Electroconvulsive therapy causes retrograde amnesia
Evidence from clinical studies and meta-analyses demonstrates that electroconvulsive therapy frequently causes retrograde amnesia, leading to difficulties in retrieving memories formed prior to treatment.
The claim is specific, testable, and supported by classic and recent high-quality evidence, including clinical studies showing temporal gradients of memory loss and a recent meta-analysis confirming retrograde autobiographical amnesia after electroconvulsive therapy.
Larry R. Squire, Pamela C. Slater, Paul M. Chace. Retrograde Amnesia: Temporal Gradient in Very Long Term Memory Following Electroconvulsive Therapy. 1975. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1109228
Patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy exhibited a temporal gradient of retrograde amnesia affecting memories acquired prior to treatment.
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Albert Stachura. Retrograde autobiographical amnesia following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients treated for depression - a mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025. https://doi.org/10.31237/osf.io/uc29a_v1
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that electroconvulsive therapy causes greater retrograde autobiographical amnesia compared with other treatments.
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