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The Effects of Small Electrical Currents upon Depressive Symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. K. B. Nias  and
M. B. Shapiro
D. K. B. Nias
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
M. B. Shapiro
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF
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Extract

Lippold and Redfearn (1964) reported psychological effects from sending small direct electrical currents through the brain (polarization). For 26 subjects they found that scalp-positive current caused ‘alertness or more involvement in the environment’, whereas scalp-negative current caused ‘quietness and withdrawal’ (p. 771). Three other subjects reliably produced opposite changes. The observations were made during brief talks by judges unaware of the kind of current being administered. The present study, details of which are given by Nias (1968), aimed to observe the effects of polarization upon symptoms of depressed patients.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 125 , Issue 587 , October 1974 , pp. 414 - 415
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1974 

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References

Lippold, O. C. J. & Redfearn, J. W. T. (1964) Mental changes resulting from the passage of small direct currents through the human brain. British Journal of Psychiatry, 110, 768–72.Google Scholar
Nias, D. K. B. (1968) Psychological effects produced by sending small direct electrical currents through the brain. M.Phil, thesis, University of London.Google Scholar
Shapiro, M. B., Litman, G. K., Nias, D. K. B. & Hendry, E. R. (1973) A clinician's approach to experimental enquiry. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29, 165–9.3.0.CO;2-U>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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