in addition , becks depression inventory ( bdi ) and brief psychiatric rating scale ( bprs ) were used to measure the severity of depression and psychosis , respectively . retest reliability ( pearson r = 0.93 ) and an internal consistency of  = 0.91 . bprs is a 16-item rating scale to measure positive symptoms , general psychopathology , and affective symptoms . trail making test was used to assess nonmemory cognition in processing speed and executive functioning . trail making test has two parts : a and b. a is used primarily to examine cognitive processing speed . b , in which the subject alternates between numbers and letters , is used to examine executive functioning . patients were evaluated clinically , started on psychopharmacological treatment , and decision to administer ect was taken purely on clinical indications for the same . common indications were suicidal ideation , catatonic features , lack of self - care , etc . as it was a clinical research , the choice of medication was made entirely on clinical requirement and psychiatrist preference . all subjects received twice weekly , modified , bi - temporal ect by brief pulse machine . the entire anesthetic procedure was supervised by an anesthetist and ect administration by a psychiatrist . thiopentone , atropine , and succinyl choline were used during all ect procedures in the recommended dosage . seizure of adequate duration was produced under anesthesia and vital parameters were monitored till resumption of full consciousness . assessment of severity of illness and performance on trail - making test was done at baseline , after a course of ect , and after 4 weeks of ect . the resultant means and standard deviations ( sds ) at the three points in time were compared statistically . mean years of schooling was more than 12 years ( median - 12 years ) . about 81% of the subjects had diagnosis of depression and the rest were had nonaffective psychotic disorders . mean score on depression severity on bdi was 31.32 ( sd - 2.33 ) ; which is severe . score of psychosis on bprs was also higher ( 90.71 , sd - 2.81 ) . scores on depression and psychosis improved statistically over the course of treatment [ table 1 ] . there was an improvement in both the trail - making tests over the course of treatment at all points in trail - making test a. in trail - making test b , though there was statistical improvement in score from the baseline to after a course of ect , the same did not show any statistical change thereon [ table 2 ] . effects of electroconvulsive therapy on disease profile from baseline to four weeks of treatment effects on electroconvulsive therapy on nonmemory cognition across from baseline to four weeks of electroconvulsive therapy our study showed that there was an improvement in nonmemory cognition . processing speed and executive functioning improved over the course of treatment from before the ect procedure to that of after the procedure . this could be due to effects of ect , effects of other prescribed drugs , due to improvement of illness which might have caused temporary cognitive impairment , or a natural course in the process of the mental illness . a randomized study using a sham control while controlling the confounding factors would bring out those factors which are responsible for these changes in nonmemory cognition in a more specific manner . the above finding negates the notion and clears the ambiguity that the ect affects the nonmemory cognition in an adverse manner . argued that as ect affects both frontal and temporal lobe , it is expected that the cognitive effects of the same would also encompass both memory and the nonmemory components . deficits in executive functions and other related nonmemory cognition have been found by the earlier researchers in this field . however , no long - term controlled studies have been done to find out whether the nonmemory cognitive functions normalizes or not and if so when . getz et al . noted that the objective function of the individual improved after the ect even though the individual persisted with subjective complaints of impairment . studied the effect of sine and pulse waveforms on the aspects of memory and nonmemory cognition on an average of 8.2 days after the last ect . aspects of nonmemory cognitions such as processing speed and executive functions improved over the course of treatment from before ect to after ect . a control population without ect or with sham ect would have brought more clarity and is recommended . all patients were included in this study irrespective of the type of drugs they were on . however , as ect is not the first line of treatment ; it is not possible to have drug - naive population in clinical research . clinical indication for ect was as per the treating psychiatrist and there was no standardization done in this direction . an empirical study keeping the above limitations in mind will add further merit to the subject . this study being purely an observation one limits the specificity of finding . a control population without ect or with sham ect would have brought more clarity and is recommended . all patients were included in this study irrespective of the type of drugs they were on . however , as ect is not the first line of treatment ; it is not possible to have drug - naive population in clinical research . clinical indication for ect was as per the treating psychiatrist and there was no standardization done in this direction . an empirical study keeping the above limitations in mind will add further merit to the subject .
introduction : possibility of cognitive side effects has made electroconvulsive therapy ( ect ) questionable . 
 variable deficits have been debated in memory cognition . 
 pattern of changes in nonmemory cognition pre- and post - ect is not clear.methodology:forty patients undergoing ect were studied on nonmemory cognitive parameters before ect , after a course of ect , and after 4 weeks of last . 
 ect.results:nonmemory cognition improved during the course of ect and over 4 weeks of ect.conclusions:ect does not affect the nonmemory cognition adversely .