement. Percent retention showed a main effect for group, with post-hoc analysis indicating decreased cognitive performance among the HC group. However, there were no significant effects of group or group interactions observed for TMT-A, TMT-B, or VFL. We assessed the current GEMRIC cognitive data and acknowledge the limitations associated with this data set including the limited number of neuropsychological domains assessed. Aside from the VFC and treatment number relationship, we did not observe ECT-mediated neurocognitive effects in this investigation. We provide prospective cognitive recommendations for future ECT-imaging investigations focused on strong psychometrics and minimal burden to subjects.