Dr. Holly Lisanby

In this episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, Dr. Mark Mullen welcomes Dr. Holly Lisanby for a comprehensive, evidence-based review of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Dr. Lisanby traces the mechanism of action from its historical roots in chemically induced convulsive therapy through modern neuroimaging findings, covering the roles of neurotransmitter release, functional connectivity change, anticonvulsant properties, and neuroplasticity, before explaining why the rapidity of ECT's antidepressant response makes neurogenesis an unlikely primary driver. She also introduces the research program she founded developing magnetic seizure therapy (MST), describes the CREST trial demonstrating non-inferior efficacy to right unilateral ECT with significantly less memory loss, and explains why this finding points to the seizure as the primary therapeutic mechanism.


The conversation moves systematically through the full clinical picture and Dr. Mullen and Dr. Lisanby share personal accounts of l…