A forthcoming study from the University of Houston directly contradicts the longstanding psychiatric claim that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is safe because the scalp buffers the brain from electric current. The research, presented at the IEEE EMC+SIPI 2026 Symposium, analyzed a high-resolution 3D model of the head to trace the current's path during ECT. Contrary to the previous assumption that the scalp harmlessly carries 90–95% of the current, the findings indicate that 82.5% of the total current flows through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain, with only 1.5% through the scalp. The CSF acts as a major highway distributing current throughout the brain, according to the study.
The implications are significant, as an expert involved in the study noted that electrical energy converts into heat inside the brain, and higher current produces more heat, which can cause temporary injury, permanent damage, or cell death. Additionally, electricity can create pores in cell membranes via electroporation. When voltage is high enough, these holes overwhelm the brain's repair mechanisms, leading to cell death. Thus, ECT poses risks of brain-cell damage from both heating and electroporation.
Professor John Read, a leading ECT researcher, draws a parallel: “The effects on the brain [of] ECT is very similar to the effects of what's called a closed-brain injury… there's changes in the brain that are documented after ECT, very similar to traumatic brain injury.” This aligns with decades of documented brain damage, memory loss, cognitive deficits, and mortality associated with ECT.
Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) has long demanded a ban on ECT and says the Food and Drug Administration's 2018 decision to lower the risk classification of ECT devices must be overturned. Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 360f), the FDA has authority to ban any device posing an “unreasonable and substantial risk” of injury. An estimated 100,000 Americans undergo ECT annually, and CCHR has documented its use on teenagers and even children as young as five in some states.
Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International, stated: “Electroshock devices meet the FDA threshold, which need to be revisited. Decades of research document brain damage, memory loss, cognitive deficits, and mortality, while regulators have never required evidence of long-term safety or effectiveness.” CCHR helped secure the first bans on electroshock for minors—California in 1976 and Texas in 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.” Western Australia banned it under age 14 in 2014, and the Australian Capital Territory banned it for under 12. Ireland banned it for anyone 18 and under in May 2026.
Survivors recount the harsh reality. Eastgate received ECT as a teenager after an undiagnosed thyroid condition was mislabeled as depression. She awoke with searing head pain, failed to recognize her mother, and lost memories of friends and education. Proper treatment for her thyroid resolved her symptoms, but memory recovery took years. Recently, Paris Jackson spoke about undergoing nine “painful” ECT sessions in three weeks, experiencing severe head pain and amnesia. Utah Rep. Jake Sawyer received ECT in 2018 and suffered long-term damage and memory loss, stating, “I've lost many, many, many years of memories.” He wants ECT banned.
Eastgate concludes: “Electroshocking individuals, especially after failed psychiatric drug treatments and institutionalization that deprives individuals of their autonomy, liberty and the right to an undamaged body and life, is an unnecessary practice that patients need to be protected from. All electroshock methods for all ages should be prohibited.”
