Electrical Properties of Tissues in Shock Therapy

Abstract

A lack of knowledge of the exact treatment current has hindered the standardization of electrical shock therapy. This has been especially true because the treatment current does not appear to follow “Ohm's law”—that is, the current is not equal to the treatment voltage divided by the measured (d-c) resistance between the electrodes, but usually is considerably higher. Also, the resistance varies in what has appeared to be an “unpredictable” manner. For these reasons, an a priori selection of the treatment current has appeared to be impossible.It is, of course, the passage of the electric current which is responsible for the convulsive shocks, rather than the applied voltage of itself, so that dosage standardization must be on the basis of the former. The voltage required to obtain a given current will depend upon many factors, such as the thickness of the skull, area of electrodes, condition of the skin, etc. Obviously a rational prescription of dosage requires some method of taking these factors into acc...