EVALUATION OF PRE-ECS ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUG ADMINISTRATION IN THE ATTENUATION OF ECS-INDUCED RETROGRADE-AMNESIA

Two once-daily electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) produced retrograde amne sia in rats trained on a Hebb-Williams maze; Verapamil (12.5 mg/kg, i. p.) or felodipine (10 mg/kg, p.o.) administered half an hour before ea ch ECS attenuated this ECS-induced amnesia. Hence, these drugs may hol d promise for the containment of amnesia induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Speculatively, one or more of several mechanisms may be involved: cerebral vasodilatation, enhancement of cholinergic tone, a nd inhibition of calcium-mediated impairment of neuronal function. The se drugs may also act by attenuating the systolic surge in blood press ure during ECT, thereby decreasing edema due to cerebral hyperperfusio n, as well as decreasing the possible transfer of potentially neurotox ic macromolecules through a putative breach in the blood-brain barrier .