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Suggestability
7. Cox, Aris and Heath, Robert G. Neurotone therapy: A preliminary report of its effect on electrical activity of forebrain structures. Diseases of the Nervous System. 36:245-247, 1975.
Device: Neurotone, 100 Hz, 2 mS, 500 µA
A 41 year old female pt with history of severe depressive disorder was prepared with deep and surface electrodes for long-term brain study. She was given 2, 30 min. CES sessions with a crossover treatment/simulated treatment design, followed by prepost EEG readings. After actual but not simulated treatment, pt reported feeling drowsy and relaxed, and she remained in this relaxed state for about 30 minutes, after which she went to sleep for an hour. This was unusual for her. After the pt awakened, her relaxed state lasted 3 hours. There was also a welldeveloped alpha rhythm in the occipital cortex following actual but not simulated treatment, also unusual for her. Since she was not considered suggestible (several attempts at hypnotism to relieve her symptoms had been unsuccessful), the authors concluded, "electrosleep therapy has a demonstrable physiologic effect in contrast to some published reports that it is only suggestive." No side effects were reported.
48. Ryan, Joseph J. and Souheaver, Gary T. Effects of transcerebral electrotherapy (electrosleep) on state anxiety according to suggestibility levels. Biological Psychiatry. 11(2):233237, 1976.
Device: Neurotone 101, 100 Hz, 2 mS, electrodes on forehead and mastoids
42 psychiatric inpatients (41 males and 1 female) at a Veterans Administration hospital without psychosis or neurological impairment manifesting signs of anxiety either not on medication or not responding satisfactorily to medication who gave informed consent were selected for this double-blind study. They were rated as high suggestible (N = 12) or low suggestible (N = 12) as measured on the Harvard Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and half of each group were randomly assigned to active or simulated CES and given a pretest STAI. This yielded 6 pts per cell for the 2 x 2 factorial design. The remaining pts were treated, but excluded from the study because they scored in the medium suggestibility range. Experimental subjects ranged in age from 21 to 59 years (mean = 38). Treatments were 5, 30 minute sessions on successive days. 6 - 9 days following the last treatment each subject again completed the STAI. The active CES pts mean pretest to post test state anxiety scores were reduced from 58.33 to 43.50 for the low suggestibility group, and from 57.66 to 50.66 for the high suggestibility group. The placebo pts pretest to post test state anxiety scores were reduced from 57.33 to 57.16 for the low suggestibility group, and from 56.33 to 55.00 for the high suggestibility group. Subjects in the active CES group showed significantly greater anxiety reduction than did subjects in the placebo condition (P<.01, F = 8.26). There was no overall effect of suggestibility, nor was there a significant interaction between suggestibility and type of treatment. That is, CES was related to positive changes, and no placebo effect could be found as measured by the suggestibility level of patients. The authors stated that the management of anxiety is a significant problem for medical and psychiatric practitioners. Chemotherapy, although highly effective in many cases, cannot be considered the final regime. Total reliance upon prescription medications predisposes the patient to possible untoward side effects, physiologic dependence, and overdose. The development of a safe, effective, and economical treatment for anxiety is worthy of serious investigation. They then concluded that this study demonstrated that active CES produced significantly greater reductions in anxiety than did a simulated treatment. No side effects were reported.
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