New research from the University of Houston is challenging the long-standing assumption that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is safe, providing fresh ammunition for advocates demanding a ban on the procedure. The study, which analyzed a high-resolution 3D model of the human head, found that 82.5% of the electric current during ECT flows through the cerebrospinal fluid and brain, contradicting the long-held 'shunting theory' that the scalp buffers the brain from harm. Only 1.5% of the current was found to travel through the scalp, according to the findings presented at the IEEE EMC+SIPI 2026 Symposium.
For 80 years, psychiatrists have maintained that ECT, which delivers about 0.9 amps of current to treat depression, is safe because the scalp supposedly diverts 90-95% of the electricity away from the brain. This new study, which tracked the current's path through a detailed model of the head, reveals the opposite: the cerebrospinal fluid acts as a 'major highway' distributing current throughout the brain. The implications are significant, as they undermine the foundational safety rationale for a procedure still administered to an estimated 100,000 Americans annually.
Experts involved in the study warn that the electrical energy converts to heat inside the brain, with higher currents producing more heat, potentially causing temporary injury, permanent damage, or cell death. Additionally, electricity can create pores in cell membranes through electroporation. When voltage is high enough, these holes overwhelm the brain's repair mechanisms, allowing toxic material to flood in and kill cells. This means ECT poses risks of brain-cell damage from both heating and electroporation.
Professor John Read, a leading ECT researcher, draws a parallel between the effects of ECT and closed-brain injury, noting documented changes in the brain similar to traumatic brain injury. This supports concerns raised by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), which has long called for a ban on ECT and for the FDA to overturn its 2018 decision to lower the risk classification of ECT devices. Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the FDA has the authority to ban any device posing an 'unreasonable and substantial risk' of injury.
CCHR points to decades of research documenting brain damage, memory loss, cognitive deficits, and mortality associated with ECT, while regulators have never required evidence of long-term safety or effectiveness. The organization has been instrumental in securing bans on ECT for minors in California (1976) and Texas (1993). The World Health Organization declared in 2005 that there are no indications for ECT on minors and that it 'should be prohibited through legislation.' Recent bans include Western Australia (under 14, in 2014), the Australian Capital Territory (under 12), and Ireland (under 18, in May 2026).
Survivors' accounts illustrate the potential harms. Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International, received ECT as a teenager after an underactive thyroid was misdiagnosed as depression. She awoke with searing head pain, failed to recognize her mother, and lost memories of friends and education. Paris Jackson has spoken about undergoing nine 'painful' ECT sessions, experiencing severe head pain and amnesia. Utah Rep. Jake Sawyer, who received ECT in 2018, reported long-term damage and memory loss, saying, 'I've lost many, many, many years of memories.'
Eastgate argues that electroshock is an unnecessary practice that patients need protection from, especially after failed psychiatric drug treatments. 'All electroshock methods for all ages should be prohibited,' she said. CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz, continues to advocate for reforms, having helped enact more than 190 worldwide protections against mental health abuses.
