rrandomusernamee1234

What background does your "expert" have? Although there definitely are side effects to ECT, which are important to note, and I believe doctors are required to inform patients of before making a decision about ECT, the literature cited is HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE as evidence that ECT causes brain damage.

It is very important to note that ECT is never a first line of treatment for depression or suicidality. It is typically reserved for very severe and treatment-resistant depression, and typically for these patients the benefits of ECT far outweigh the side effects. Yes, while ECT induces seizures and has side effects, and the precise mechanisms through which ECT works remain unclear, there is a lot of evidence showing that ECT is effective in treating treatment-resistant depression. Also, all of the studies you cite in your attached document talk about increases in different proteins and cytokines, but these do not play a singular role in the brain. For example, the document states that BDNF increases in the brain, and that this is seen after stroke or brain damage. However, individuals with severe depression show lower levels of BDNF, and lower levels of BDNF in the hippocampus may contribute to the pathology of depression. Therefore, the increased levels of BDNF may be a mark of ECT being beneficial, not brain damage. Although there are side effects, including impact on cognition, for ECT, whoever put together the evidence for the attached document did a very cursory overview of the literature (or seems financially motivated) and pointed to literature that does not provide strong evidence for brain damage in ECT.

The first longitudinal study was actually published this year, and did not find that playing violent games predicted increases in aggressive behavior:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0031-7