Electrical Brain Stimulation in Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases : 25th International Conference on Neurochemistry and Neuropharmacology
The early Egyptians and Romans recognized the numbing effect of the electric properties of catfish. In fact, Romans were the first to cultivate electric fishes for pain relieving effect. But since then, not much has changed in the development of electricity based medical treatments. Things only started to change two millennia later with the discovery of electricity and a better understanding of neurophysiology. Electroconvulsive therapy was born in the middle of the 19 th century. In the early days, it was primarily used to treat neuropsychiatric disorders. In the mid-19 th century, direct electric current was used for electroconvulsive therapy. By the end of 19 th -century, the alternate current was discovered, and its use along with the use of magnetic fields became the subject of experiments not only investigating neuropsychiatric conditions but also other diseases like epilepsy and chronic severe headaches. Electroconvulsive therapy is still used in the treatment of severe
