FREQUENCY OF REPEATED ELECTROCONVULSIONS AND ACQUISITION RATE OF A TOLERANCE-LIKE RESPONSE

Cats require increasingly higher levels of current intensity to cause major electroconvulsions if such seizures are induced on a consecutive daily basis. This tolerance like increase in electronconvulsive threshold (ECT) is enhanced if four, rather than one or two, electroconvulsions are administered daily for 20 days. This suggests that the ECT elevation could be acquired even more rapidly if a larger number of seizures were induced each day. The present report describes the results obtained when five cats received 19 electroconvulsions daily for 5 consecutive days. The ECT changes were compared with those of other cats that had four electroconvulsions daily for an equal period. Administering 19 seizures daily did not enhance the rate of ECT elevation in comparison to the control group. © 1969.