The application of a mild electric current to the brain to produce an epileptic-like seizure as a means of treating certain psychological disorders, primarily severe depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT and electroshock therapy, was developed in the 1930s when various observations led physicians to conclude that epileptic seizures might prevent or relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia. After experiments with insulin and other potentially seizure-inducing drugs, Italian physicians pioneered the use of an electric current to create seizures in schizophrenic patients.

ECT was routinely used to treat schizophrenia, depression, and, in some cases, mania. It...