The electroencephalographic pattern during electroconvulsive therapy. III. Analysis of frontotemporal and nasopharyngeal spectral energy.

This study analyzes the frontotemporal and nasopharyngeal spectral energy of an ECT-induced seizure, in order to investigate the origin of the final Phase III activity, which contains most of the seizure's energy. Data supports these findings: energy in the delta frequency band is responsible for the generation, propagation, and maintenance of Phase III of the ECT-induced seizure; the synchronous "delta-firing" depolarizations of Phase III are recurrently initiated by an ECT-induced "generator" process; higher magnitudes of energy are generated centrally than are generated laterally during Phase III; and the lessened memory impairment associated with nondominant unilateral ECT is attributable to the markedly lower peak and total energies observed in the unstimulated temporal lobe.