Robyn Bluhm (Michigan State University), "Deep Brain Stimulation, Electroconvulsive Therapy, and the Self"
Philosophy of Psychiatry Webinar聽| Winter 2023
"Deep Brain Stimulation, Electroconvulsive Therapy, and the Self"
Robyn Bluhm (Michigan State University)
Thursday, January 26, 2023
12:00-1:30 PM
Abstract:聽Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been associated with alterations in self-related characteristics when used to treat movement disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Yet there is significant disagreement about the nature, extent, and frequency of these changes. Moreover, as DBS is being investigated for use as a treatment for a wider variety of psychiatric conditions, questions about the relationships among treatment, diagnosis, and self become increasingly important, given the centrality of self-related characteristics to these conditions. In this talk, I aim to broaden the discussion about DBS and the self by considering a related phenomenon 鈥� memory loss in people treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I show that, with both DBS and ECT, it is important to understand not just the 鈥渄irect鈥� effects of the treatment, but also the broader social narratives around these treatments and the conditions they are used to treat.
The webinar is free but registration is required: