Brain damage claim leads to new row over electroshock therapy

Experts divided on effectiveness of ECT and concerned by overuse in women and the elderly

It is one of the most dramatic techniques employed in modern psychology. An electric shock is administered directly to the brains of individuals who are suffering from depression.

But electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is controversial among some psychologists and is now the focus of a huge row - which erupted last week - over claims that it can trigger brain damage, that guidelines covering its use are weak and that it is used disproportionately on women and the elderly.