t patients became more docile and easier to control. Because electroshock causes at least some memory loss, many patients were able to forget aspects of their problems. Electroshock did not necessarily cure any mental problems; it simply reduced the patient's ability to think about them.
Administration of electroshock causes the body to undergo a convulsion similar to an epileptic seizure (leading scientists to study electroshock as a possible treatment for epilepsy, as well). Early patients sometimes suffered bone or spinal fractures resulting from these convulsions, despite restraining devices, and doctors eventually learned to administer muscle paralyzing drugs before giving shocks to prevent such injuries.
As psychological research progressed, electroshock became a less popular treatment, though it continued to be used in hospital settings. Psychiatrists began to be concerned with the physical debilitation that electroshock caused, as well as the memory loss that always characterized treatment.
However, electroshock's decline in popularity was also the
...